BINGE EATING: A warning.

As if we didn't need to be worried about Thanksgiving enough already, I just read that it takes TWO WEEKS for your stomach to go back to regular size after a binge.

And I'm having a Thanksgiving feast TOMORROW, in addition to regular Thanksgiving.

I don't know what the heck happened to me since early last week. Actually, I do...STUDIO. I had been coming home and working out immediately. Since my gear has arrived I have come home and gone down there. Just for a few minutes, I tell myself, and then I'm going to work out. Several hours later...

I'm trying to remind myself how quickly I felt great after starting Insanity, and that is isn't too late to make a real change in myself. Someone remind me that when I get home today, please.

Right where Katy wants me.

We've all seen this pattern before. I don't blog. Katy gets frustrated. I come back to reveal that I've been lying face-down in a puddle of fat and sugar. Lets review, shall we?

• I think I did Insanity once. Awesome, I know.
• I had two beer and wing nights in a row.
• I had ribs and fries and amazing spinach dip from Houlihans.
• I went to Fridays and got so many appetizers.
• Last night we had a quarterly meeting at work and there was so much free pizza.

I think that Katy may have pulled the fast one on me again. A week ago I felt amazing. While doing Insanity I've realized (thought a lot of time jumping up and down shirtless in front of a giant mirror) that I'm actually thin. I've got a few places where I need to tone up, for sure, but when you're eating so great and working out so hard those things will take care of themselves. And that is true. But then I get content in my self image and screw up for a day. And then it is a week later and I'm getting back in line for free pizza while still eating a slice and Katy is weighing less than she ever has.

Everything for me is leading to January for two reasons. The first is that I'm having my photoshoot for my website / personal amusement and MUST. LOOK. HOT. The second is that I will be having one of my patented Life Switches. In theory, I'm really excited about the fitness potential that being a freelance composer is going to bring me. If I have a project due tomorrow or in two days, I can decide when to fit my workout into that. As an audio person, your ears legitimately need breaks. It is going to be great. I am nervous though, since I have an atrocious fitness history post Life Switch. I'm worried Katy isn't going to be supportive of me after I steal that sparkly Former Fattie head right off the top of her head.

It being the 16th, it is now totally possible to get enough Whammies to get 2 pounds off the final tally. It would totally suck to lose on Whammies...wouldn't it?

You know you're a maturing Former Fattie when...

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Sorry for the lack of blogs lately, I've been busy eating.

Not too much to report really, other than the fact that last night I had the MOST amazing Greek food with my two Queens from Queens, in Queens. Jess, Dave and I went to Zenon Taverna in Astoria. I've been to Astoria twice in the past few months, and both times I ate here. So yummy.

We couldn't decide what we wanted, so we all split a bunch of stuff- Greek salad with grilled chicken, tzatziki, saganaki (because who doesn't love cheese on fire?), Cyprus fries, and chicken meatballs (I forget the Greek name). Yum, yum and yum. I don't know if I can speak for staying "healthy" although really, it was so good and satisfying and didn't make me feel awful afterwards, even though I ate a ton.

Otherwise I've been eating pretty much the same. Greek yogurt, Fiber One and a banana for breakfast, an apple at some point throughout the day, something like a salad, soup or sandwich for lunch. Shampoo, rinse, repeat.

I went to the gym with Alex on Tuesday and got a really nice workout in. I was sore yesterday, and a little bit today too. I like that. I didn't work out last night, and I won't tonight because I am going to an event with Nikki at Carnival. Um, hi, do you know how much I love carnivals and circuses? Aside from considering a career change, I'm scoping out the venue as a possible birthday location. I'll be 25 in about a month...

Also, I'm staring a new game, and I want Bobby to play with me, and all you readers too (do we have any?). It's called:

"You know you're a maturing Former Fattie when..."

My first entry:

• ...when you ask for a spice rack for Christmas. You realize it's one of the top 3 things you want.
• ...when you ask for nonstick pots and pans for Christmas. And you realize that's probably in the top 5 (especially since the ones I have are about to hit the bed).
• ...when you ALSO ask for a Cooking Light subscription for Christmas.
  

