Monday, April 26, 2010

Day 21 - Peruvian and Parking Spaces

Diet tip of the day: Dress the body you have today, not the body you had 3 months ago. I fall into the category of wearing clothes that fit me last year but don't now. Of course you'll feel bad about your body if you're not being realistic. Waiting until you lose the weight to buy clothes that fit you will leave you frustrated day in and day out. Instead of being a motivator, your skinny jeans end up making you even more upset.

I didn't post yesterday, and I know you all are wondering why. I had such a crazy day! I woke up and started my day with the first Couch to 5K workout. It's a 5 minute warm-up, followed by 20 minutes of 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking alternating, and then 5 minutes of cool-down. I am sooooo out of shape. I kept up with it for the first half, but then I just power-walked the rest of it. So, I'm still on Week One Day One, but it will take some time to get in shape, so I'm not too worried.

Then, I worked from 10:30 to 7. I'm not complaining about how long it was because I had the day off on Friday and only worked half my shift on Saturday before being sent home early. But if I'm being honest, that's a hard shift when you're standing and ringing people up. On my lunch break, my boyfriend told me to call him when I got off work, go home, and put on a nice outfit because he had a surprise for me. About 40 minutes before my shift ended, he came in to buy some candy for his girls soccer team, and he told me that we had reservations at 8. He said it sounded like I wasn't having a great weekend, so he wanted to make it better.

Needless to say, I was excited. On my last break, I bought this cute dress I'd been waiting to buy. It finally went on sale, and I was really excited to see that I could buy it in a smaller size than I would have if I had bought it when it was full price. That's a victory in two ways! When I got home, I couldn't wait to run upstairs and change into my new dress and go out to wherever my boyfriend was taking me. I opened the garage door under my apartment, and somebody was in my spot. My spot! Number 9, the the number on the sticker on MY car. I wrote down their license plate number and called the apartment company, but it was a Sunday, so they were closed. I wrote a short note to the person parked in my spot, which contained no profanity, and called my boyfriend. He parked my car on the street while I got ready to go.

We started driving and arrived only minutes later at a beautiful Peruvian restaurant. We had an appetizer of tilapia ceviche, which was quite spicy, but delicious, and I had a dish with beef tenderloin, a raw onion salad, a bean and potato mixture, an egg, and a fried plantain. Luckily, that workout and the extra calories I burned working that morning made me break even on my calorie count for the day. Sometimes it's okay to indulge, as long as it's a special occasion. That restaurant is one of my favorites, and we don't get to go there often because of the price, so if I get a chance to go there, I won't go crazy, but I will order something I will enjoy. And now, my boyfriend and I are going to go for a long walk to burn off some extra calories today to make up for yesterday.

Now, for a work-out tip... Don't do this at the top of the stairs, but this is a good one to do on the stair above a landing or the first step up from the bottom. I told you how to do calf raises while you're doing the dishes. This is another calf work-out. Step up onto the stair with the back halves of your feet hanging off the edge. Make sure you steady yourself and have something to hold on to. Lower your body weight so that your heels dip lower than your toes. Raise yourself up so your heels are even with your toes again, and repeat 10-15 times. You can step down and do some calf-raises to mix it up. Enjoy your beautifully sculpted calves!

3 comments:

  1. Wow! You had some great little victories, didn't you? I will definitely try the calf exercises. Years ago, a foot doctor told me that type of exercise is also very good for people who have "fallen arches" and bone spurs in their feet. So bonus! Thanks for the great tips and descriptions!

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  2. Hmmmmn. Ceviche... Do I even know you anymore?

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  3. Well Rainy, I'm glad that exercise has a couple of uses for you! And anonymous, I don't know if I know you, but ceviche is a great way to cut down on the calories that oil and salt add. I loved it the first time I tried it, and I loved it even more this last time.

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