Side effects

There have been some unexpected side effects of my weight loss. I knew I would have to get out my smaller clothes (yay!) and I had plenty so no need to spend money there. This morning I was putting on a gray skirt and I tucked in my shirt (which I can do now because I have a smaller belly). This particular skirt had belt loops so I figured I would add my cute silver belt. However when I put it on, there weren't holes where I needed them - it was too big! I shared my discovery with my sister, who I was talking to at the time, and she was thrilled. I should be too but now I must go buy a new belt! Overall it's totally great and I will go get a new belt (along with new workout tank tops since those are too big now too). I typically haven't fit in normal belts (i.e. those sold at Macy's) so maybe I should try there! That would be another great milestone!

Dishes

When I started cooking I knew it would be a challenge in my small kitchen. At times it has been, there isn't enough counter space and my stove is smaller than most so it barely fits two pots side by side. The worst is my sink, it is small and fills up so quickly. Then where do I put the dishes once they are washed? I have an in-sink drying rack so that doesn't work. I used to do dishes once a week - now I do them basically daily! The one plus, my lower back would hurt after hunching over the sink and now it doesn't! It's all worth it but my new eating habits are more expensive, so bringing lunch isn't saving much rather offsetting the increased grocery bill!

Spinners

After at the ortho on Monday she told the best thing for me knees was to lose the weight (working on it!) and instead of doing solely step, I should try other things. She suggested spin. Now spin is very intimidating. 'Spinners are intense' is what I always thought. I was willing to try it though. My sister mentioned that people swear by spin. So I called a few gyms. Granted I was calling at like 3 but still it took about 5 gyms to get a decent time (ie not 5 pm) with space available. That was slightly annoying since I was calling from work but whatever, I was quiet when I made what was clearly a personal call :) Of course I was running late - I wanted to be early and I was less than five minutes early. I find the studio and it's full of people with the lights off. Weird - so I wait. Then someone walks past me into the studio. There isn't a class before so I was very confused why people were in the studio. Finally I ask someone, are the people in the studio there for the 6:30 class? Yes they're warming up... Hmm spinners are intense. Of course by now there is only a bike available to the side of the instructor. Great! Now my incompetence will be on display for all to see! Woo hoo! I get there and being the independent person I am I try to figure it out on my own. Finally I ask the girl next to me - how do I adjust the seat? Then I hear someone say "how we doing over here?" I had to confess to the instructor that I was a rookie. I am glad I did! There are positions in spin! Who would have thought?! The instructor checked up on me occasionally throughout class. I was busy trying to act like I knew what was I was doing and trying to get air! We did the whole class in the dark (I have come to realize this is common) but it was interesting and SUPER hard. Just like when I started step. Pouring sweat and barely keeping up. There are so many spin classes available and it's a great workout (usually 500 calories for a 45 minute class) so I'll add it to my repertoire but I don't know that I'll ever be a crazy spinner. I am typically late and doubt I'll ever care where my bike is (except no front row please!) so I make a mediocre spinner but the result is the same - great workout!

Time for action

Like so many before me I have "tried" to diet and change my ways so many times that I have lost count. I get motivated and then sink back into the status quo. When I turned 29, I made a commitment that I would take my health back by the 30 birthday or, more importantly, the trip planned with my sister and mom for my 30th. It has been slow and really more about small steps to changing my life. It first started with bringing my lunch to work so I knew what I was eating. Recently I have been encouraged to expand my horizons into new foods (vegetables and fish - gasp!). Apparently being healthy means 50% fruits/veggies!!! In order to do that I need to stop eating cereal for dinner 5 nights a week and start cooking, the goal is to have each dinner include protein (fish, turkey, chicken) and veggies. Lunches will be dinner from the previous night and snacks will be fruit based. Now my tiny New York City kitchen will be more used each night than it typically was in a week, hopefully I won't set off the fire alarm...