My Random Thoughts - Gym, New Clothes, FOOD, Rings...

During my little “weight-loss journey” I’ve had going on over here, I pretty much just worked out at home. I have my mountain bike hooked up to a trainer that turns it into a stationary bike and I would ride that when I got home from work. I started at 20 minutes and by the end had worked up to 45. As I have gotten closer and closer to maintenance, I realized more and more that that was not going to be a good long-term thing to do – I get REALLY bored, REALLY quickly. I have a nice set of wireless headphones so that I could watch tv while riding, but still... It made my butt numb and I was BORED.

So as I said before – I re-joined the gym. My company gives a discount to 24-Hour Fitness, so that is where I went... In my past few weeks of gym-ing it up, I have noticed several common occurrences and have made a list of....

Things that make me crazy at the gym:

1. People that drive around for 20 minutes to get a closer parking spot! STOP IT! You are at the gym to work out anyway - start it off by walking an extra 20 feet!!!

2. People that take the elevator to the second floor of the gym! The only two people that I have seen at my gym that should be allowed to use the elevator are a man with cerebral palsy and a man in a walking cast because he tore a tendon or something... No one else should be using it! And when you get off the elevator and head straight for a cardio machine, it makes me want to knock you down!!!

3. Men that GRUNT like possessed demons and look like they are going to get a hernia while lifting weights that are obviously too heavy for them. No one is impressed...

4. People that apparently aren't there to sweat... I've been dripping with sweat, pushing myself as hard as I can on the elliptical while a guy on one side of me has it at incline and resistance of 1 (OUT OF 20!!!) and the guy on the other side is barely moving while talking loudly on his cell phone... I really had to stop myself from reaching over to #1 guy's elliptical and bumping up the incline and resistance. He looked fit enough to be able to handle it.... But I didn't.

5. Men that feel the need to stare at your crotch while you are using the thigh machines.... Dude, I'm fully clothed. There's nothing to see here. What do you think is gonna happen?

6. People using weight machines as chairs. I'm here to actually get in shape and you sitting there talking on your cell phone is seriously getting in my way. If you are between sets, that's one thing, but no lounging!

7. People that don’t wipe down their machines! Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, EW!!!! Gross. Now, if you’re one of the people I mentioned above that is apparently allergic to sweat, then I guess it’s unnecessary... But if you are sweating?! Clean it up!!

8. The “bro’s” that are all about getting RIPPED. But apparently only their upper body... They have skinny little chicken legs and arms so big I assume they are not able to wipe their own butts properly. Why do they do that?

That’s all I can really think of.... There are other annoyances that don’t really happen a lot – like the woman that was saving the machine next to her for her friend even though it was the only one of that type left and there are a few machines that have had “Out of Service” signs on them the whole time I’ve been going there – but those are just minor...

I’ve been having a lot of fun shopping lately. I finally realized that I don’t really need to be a smaller size than I am now, so I am slowly going to start adding foods to my day in order to stay where I am instead of continuing to lose weight. I haven’t yet.... But I’m going to. (Remember the whole “scared to stop dieting” thing? Yeah... Still with that...) I’ve been adding in a meal here or a meal there that is a “flex” meal on my own... Like this past weekend I made myself a super yummy breakfast sandwich one day... and then had my first turkey sandwich in MONTHS the next day for lunch. It was wonderful.

That is what I have been working for... To learn how to eat what I want – just in a healthier way. I even ate both fast food and a burger from Ruby’s. The fast food was only 2 regular tacos from Del Taco and the burger was the low-carb burger, so my calories were still right in line both those days... The burger was by choice – SO delicious. The fast food was a necessity – we had been out and about all morning, it was well past lunch time, and I was STARVING. And it was actually a good thing because it showed me that the food I’ve been craving actually doesn’t taste as good as I have built it up to taste in my head...

I’ll have to post some pictures of my new clothes... I have been getting so many compliments at work. I just need a few more pieces (really just a couple pairs of work pants and some more work tops) and I will have a pretty solid wardrobe. It’s weird to pull out all of my old clothes to throw them in my “donate” pile and see how much bigger they are than my new stuff...

I took my rings to our jeweler the other day to get them sized. I was starting to get really nervous about potentially losing them. While they are there, she is going to make my second wedding band, retouch all of the engraving and beading on my engagement and wedding ring, and size an emerald/diamond ring I had bought for myself a couple years ago. J is also getting some cuff links made and picking up a couple other pairs of cuff links.

 Fits – just on the wrong hand!! Have to have it sized up for my right hand...

It was REALLY bittersweet... I’m excited to have my rings back (and complete – FINALLY!), but it hurts my heart to not have them on my hand. J could tell that I was getting more and more bummed about my naked hand, so he got me an inexpensive ring to wear while the work is being done.

 It’s pretty.... But it’s WRONG.

I don’t know exactly how long it’s all going to take – she couldn’t even order the castings for my other band and J’s cuff-links until yesterday because of the holiday on Monday... I just know that I will be jumping every time the phone rings for the next month – hoping it’s Pamela telling me my rings are done...