Stepping It Up...

 

The last week has been pretty busy but I didn't want any of my faithful readers to think I forgot about them (love to my readers down on the island!) I did manage to drag myself to the gym last Thursday after work and did a heavy lifting work out. I learned the hard way the week before that trying to do weighted lunges and kettle bell swings in the same work out is NOT a good idea. When you're a girl you have to sit for the most BASIC of functions so needless to say sitting down was somewhat painful for a few days. I modified my work out so I was able to sit down last week which worked out pretty well.

We're still dealing with the heat wave/humidity here which hasn't been fun. All you really wanna do is sit in air conditioning and not move. I was so happy to get some pool time in this weekend. It was while I was in my bathing suit that I got to thinking how important wearing the right type of clothes for your particular body type is. I don't think guys have to worry about that as much as the ladies do. If you wear low cut jeans and you have a little bit extra in the love handles area those low cut jeans are only going to make it stick out more. Same goes for a bathing suit... wearing a bathing suit bottom that's cut a little lower may not be good because when you sit down your stomach roll tends to show and who wants to see that? See guys, all the things you DON'T have to worry about?! I hate to say it but I am one of those people that really can't wear low cut pants or bathing suits. That's fine, but after I came to terms with that I decided that I needed to adjust my wardrobe accordingly. I think a lot of my body image issues were that I wasn't necessarily wearing all the right type of clothes for my body. I ordered a higher cut bathing suit and I wore it on Sunday and I wasn't freaking out as much about my appearance so I guess that did have something to do with it.

A new week started and Monday I was back in the gym. In an effort to improve my cardio, I dedicated 20 minutes to cardio... 10 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes on the elevated treadmill. God awful but I did it anyway. I really wish I was one of those people that could slap on my iPod and go out for a run or jump on a treadmill and just run on there for a half hour but alas I am NOT one of those people. I made sure I did an ab work out before heading out for the day. Yesterday when I normally would've skipped the treadmill in favor for just heavy lifting, I made sure I got on there for 10 minutes at the end of my workout. Did some dead lifts, lat pull downs, shoulder presses and of course abs.

Food has been decent... I've really been making an effort to eat more than a yogurt for breakfast and have yogurt or fruit as my morning snack. Lunch can be a bit of a challenge at times. To tell the truth, there are days when I just want a big, fat sandwich and having to settle for grilled chicken and salad just doesn't do the job. But I am happy to say that I have not given in to the cravings and have been sticking with my chicken and salad with the occasional chicken club sandwich. Dinners are good, but it's the after dinner that's the hard part. That's the time when I want to eat cookies or ice cream and I have to convince myself that eating a yogurt is the better way to go. Tonight I cheated a little with a scoop of some homemade strawberry ice cream (Kudos to my aunt for showing me the secret recipe!).

Tomorrow will be another long day... day 4 of computer training for the new system we're trying to implement so we can FINALLY go paperless. If we can get it to work for us it will make my life so much easier, but there is no guarantee on that one. Hopefully I make it through. Even though I'll want to just come home, flop on my bed and take a nap, my intention is to hit the gym for a cardio session after work. Wildwood is TWO weeks away so I'm trying to stay as strict as I possibly can. Check out some of my most recent pics and note the progress... Also, I have to mention a RIP to Bob Sheppard and George Steinbrenner who passed away this week. The baseball world is truly at a loss...

Until we meet again...
Marisa

 About a month ago...     

Yesterday :)