Speaking of shitting the bed... I weighed in yesterday morning and hit an all time low. 134.2! For the first time EVER, I weighed in under my original goal weight. I'm thinking my December 15th goal of 130 might not be such a pipe dream after all.

I am le chef.

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Well, I had a pretty good weekend.

Friday night, we went to Eva's for movie night. She made a nice healthy dinner that was also delicious - veggies sauteed in balsamic vinegar (I never would have thought to do that but it was so good), and chicken semi-marsala, in low fat/high fiber wraps. We watched Ghosts of GFs Past, which was unbelievably campy and cheesy. Then they watched The Proposal, but I promptly fell asleep in my usual movie watching manner. I drank two glasses of wine - and that was ALL I drank all weekend. Can you believe it? I know.

Saturday I woke up and made breakfast for Alex. I'm really starting to love cooking and especially for Alex. Fortunately I cook healthy things because I make him eat so much, he could turn into the 2 ton man if I weren't so health conscious. I made egg whites (plus 1 yolk for flavor/consistency) with zucchini. To mine I added feta, to his mexican cheese and hot sauce. Oh, and tater tots. Did I say I was health conscious?

I tried to go to yoga, but I failed. I was running late and missed the bus, so instead I came upstairs and rolled around on my mat for about 10 minutes before deciding there were other things I'd rather do, like spend money I don't have.

I spent a good amount of time on both Saturday and Sunday shopping. Urban Outfitters is having some sort of wild ecstasy glory sale where all the stuff that's already on sale is an additional 50% off. I got over $700 worth of clothes for $160. I'm wearing one of my new dresses right now (fortunately it's over 60 degrees here today), and oh- whats that- it's a size 4!

Sunday morning for breakfast I made fancy french toast. Again I used egg whites + 1 yolk, lots of vanilla and some cinnamon. Then, I simply put some frozen berries in the micro and melted them down to make a "sauce" for the french toast. Doused the toast in powdered sugar and some butter, and voila!



And for dinner Sunday night, I tried something new. I made spaghetti squash for the first time, and then sauteed up some zuch and broc in oil. I shredded- or whatever it is you do- the squash to make it into "pasta" and mixed it all together with some feta and kidney beans. I just had some of the left overs for lunch. SO GOOD!

I have no weigh-in update as I haven't weighed myself in over a week. Maybe tomorrow.

Going down?

Last night I was so busy planning my very busy 2010 that I didn't end up doing Insanity. Failure, I know, especially since an integral part of my business plan is a January photo shoot that I plan on looking HOT at. Like...hot.

So I didn't want to weigh in this morning for fear of discouragement. Then I told myself, "YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM THE TRUTH!" So onto the scale I went...

160.2!!!!!!!!!

That is .2 pounds away from the 150s! Also, my jeans and belt are officially too big.

I am so glad that I had this fluke, because it inspired me to keep it healthy today. Fridays have tended to be the days where I let it all fall apart. I'm going to be late for my session this morning because I was gathering a stock of healthy food to help me avoid Taco Bell (yogurt, fiber one, apples, and almonds.)

See you in the 150s, bitches.

Movement, finally.

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Yesterday I weighed in at 161.0! I told myself that this morning I could not weigh any more than 161.x. Today? 160.6!

Insanity really has changed everything. It has given me a routine (every day I come home, drink my protein, chill for maybe 15 minutes, and then GO FOR IT.) Part of that routine is also that, so far, I've yet to screw up my eating. I know you aren't supposed to weigh in as much as I have been, but honestly it is helping me - I know where I am each day and refuse to go anywhere but down.

Regardless of the scale though, the change I see/feel in my body is way more than I could have hoped for. I did the fit test on Monday and a very intense workout on Tuesday, and yesterday I spent the day being told that I look trim, slim, and fit. Two different people opted out of picking an adjective and instead just made a "V" in the air with their hands. My goal has always been 155 lbs, and while I think I probably still have more than 5 pounds of fat to take care of, I do feel like I am so close, and working so hard, the finish line is in sight.

