Pickles, Wine, and Tortilla Chips DO have something in common...

As the weeks have gone on, I've been craving certain food less and less. I've also not been tempted in the aisles of the grocery store as much. My husband and I were shopping last night and I stood, unemotional and unmoved by the chocolate in the snack aisle. It was a pretty liberating feeling. Of course, I'm still craving some things like pickles (too high in sodium), fresh and greasy tortilla chips, and really good red wine filled up to the brim of a wine glass. But luckily, cucumbers and my freshly baked chips have sufficed for the last couple of months. And I have been drinking wine but usually just a sip or two.

I've been neglecting my blog but I haven't been neglecting my workouts or my writing. As far as workouts go, I have spent the entire week sore beyond belief. Monday workouts are always upper body (though we get a full body workout) and we're usually told to grab heavy and light dumbbells. I grabbed my usual 8lb and 5lb and actually made it through the majority of our first sets with the eight pound weights. Big mistake. I should have gone to the fiver pounders much sooner. Most of the day on Tuesday I was fine but Wednesday on was just pure torture. I'm thinking the pain really has to do with the amount of time we spent using our arms in our other workouts this week.

Tuesday workouts are always core and like I said above, it's always a full body workout with EMPHASIS on a certain area. We actually did some exercises that felt really good but boy have I felt it! I can say with complete confidence that I feel about an inch taller after our core workouts. It all has to do with standing straighter and improved posture but I do truly feel an inch taller. Thursday's workout wasn't as fantastic. I didn't eat the right meal for dinner and I felt really sick. Not to mention, I was the only newbie/challenger in class and all the oldies/continuation people move through the workouts really fast. Not only was I working on a bad dinner but I was working much faster than I wanted to. They also kind of gave me a hard time for doing a modified plank position rather than the full out plank. I'm to the point where I can hold a full out plank for 30-40 seconds but if we have to go for a full minute, I usually have to drop to my knees for the last portion of the minute. It's not because I'm not strong enough or I'm not engaging my core enough, it's because it kills my shoulder. After doing 60 push ups already, my right shoulder is basically shot. It's gotten a lot stronger but I'm not iron woman yet.

We are to the point in workouts where they are pushing the continuation program and I really want to do it. Unfortunately, it's expensive and it's a long drive. I'm currently trying to figure out my options and see if there is a gym I want to join that has classes and machines. If I'm paying for something, I'm more likely to follow a plan otherwise I would do things on my own. I'm good with the cardio on my own but the strength training requires more equipment and dedication. I actually did something amazing (for me) today. I jogged a mile straight without stopping to walk. My 9 minute mile from a few weekends ago included one or two walk breaks and I think it was a fluke. My mile today took slightly over 10 minutes which is still a great accomplishment for me. Just the fact that I didn't need to stop was pretty cool and I probably could have kept going a little bit further but I decided not to push it. 

I've also been a little depressed because along with my weight loss and increased endurance, I have noticed some pretty ugly stretchmarks. Obviously previous weight gain is the culprit but I've just started to notice them in the last week or so and I'm really bummed. I don't have the desire to wear a bikini in public so I doubt anyone will ever SEE my stretchmarks but still... they aren't ever going to be welcome on my body.

As for writing, I had a pretty crazy dream the other night and I am completely rolling with it. It's turning out to be more of a short story than a novel type book, but I do think it's coming along. Don't ask because I won't tell! I've also been writing a lot of book reviews lately for Read and Review groups on Goodreads. I'm really enjoying that but am freaking out because I'm seriously putting consideration into being an author of some sort. Can I do it and be that poor author requesting reviews and waiting to see if people love or hate it? I'm not sure.

EDIT: Oh yeah! I would like to officially say thank you to everyone who has supported me through this. I've gotten a lot of emails and facebook messages congratulating me on my weight loss. I've also gotten quite a few readers and some of them are people I don't know personally. I'm really glad that you are finding things here that are helpful to you! :)