Happy Superbowl Sunday. Go Giants! I started my day in a special way. I did a two hour spin-a-thon for kidney research. As this is of course a very big eating day I thought a double workout might make a dent in the proposed party food later tonight.

I also have a pretty bad cold so for me to finish the two hours was quite a feat. I made my way into the steam room and to the sauna after which seemed to help my congestion. Of course I was starving afterwards. I went to a greek restaurant with some friends I spin with. I had a nice salad and half a pita. Pretty pretty good for me. I was satisfied as well.

A lot of the time when I see food I'll want to eat it even though I'm not hungry. Maybe it just looks yummy and I think it would taste great. It plays to big a part in my life. Today not so much. Maybe if I do two hours of cardio each day I won't eat :) I do want to do a triathlon so not too crazy of an idea. We'll see how this week goes. Can't wait for Madonna tonight.

Another year has gone by.  As we start 2012 it is only natural to think about what we accomplished in the last year and what we hope to accomplish this year.  After the excitement of the actual new year you really need to buckle down to continue to meet your goals.  Everything sounds so glamorous and attainable when you first conceive it. 
 
For example in my last blog I think I mentioned that I would love to compete in a triathilon.  Not the IRONMAN :)  Rather a .5 mile swim, 15 mile bike ride and 3.5 mile run.  It sounds amazing expecially the bike ride and swim but when I try to even run a quarter mile I am miserable.  It isn't that I physically can't do it, I have some kind of mental block. 

Another necessity for the new year is to get back tracking what goes in my mouth. When you start relaxing on recording each item things get missed or forgotten.  That is just the reality. 

In other news I'm definitely making a trip to the bike shop this weekend to select some cycling shoes and I might do a one day juice fast at the very end of the week. Maybe on Friday. 

I'm sure I'll be talking more about all these subjects in the months to come!

Happy New Year! 2012 is looking like it is going to be a great year. Let's do this right. 2011 was a year of growth in every facet of my life especially in the areas of nutrition and fitness. 

Even though I still have a lot more weight to lose I've never been in this kind of shape. Never is a strong statement. I'll say since high school.   My legs are so strong I can't believe it.  I can feel the muscles. All I used to feel was fat so this concept is amazing to me.  It feels great to wear heels as well. That is all awesome but the real question is how am I going to challenge myself further this year?  

I am definitely planning on doing double spin classes and getting back into my upper body workouts. I'd like to add in some run/walks for some more interval training and what would be the ultimate goal would be to participate in a triathlon.  Something easy with a 3k run. 

Getting back to my current fitness levels I even workout when on vacation and when I'm sick. It is like I've transformed into a completely different person.  Let's toast to this!  May all my new found habits stick in the New Year! Cheers!

Food, glorious food!  To  carb or not to carb, that is the question.  Do ever wish that you just didn't have to eat?  Sometimes I wish that when I am as hungry as one can be and not sure what to eat. I then try to have some fruit or almonds while I decide. 

Went to SoulCycle two days ago as part of a six day continuous spin cycle. I started Wednesday night. I missed Monday night as I had to work late and my normal instructor was on vaca. Have you ever noticed how much your fitness instructor really matters. It is the difference between a heart-pounding 45 minutes to the rhythm of the music or a boring looking at the clock never getting your heart rate up kind of class. I have my favorite instructors that really motivate me to take it to the next level.  

Today is day 5 of the six classes. I rewarded myself with an Yves Saint Laurent lipstick I had been waiting for. It made meeting my goal pretty special.  Now every time I wear it I know I kept a promise myself.  That premise in itself is special to me as I've made so many past promises regarding diet/fitness only to fail miserably.  Maybe my next goal should be 20 classes for the month of December. This way there won't be any holiday weight gain, only a guaranteed loss. 

This coming week should be pretty low key with plenty of time for the gym which is great. I enjoy weeks with no business travel adhering to a regular schedule. I'm working up to a double spin class maybe next weekend.  We'll see if I am ready for that.  Have a great week!

Starting out the weekend right for a change. Hard-boiled egg, apple, a few grapes and a tablespoon of Justin's honey peanut butter blend and spin class. I love getting my workout done first thing in the morning. There is nothing more invigorating. I am also feeling motivated again to get fit and lose the rest of the weight. What has changed?

I spent a lot of time this week reading fitness blogs written by others and checking out some websites. I also changed the way I was eating and cut down on my portion sizes. In addition I tried some new combinations. I put sliced pear with my grilled chicken breast and some hummus. It was delish and it helped to fuel that day's workout. I also had green apple with spinach, cranberries and walnuts for a dinner salad. They have this place called "Chopped" in the city. They now have it in Rye, NY and because the rent is cheaper for the franchise the prices are great. You can get an organic salad with protein and a drink for under $10. At that price it is almost as cheap as making your own salad. I've been getting dinner there with the girls post workout. It beats coming home at 8pm not having planned and eating crap which is a scenario that I can fall into quite easily after working a ten hour day.

Post spin I'm feeling good like I can get to my goal. That is what matters. If you think you can you will.

It's the Saturday after Thanksgiving and I'm in CT today. The top is down on my convertible and I'm listening to some holiday music. I just drove by some new restaurants and started to think a lot more about regarding my preoccupation with food. I think about the subject way too much. Why am I so enamored by the idea of trying a new restaurant. It is like I think that I am going to find some miracle food that is both delicious and calorie free and that never happens :)

Thanksgiving was very pleasant this year with lots of quality family time and an overabundance of food of course. In addition to the usual turkey and sides our family put a Jewish spin on things with a bagels and lox brunch. That was one thing I didn't eat and instead had egg whites. I did participate in all the other meals but skipped cake and pie. I got an hour long spin class in on the morning of the actual holiday which was helpful.

My instructor was Ted, an older man who is a local fire fighter. He plays very cool rock and screams at you to pick up the pace. It is a huge class of 60 which is extra motivating. I burn around 400-500 calories in his classes. After class he told us we could now eat/drink and not worry about it. My other spin instructor Kelly who is my all time favorite was much more realistic and said we could have one extra item now after spin class. You don't burn 2000 calories in spin which is the average caloric intake during a thanksgiving type dinner. I also think it can be dangerous to start that line of thinking so I try to accurately track calories burned versus what I eat. The other crazy fact I read was what eating a huge meal does to your body. Some researchers say that continuously eating like that can cause certain types of cancer. Another reason out of a slew of others to eat healthy and in moderation.

I have started to get my fitness back on track to pre-traveling levels. Now to get my eating on the same track.

I was so busy getting ready for the holidays last weekend that I didn't get a chance to write my blog.  Right now I have a brief interlude between cooking and picking up family so I escaped to Starbucks for an hour, my favorite reprieve from the craziness at home. 

I would give myself a C+ for the last few weeks. I went to spin class but again for the second week in a row that was all I did. Thanksgiving is now upon us. My strategy is I will taste things and not limit what I can have.  I know myself pretty well in the sense that if I say I can't have an item at all I'll end up having that same item the next day, week or month. It is just how it works with me. 

I guess I've lost a lot of the motivation I had the first few months. I need to find a way to get that back. Exactly how I'm going to that I'm not sure. Maybe the first step should be to read through all the blogs I wrote while I lost the 38 pounds.  Maybe I should do another juice fast to cleanse so I can eat clean again. I'll think about it and let you know how and what I decide to do. 

I want to wish a happy Thanksgiving to all. Try to make the holiday about special time with family and not about the food :)