Just some random babbling.

I finished my 10 weeks of running. By the end I was able to jog over 3 miles in my half hour. I was pretty impressed with that. I was jogging on the treadmill, and I was using an incline of 1.0. SOOOO, now that I've finished, I've been trying to think of how to continue jogging and using some kind of plan. I decided that I would jog outside this week, because it's been so nice. 

Well, jogging on a treadmill and jogging outside are very different! I was struggling to jog after 6 minutes! I figured it would feel different, but I didn't think it would feel like the first time I ever jogged! Next week will not be as nice, and the weather is probably just going to be awful from this point on too. I'm going to have to hit up the outdoor jogging when Spring rolls around. 

It's kinda funny, I was so against running on treadmills. Now, I only want to run on the treadmill. 

Anyway, I was at the gym this morning and I was thinking about how tired I was. It took everything in me to make it to the gym this morning. I was trying to come up with any reason to not go to the gym. Well, I went anyway; I was feeling guilty and I had to go. About half way through my workout, I started getting that awake, refreshed feeling. I love that I can go into the gym so tired and unmotivated, and part way through a workout that energetic feeling comes to me. 

I had that same feeling when I was jogging outside the other day too. I was in such a terrible mood; everything around me was like nails on a chalkboard. I decided to jog outside, and even though it was the worst jog I've ever had, I felt fantastic when I was done. My terrible mood went away. I was able to enjoy the rest of my day. 

I know that most of you reading this know what I'm talking about. I feel so accomplished and happy after I go workout. It's the best feeling. I bet that's why I keep going back. 

Overall, I've been pretty busy. It's been tricky to get to the gym some days, but I rely so much on my routine and doing things in the same order during the day. Having my daily routines makes everything so much easier, even though each day has a different routine!

Some people have no clue what they are talking about!

So, this happened to someone I work with....not me, but if it had I would have had a few things to say to this guy!

Ok, basically, someone I work with asked me if I do oblique exercises. I tell her that I do as much ab work as I can, including obliques. Then she wants to know if I use weights on some of my oblique exercises. I tell her that I do use weight on a lot of my ab work, including obliques.

Then she tells me this: She was at the gym doing some oblique exercises with weight. She said it was no more than 10 pounds and it was a workout she has been doing for over a year. The owner (male) of the gym comes out of his office and tells her to stop the exercise that she is doing. He then tells her that she is wasting her time doing that exercise because it won't make her waist smaller. Instead if will make her "bulky". She told him that she had been doing it for over a year. His response was something about how she shouldn't even use weights to workout because she will just get big and she doesn't want to get bulky. Doesn't she just want to slim down??

What a friggin' jerk!!

I told her that he might be the owner of the gym, but he clearly doesn't know anything about working out. There is NO WAY that she or anyone will get "bulky" from using weights. For that to happen you would have to take steroids. I've been lifting and lifting heavy for over 2 years and I have yet to get "bulky". Actually, I've done the opposite of getting bulky. I've lost an entire person from lifting heavy!

I also told her that if working out with weights made you "bulky" then Janelle should look like the Incredible Hulk! I just don't think that Janelle is anywhere near Incredible Hulk status.

Are Ashely and I posing with Janelle or Hulk?
It's just so confusing! All that weight
made us all so bulky!

From Google Images.
The Incredible Hulk or Janelle??
I just can't tell!!

   





Trying to stay positive.

Basically, I'm a little irritated with myself.

I said the other week that November is a rough month because of birthday's and Thanksgiving. My sister had a November birthday and my neice and nephews were all born in November. Busy, busy, busy. This year my sister also graduated from college. All of these events mean going out to eat, celebrating, eating, blah, blah, blah.

So, I've probably gone out to eat more this month than I have in the past year and a half. I've researched menus to find food that will fit into my meal plan, calories, protein, saturated fats, and I planned my whole eating schedule around what time we were going out to dinner. I even ordered food that I would never have ordered or eaten a year and half ago.

I ate freakin' salmon! I hate fish, but knew it was a good choice and it was really all that would fit into my meal plan. It wasn't even that bad either. I'm not sure if I will ever eat it again, but I tried it once! I didn't eat dessert, I didn't drink booze, and I didn't pick off other people's plates.

I also didn't lose any weight in the last two weeks. I'm pretty disappointed.

