Business Class and Boobs

I recently planned a little get away for myself and got really stressed out while booking my airfare. Everything was uber expensive because it was Easter/Passover vaca. I debated for a few days whether to spend the extra money on business class. I only do actual vacation usually twice a year so I decided to go for the business class seat. I don't actually remember the last time I sat in a regular coach seat. Trust me, I know how spoiled that sounds. I normally fly for work so anything over four hours is business class or I do JetBlue exit row. I'll explain further. You see, when are a chubster it is very embarrassing and uncomfortable to be hurdled like cattle and forced to sit in one position for several hours while your back muscles tighten up and misery is guaranteed to ensue. So, I decided to splurge on the more comfortable seat to spare myself. I am still lucky enough that the regular airplane seatbelt fits me with plenty of room but that won't be the case unless I nip my problem in the bud. As a side note the food they feed you on the plane promotes obesity, so not worth the calories. Now that I think about it I do remember a few years ago being thinner and sitting in a coach seat. I would sleep in weird positions in the seat like leaning forward on the tray table. Right now my boobs are so huge I could never do it. I mean DDD huge so ginormous. I am hoping they will get smaller as I lose weight. That is if I ever do. Somedays I feel like it will never happen. It isn't an unknown though. If I am disciplined and do the work I will. That is a fact.

Spicy Pickles and Spirit Hoods

I continued the last few weeks to have a few more post birthday celebrations. I mean what girl doesn't celebrate their entire bday month. One of my close friends even gifted me with the most fabulous creation, a pink wolf (of course my fav color) spirit hood. What is a spirit hood you might ask? It is a furry hat with scarf like appendages that have paw pockets for your hands. A brilliant find for this harsh winter we had. The characteristics of the pink wolf from its website are as follows: Is your Spirit Animal the Pink Wolf? If so, watch out! The Pink Wolf is here to play. You often run wild with your pack and clearly love to have a good time. You sparkle and shine! You are confident, loving and playful. This describes me to a tee but on a more serious note I do let my weight at times interfere with my fabulousity. It is difficult to understand why and equally as challenging to realize why I often lack the discipline to conquer this crap once and for all. Do you just wake up one morning and something suddenly clicks in your brain for your "a ha" moment? If so, it just hasn't happened for me yet. I've been planning more and just eating a lot of the same thing like spicy pickles every day. They are zero calories and make for a filling snack with some protein. Maybe you don't have to be creative and the key is you aren't supposed to think about it SO much. You have to eat to live but it doesn't always have to be a culinary masterpiece, it's just fuel. Is that the difference between peeps who "get it" and those who don't? If I find out I'll definitely clue you in. We'll see how my new experiment goes of eating similar items each day. Will I obsess about food less this way? That would be the goal. Until we meet again. Sincerely, Zoftig Princess

Birthday Time

As I celebrate another year's birthday I have a lot to reflect upon. It's been a very difficult year when it came to maintaining my diet and exercise routine. However it's been an extremely rich year when it came to family, friends and romantic relationships. I traveled a ton including a crazy cool two week trip to Tokyo. My regimen of massages and copious amounts of unsweetened green tea seem to be working. I recently had a physical and am literally in perfect health: low cholesterol, low blood pressure- lungs, heart and blood in great order. All considerably lucky since I am still quite heavy and even put on weight this year. So now once again I am in that phase of trying to jump start a fitness and weight-loss program. I've started to workout again slowly with some spin, treadmill and elliptical time with a goal of covering about 10k steps per day. It's not that easy and requires a great deal of discipline. I'm up for the challenge though. One of my recent fitness breakthroughs has been the purchase of a foam roller. It's really helped with the sore tight muscles of getting back into my fitness routine. I tend towards being on the tighter side of the spectrum and you can just feel the muscles stretch/elongate as you roll up and down. I love it. I'm also trying to get in the habit of writing this blog again. It all coincides together, writing, healthy eating and working out. It's the trifecta of the game of life :)

