diet soda

Getting in shape for “thirty”

by Courtney on February 23, 2010

A year ago I told myself that I would be in the BEST shape of my life come March 19th, 2010. This monumental date is of course the dreaded 3-0 for me. I say “dreaded” because when I turned 29 I was quite melancholy about exiting my twenties. But these days I’ve grown to see it as a positive thing. I feel like you really come into your own; you know yourself more and you’re more confident. That being said – I still wanna be in the best shape of my life within the next 3 ½ weeks!

And you know what? It ‘aint gonna happen. Like most people, I use the scales as my barometer of how successful my weight loss plan is going. I think back to my wedding day and I want to be that number. But that number is still 6 lbs. away! That might sound doable, but I’ve already lost 6 lbs. since Christmas! And now I’ve hit a plateau.

It’s quite frustrating considering all the exercising I’ve been doing since January. As you know now, I’ve been training for the “Cinderella Classic” 65 mile bike marathon, otherwise known as my “30th birthday challenge”. Since early January we’ve progressed from 17 mile rides to 25, 27, and a couple of 35s.

I even joined a new gym that I consider a “magical place”. It’s the kind of place where people just want to be. I think that’s half the battle – getting you there. And I want to be there like, all the time. During the week I go to the gym three nights and mix it up between jogging on the treadmill, the elliptical, and the stationary bike. I do no less than 45 minutes of cardio and then I lift weights. I also attend an hour long weight lifting class once a week! So shouldn’t fat be sliding off of me like butter on a hot knife? You’d think!

But maybe it is. Maybe the fat isn’t my problem on the scales – maybe it’s the buildup of muscle! You know the saying; “muscle weighs more than fat” and I think that may be why I’ve hit my plateau. All this biking and stuff has bound to be building me some serious quads! I mean, just check out my thighs to the left.

I’m leaning towards this explanation because I’ve had multiple people at work tell me I look like I’ve lost weight, and my clothes have been fitting way better recently. I even went dress shopping for Cabo the other day and I didn’t even flinch at my reflection in the dressing room mirror! I thought I looked pretty good actually! So maybe I’m getting leaner. And you know what; that’s what I’m going for!

So I’ve decided that I’m not going to live and die by the scale. I’m going by how my clothes fit. I’m going by how I look in pictures. If I feel lighter on my feet and firmer to the touch, than I’m happy.

What about you? Do you have any weight loss goals this year and if so, how’s it going? What are you doing? Any good tips to share?

Oh I have a good tip: stop drinking diet soda! Supposedly you’ll lose weight. And if anything, you pee a lot less!!

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My BIG Lent sacrifice…

by Courtney on February 18, 2010

Being the good non-Catholic that I am, I’ve given something up for Lent every year since 2008. You see, my husband Jeff is a shopping cart strict Catholic and so I do this for him. Last year I even gave up chocolate and I only cheated a couple of times in 40 days, so that’s not bad for a non-Catholic. But this year I think that it’s time to step it up a notch. It’s time to give up something that’s seriously going to hurt.  After all, it’s not a sacrifice if I’m not bitching about it daily, right? Well my friends, I’m giving up Diet Pepsi. I should say Diet Coke too just to be clear.

This is going to be mucho difficult because I don’t drink coffee. And, I NEED THE CAFFEINE! Hell, I usually go to bed at midnight because I’m constantly up late blogging or screwin’ around online, so what else is going to get me through the AM? I’m just going to have to suck it up and get used to flavored water or something.

To lay it all out there; I have between three and four Diet Pepsis a day. I feel like a total sloth just admitting that. The facilities manager at work told me today that he’s thinking of signing me up for a 12-step program to wean me off of Diet Pepsi. Basically, he’s sick of calling the vending machine guy to refill the damn machine! Oh I’m so embarrassed!

It’s not my fault really. My mom put Pepsi in my baby bottle. JUST KIDDING, MOM! I know she’s going to call me as soon as she reads that. She didn’t put “Pesi” (what I used to call it as a baby!) in my bottle, but I believe I started drinking it around age 3! In fact, around that age I remember begging my Granny to let me have some Pepsi as she stood firm in front of the out-of-my-reach cabinet saying a definitive “N-O!” And then we heard my brother scream bloody murder from outside as he had just stabbed a giant tree trunk with a humongous construction nail causing a pack of bees to come out and swarm his head. Granny raced outside and I raced up the countertop to grab the Pesi. Hmm…victory never tasted so good!

And so the story goes; my name is Courtney Rice and I’ve been a Pepsi-holic my entire life. And I know it’s SO not good for me. I drink diet to avoid the calories but then there’s Aspartame which is supposed to suck for you. Of course we’re always hearing about how researchers are claiming that diet soda intake can be linked to cancer and stuff, etc. etc. But the most compelling reason to quit diet soda is that I hear you can actually lose weight! Imagine that! I guess you eat more when you’re drinking it and you also feel bloated from the carbonation.

So anyway, I’m blogging about this because I feel like if I say it to the world (or my three readers) then I’ll have to stick to it. I’m going to hate it and I might be pissy here and there, but I’ll deal. I like a challenge – never tell me I can’t do something because I’ll show you I can!

So alright all of you Catholics out there, whaddya giving up for Lent? Now come on, it’s got to be something good. No, it’s got be something that’s going to suuuuuuck for you! I don’t want to see anyone cheating and giving up something they never do/use/eat/drink. For example, Jeff told me he was giving up ice cream. He probably eats ice cream like once in a blue moon. What happened to his usual 40-day ban on hard booze? So c’mon, if this non-Catholic can do it, then surely the real ones can! But hey, I encourage all the other “nons” out there to do what I’m doing. Give something up that’s going to be a healthy change for you and just blame it on Lent! The good ‘ole Catholic guilt will pull you through!

It’s going to be a long 40 days and 40 nights, but we can do it people. I’d love to hear what you’re giving up if you are indeed participating in this annual sacrifice!

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