So, I'm trying to find the positive in the past two weeks. I didn't lose, but I didn't gain. I maintained. I also know that I made better food choices and I didn't pig out. I know that a year and a half ago I would have stuffed my face and ordered delicious deep fried foods. I know I would have ordered drinks and I know I would have ordered dessert.

I'm trying to remind myself just how far I really have come and how much my food choices and self control have changed. I guess I'm learning how to maintain my weight, but I'm not in a maintaining weight mode, I'm still in a losing weight mode.

I still have to make it through Thanksgiving this week. I know I'm not going to be perfect on Thursday. My family Thanksgiving is made up of foods that we only make once a year. We have decided to cut back on the desserts and we are cutting a lot of recipes in half as well. Everyone in my family wants to make better food choices that day. We all want to be able to taste and sample everything,  but we don't want to pig out. I know that my family as a whole wants to eat less and we all are making the effort to cook less!

Really, I keep telling myself that I've made it this far and I'm going to keep going. I don't like to be disappointed with myself, but there is nothing I can do at certain times of the year. I feel like I would be rude to skip family things because of food or going out to eat. I also think it is rude to just sit at a restaurant and not eat anything. I have done that in the past and my family has dealt with it. I have to make some choices that I'm not always happy with, but that's just life. Birthdays and holidays come up from time to time, but 4 birthdays, a graduation, and Thanksgiving all in one month is way to much for me.

Irritation!

I was struggling to find something to write about today. I thought I was just going to give up. I had nothing to talk about pertaining to working out and losing weight. Then I went to the gym. I was all excited to do a million pull ups today (I have to tell you that I'm being sarcastic, because you can't see the look on my face) then I saw Hat Guy.

Ordinarily, Hat Guy is a source of entertainment, but today he was a source of irritation. I don't know why, but he was more annoying today than he's ever been. I think he was more vulgar too. That might be it. He was really saying nasty things today, and talking about football like he's an expert, and....and being really freaking loud!

I told Janelle that we had to go to the ladies side because I had to get away from him. I was sure I was going to fight him if I had to listen to him anymore. Actually, I think I said, "I'm having visions of going off on Hat Guy. I might get in a fight. Do you think I'd win?"

We went to the ladies side, but it didn't help. The wall doesn't go all the way up and I could still hear him. Janelle just looked at my face and started laughing. I couldn't help it, I started mocking him really loudly. I HOPE he heard me. I was so irritated.

I do have to say though, it was good workout. I think I was channeling all my rage into my workout. You know, since I couldn't really fight Hat Guy.

Hey man, where's your hat?

             So, I wrote a blog, Hey man, nice hat, about his dude at the gym that always wears his cool hat and talks super loud! He used to annoy the crap out of Janelle, Ashley, and I, but now I hope he’s at the gym because his stories bring hours of entertainment. Yesterday at the gym was one of the best! Let me give you a few updates about “Hat Guy” before I tell you the joy he brought me yesterday at the gym.

             He said in the past that he always wears his hat because it would be like leaving the house without his pants on. No joke. He compared forgetting his hat to forgetting his pants. Well, lately he’s not been wearing the hat, but he’s managed to wear pants. Thank God. I thought he might be bald, but he does have a full head of hair.

It's like forgetting to put my pants on. 

Also he’s been wearing a different kind of muscle tee. He’s been wearing the kinds that are cut really far into the chest to show off his pecks. Well, he’s been doing that to show off his pierced nipples. I think they may be recently pierced. I have actually not seen the piercing. It was actually made known to me by Janelle via text message on a day when we could not all get to the gym at the same time. I was still at work and I nearly fell out of my chair when I read the text.

Just imagine a less buff
guy  with more peck and
nipple ring hanging out.

Ok, now you’re caught up on “Hat Guy”. Yesterday we were at the gym at our usual Saturday time and there are typically only older guys there at that time. These aren’t just any old guys though. These are guys that have been going to the gym longer than I’ve been alive and they are still pretty buff for old dudes.

First he was talking about going to bars with “Ladies Night” and making a “killin’ pickin’ up the chicks”. Ok, this guy looks like Ken Jennings, but only a little buffer. I think Ken has a better chance at pickin’ up the hoes than Hat Guy.

Ken Jennings, 74 time Jeopardy! champ,
or Hat Guy from the gym?