I'm writing today from the lovely Four Seasons in Silicon Valley. No conferences to manage so I am fully enjoying my surroundings.  I started this Saturday early by west coast standards with a gorgeous egg white omelette and a high intensity cardio workout.  My omelette had organic shitake mushrooms and sweet grape tomatoes which are in huge abundance here. At the pool they also serve water infused with strawberries and basil, a refreshing zero calorie beverage.  I've been trying to stick to salads and then shrimp cocktail, a petite filet with asparagus for dinner but have been consuming way too much wine.  On Thursday night I probably had an entire bottle not to mention per-dinner champagne. When you are out with clients talking and enjoying you just lose track of the alcohol. Enjoyable but not great calorie wise.  I'm definitely going to try making a batch of the water when I get home later next week. Otherwise just trying to stay on track during my numerous flights this coming week which is a high priority task. Until next time...

Wow it's been quite a while. I've been traveling A LOT the last few months which has caused the absence of my blogs.  I am about to embark on some new travels next week again but hopefully I will find the time to write as I enjoy it. Writing also seems to keep me on track with my goals. When I don't write my blog I don't feel accountable which can undeniably lead to problems.  Writing for the first time in a few months is like getting back to the basics.  Am I starting from scratch? No not really as I've learned so much the last year and my body has changed substantially.  I am much fitter physically and emotionally.  A year ago I was a complete mess.  I was in a very unhappy relationship which perpetuated my being out of shape, socially smoking and eating garbage.  My surroundings were messy and unorganized as well.  I ended that relationship and started to get my life back in order. The new me started with a much needed trip to Newport Coast to visit a close friend. Each day I exercised ate healthy and wrote in my journal. I was in a pretty bad place but kept telling myself time heals all. I started dating again right away which in hindsight was a mistake. As we all know anyone you date right after a serious relationship is a rebound person and it NEVER works out.  I didn't actually believe that time heals all as the pain was so great but in fact my acclamations eventually came true. I've straightened out much of my life.  I am much more organized in every way which of course helps with eating healthy and exercising.  Hopefully my organization skills will help me get through the next few weeks of travel and craziness both personally and professionally. 

I have experienced some very big changes this week. I’ve started to do a major double up on my spin classes clocking in about 90 – 100 minutes three out of four days over the long weekend. Additionally, I performed a double on Thursday evening. My gym has back to back classes so times wise it is extra efficient, I just don’t cool down until the end of the second class. My body feels stronger already. I have to say I am proud of myself. It really makes a lot of my goals seem that much more attainable.

The other much sought personal goal for me has been to change the style by which I eat. I work up quite an appetite at the gym and even when I'm not at the gym I've found. As I've mentioned many times I also don't always make the best decisions when it comes to what kinds of food I eat.

The solution? To concentrate on specific foods. It is called the simply filling technique. It is very similar to what I did this past summer. You concentrate on zero point foods and add in whole grains and lean protein. You don't count but rather target in on how hungry you feel. You also receive a small points balance weekly for things like olive oil which are encouraged to have two tablespoons full of per day. I imagine that is because everything you are consuming is very low in fat.

So far I am enjoying the challenge. We'll see how it goes. I am off to do two back to back spin classes now. Enjoy this beautiful crisp Sunday in the Northeast and have a great week!

I recently took one of the many steps towards one of my resolutions for the new year. I made my way to the bike shop to start my research on road bikes. This event just happened to coincide with one of the only major snow storms so far this year on the East Coast. So I looked and talked to the experts but I didn't get to ride any. I did walk out of the shop with an awesome pair of Shimano indoor cycling shoes.

My new purchase has brought me once again to the next level of fitness but how has my diet been? Not good. I still eat way too much and per usual not always the right things to fuel my workouts. What to do about this? I have tried many approaches. I just don't seem to possess enough will power or self discipline. Maybe I don't want it enough?

I would say that one of my biggest roadblocks is my career or rather the all consuming hours spent on it. I start my day at around 7:30am at my desk or on my blackberry. By 7 or 8 at night I am completely emotionally and physically exhausted. This is because of the constant pressure to perform plus the constant threat of losing my job due to head count reductions as my firm closes and sells off different businesses. When I have serious issues weighing on my mind I've never been a successful dieter at such times. I need to work on changing that right away.