The workouts themselves are damn near impossible, and that is completely perfect. In order for your body to change, you have to push it to the edge of what it can do. I am completely drenched in sweat by the time the warmup is over. That is no exaggeration. The genius of it is really the pacing. Any given exercise seems unbearable, but you know it will be over in 30 seconds. You want to quit but then you see the counter saying there is only 2 minutes left in that set. So what if you are just going to do it all over again by the time you sip your water, you can make it two minutes. And then in the end, it is over SO quickly, but not in a disappointing way. It's more of an "I am so hardcore but also I am going to collapse" kind of way.

And this is the "easy" month.

The Morning After

Since we've started posting pictures, entries that don't have them just seem so BORING (especially when Katy is posting pictures of her award winning costume. Rock that spandex, girl. Rock it every day.) So this is my least embarrasing "before" picture. I like that my muscles seem bigger because of my fat.

I wouldn't call myself particularly sore today, just tight. I am excited that it is mostly my torso that is feeling this way - my one worry about Insanity was that it was going to ignore the upper body. I think the quick pace is exactly what I need given my Dory-esque attention span. I don't think I've ever done more than 12 pushups in a row, but yesterday I did 20, and those were push-up-jacks (the first exercise on yesterday's video.) Tonight's workout, the first actual workout, involves 30 seconds of one crazy move immediately followed by another. And another. I'm nervous but I am just telling myself that I can do anything for 30 seconds.

One muscle (or set of muscles) that I'm particularly excited is sore this morning is what I like to call "The Zac Efron Hip Lines." I would assume they are sore because of the last move in the video, where you get in pushup position on your elbows and try to touch your knees to your shoulders. If I have those lines at the end of this I will probably weap on camera. Get excited.

So far today I've already eaten leftover turkey, yogurt, FiberOne, and Special K. I've got two apples, a banana, a giant water and 24 almonds in my bag. I'm trying to avoid the ravenous hunger of yesterday - particularly from after my workout. I may have eaten Skittles in bed last night. Oopsies.

INSANITY! - Day 1.

A few notes on this video:

• Yes that is a Halloween battle scar on my face.
• It has made me realize that my legs and arms even my back are pretty skinny. Its just my stupid midsection (lets call it my pecs and abs) are still not toned at all. It is the curse of being male. These are the places your body is most likely to store fat. Here's hoping Insanity is what takes me over that final hurdle.
• I may or may not be eating a Snickers in the second clip. It was little! And your body needs fuel after a workout! Shut up!
• The workout clips were specifically chosen for the furious faces I make while working out.
• I know the whole video is about this but...sweet Jesus, Insanity. At the end of these 63 days, I plan on being a new man. See you on the other side, suckas.

Whammy!

I think I may have gotten maybe 3 Whammies but I honestly don't remember.

Katy - rather than just not caring about Whammies until the 15th, how do you feel about us rewarding 1 pound off to anyone who gets 20 whammies from tomorrow to the 14th. That would essentially require many double whammie days. Hardcore, but we've kinda backed ourselves into a corner that necessitates hardcoreness.

I had strep last week, which caused a delay starting Insanity. Now, when I start today, I am going to finish at the VERY end of the year. The time is NOW.

I'm allergic to most anti-biotics, so the pills I'm on now are effective but make your stomach feel weird. My system just seems a little off. We don't have to weigh in for a bit, so I'm just going to go back to working out like a beast and eating right. The scale will work itself out.

Will report back tonight after first Insanity workout.

Mid-monthly check in

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We're supposed to check in on the first of the month to report how many whammies we've gotten.

So I'll make this easy: ZERO.

However, Bobby and I recommitted ourselves today (I already got my friendly/threatening text this morning from "Jillian Michaels" aka Bobby). I even had cottage cheese for breakfast, when all I wanted was a toasty, crispy bagel.

I'm also going to have a salad for lunch, even though I have no idea when the last time I ate a salad was.

This weekend was fun. I spent Thursday and Saturday binge drinking, and consequently, Friday and Sunday too hungover to move. However, on Saturday won a costume contest!!! This may not come as much of a shock if you've been following this contest, but I really love winning.