            Hat guy was talking about what he eats for breakfast. Please keep in mind that he was on the other side of the gym from us; roughly half a football field and we could hear him perfectly. He’s a super loud talker. For breakfast he has a bowl of fruit and 2 protein shakes; not 1, but 2 protein shakes. It’s very important that you know and so does everyone else that he has 2 protein shakes.

            Then he started talking about other gyms in the area. He started talking about a gym that is a racquetball gym and also has a bar. He said, “You know people that play racquetball, they like to drink. I could never get into racquetball. Who wants to hit a ball into a wall anyway? I went because I enjoy a cold beer after a workout.” Yea, he probably drinks his beer with his protein shakes. Weirdo. Then he said, “When I think of racquetball I think of Olivia Newton John and shit; all wearing leg warmers and shit.” This other dude looked at him and was like, “Why are you talking about Olivia Newton John?” I almost fell over I was laughing so hard.

Why do you know so much about
 Olivia and her leg warmers, Hat Guy?

            He still wasn’t done talking about gyms though. After that he said he was an old Gym Rat at Gold’s Gym and World Gym. Yea right! How does he have time to go to all of these gyms? He has now mentioned 3 different gyms, but is currently working out at a 4^th. Gym memberships are expensive. I just don’t think he can afford it. He is almost always at the gym when we are and that’s a lot. How does he have time to make it to the racquetball gym, Gold’s and World? They are all pretty far apart too. I think he must draw unemployment because he seems to have a lot of time on his hands, and I think he drives from gym to gym all day pretending to work out!

Hat Guy, shown above with
the blue dumbbells is the more
common, small breed of gym rat.

            This guy is annoying, but it’s also the entertaining kind of annoying. The people around him roll their eyes when he talks, but he remains oblivious. It’s honestly entertaining. I look forward for him being there when I am! 

Hey man, nice hat.

Ok, anyone who spends any amount of time at a co-ed gym has seen a ton of crazy things and crazy people. I could write a book just about the crazy people I encounter at the gym, but a short blog will have to do for now and focusing on one guy will have to do as well.

So, let my try to paint a picture of this guy for you. You’ve all seen a guy like this. In a nut shell, he can be described as having “short man syndrome”. This guy is short; probably around 5'5”. He is fairly muscular, but not as muscular as he thinks he is. He only works his upper body and not his lower body. He has little chicken legs. He wears muscle tanks that are too big and walks with his upper body puffed up. My sister likes to call it “invisible lat syndrome”. He also wears a knit snow cap all the time, but as silly as I think he looks, it’s not just his appearance and hat that annoy me. 

He is the loudest, most obnoxious dude in the gym. He is always trying to give out workout advice, but not even in a nice way. He has that mentality that he knows everything and you know nothing. Most of his advice is unsolicited as well.

One day he was telling another guy, who was twice the size he was and clearly this guy knew what he was doing, but this tiny guy really wanted to give him “advice”. He was telling him, loudly, to eat Kobe Beef because it’s a white meat cow, but the stores don’t tell you that. He then was telling this same guy that his form was off, and he needed to use lighter weights. Another time he told a group of very obviously fit guys that you can’t work out 2 days in a row because the blood won’t go to the muscles you just worked out.

Those situations are so funny because this guy has no clue what he’s talking about. He was giving advice to guys that had more knowledge on lifting than he does. It’s also so funny because this guy stands around giving out unwanted advice, but never seems to lift a weight. He stands near a lot of weights, but never seems to use them.

I think my favorite thing about this guy was when we heard him talking about his hat that he always wears. It was obvious that the guy who asked him was making fun of him and asked why he always wears the hat. He responded in a very matter-of-fact way, “I wear this hat everywhere. It would be like leaving the house without my pants on!” Janelle looked at me and really quietly and slowly said back to me, “without…his…pants…on.” We both just laughed and I’ve got news for that guy; forgetting your hat and forgetting your pants are two very different things.

I just can’t believe how loud he talks. He wants everyone to hear him. He wants to be knowledgeable, but he’s not. He’s also not very nice around Janelle and I; probably because we can lift more than him.

There are other guys like him, but he’s the worst one we’ve come across. There are other guys that are loud and talk about inappropriate things, but this guy takes the cake. Anyone who has spent any amount of time in the gym has come across a guy like this. Maybe other people don’t notice these things, but I’m a people watcher. I’m constantly checking my surroundings and the gym is an awesome place to watch all kinds of people.