Making Some Moolah

A few months ago I noticed a bunch of the bloggers I follow were doing something called DietBet. I looked into it and knew I wanted to join. One thing I've learned about myself over the years is that I am motivated by money. As in, I'm super cheap and absolutely hate wasting or losing it.

The concept behind DietBet is that everyone who joins the game throws a set amount (usually around $20) into the pot. You then have 28 days to lose 4% of your body weight. In the end, whoever reaches their goal gets to split the pot with the rest of the winners.

Perfect. Winning money for losing weight? That is something I can get behind. I started my first DietBet in February and will be completing (and hopefully winning) my fourth one next week. So far I've won $50 in total and hopefully another $20 or so after this current one is over. So it's not like I'm making millions but 50 free bucks is 50 free bucks.

I've also been using the gympact app on my phone, which is another way of making a very small amount of money each time you work out. I make a pact of 5 workouts/week and if I reach that goal I end up winning around $2 each week. So again, nothing major, but it does add up over the months. If you already work out consistently, it's just an extra press of a button on your phone to check in at your gym, and money is made!

I still have about 10 lbs to lose to reach my overall goal, but slow and steady wins the race, right? Please cheer me on. I have been losing motivation lately with the combo of hormonal craziness caused by weaning and tons of guests visiting who want to eat out. I'll need to give it my all this upcoming week so that I can win my DietBet!

Here are some before and after pics. I've lost just under 20 lbs and actually fit into my clothes now, yay! I'm also not considered "overweight" on those ridiculous body charts anymore. Can you tell a difference from February to May?

 And now with my winnings I shall go by a more supportive sports bra :)

The Method of my Madness

I'm really super duper excited because guess what? I've started exercising again. It's only been a week and a half, but I feel so proud for scheduling the time to take care of myself. It all started when one of the mom groups I belong to offered a free class at The Bar Method studio that's close to my house. I figured, why not?

Um, yes please.
Source: http://www.barmethod.com/

Well, the class was super challenging but I really enjoyed it, so when they offered a huge discount on their 30 day unlimited pass, I said hells yes. And the kicker - they offer child care too! 

I feel like the studio has a great schedule and so far I've tried the 6am, 8:30am, 9:30am, and 6:30pm classes. There are pros and cons about each time - 6am comes early but at least M is at home to take care of Little m when she wakes up. The 8:30am class is a rush to get to because I always have things planned afterwards and have to be prepared with snacks, lunch, diapers, stroller, etc. The 9:30am class is more doable, but still, getting out of the house that early takes a lot of planning. And the evening class requires M to put the baby to bed, which is turning out to be just fine, but still requires planning and being certain that M can leave work at a decent hour. There are tons of excuses I could use (and have in the past) about why getting out to exercise is difficult but the point is, I'm doing it guys, I'm doing it! I haven't been excited about exercise.. ever.. so this feels really good! 

It's been nine days since I joined and I've made it to the studio seven of those days. Man oh man, I was feeling it today! It's probably a good idea that I'm taking an involuntary rest day tomorrow since the studio is closed for Thanksgiving. 

Now my only problem is figuring out to do once my 30 day pass is done. This regularly costs something like $180 and there's no way I can afford to pay that since I'm not working. Hmm, what to do, what to do. I guess I'll tackle that when the time comes and for now I'm going to ride the wave. Wish me luck and perseverance! 

Hot Chocolate 5K

A few weekends ago M and I ran Chicago's Hot Chocolate 5k. The course took us through Grant Park, along Lake Michigan, behind the Shedd Aquarium - a really stunning, scenic route, especially on a crisp fall morning. And crisp it was! Bloody freezing is more like it :)

I misunderstood the race times so we ending up getting there at 6:45 am and had to wait an hour for the real start time. There were 30 thousand people running this race, so a bit of body heat helped keep us warm.

While we were waiting around, guess who sauntered by? Dr. Oz! Hahahaha, you better believe that I shook his hand. His make-up was loaded on to the point of looking scary.

Before the race M and I decided to stick together and run just for fun. I surprised myself and ran the entire thing. It's so funny. When I try to run outside by myself I have to take a break after 5 minutes it seems. Here, I was going strong the whole time, hardly feeling out of breath. Endorphins must have been working overtime. We ended up having an 11:37 minute mile but I'm convinced we could have gone faster if it weren't for the huge hoards of people and a terribly small route. How you can expect 30,000 people to run down a sidewalk, I will never know...

After the race we quickly got our chocolate fondue treat and chowed down while walking back to the train. Home by 9:30am. Not bad!

I love chocolate.

I was waiting to write a blog post about the race till the official race day photos came in. They are in but I can't find any of me! I'M PISSED AT YOU, MARATHONFOTO. I sorted through 5000 pictures and only found pictures of M. We even held hands while crossing the finish line, but of course I am cut out of them.

Ohhhh well. I am so happy to cross this one off my 36 in 365 list!

Corepower Yoga Studio

source

I've always liked the idea of yoga. I took it for a short stint back when I was in Grade 12 and loved it, but then took a few classes last year that scared the crap out of me due to the numerous headstands and inversions. Clearly not good for a beginner, like myself.

There are so many yoga studios in Chicago, it's nuts. I chose Corepower because they offer a free week and I definitely wanted to try it out before paying the big bucks for something I wasn't going to enjoy.

I've gone to 4 classes over the last 4 days and I'm in love. On Monday I went to a beginner level which helped refresh my memory of all the poses. Tuesday I tried a core restore class where we held 10 poses for 3-5 minutes each. Ow. Wednesday was hot yoga in a room heated to 98-100 degrees and last night I went to a sculpting class which was yoga+weights and such a good workout. What's on for tonight?

I love the feeling afterwards that I've worked hard, sweat everything out, and can leave clear minded. I don't get that from being on the elliptical.

source

Not quite to that point :) *yet*

The Dangers of Floor Hockey

Last night was my last floor hockey game of the season before playoffs start. It was rough, let me tell you!

1) No subs, so I had to play the entire game. Very tiring.

2) Got hit square in the face with the ball.

3) Bloody nose.

4) Swollen lip.

5) Slap shot to the crotch.

6) Another one to the knee.

7) Tripped over air and twisted my ankle.

I think that's it. Oh, and we lost by one to the worst team in the league.

What a night!

As a side note, when I got home I looked in the mirror to see the damage. Why didn't anyone tell me I had blood all over my nose still? Seriously.. that's worse than not telling someone they have gunk in their teeth!

Zumba Begins

I started zumba tonight. What is that? Well it's a cardio dance class done to Latin music. I've heard that it's quite popular in the States but has just caught on in Canada over the past couple of years.

Tonight we learned steps to the Merengue, Salsa, Reggaeton, Cumbia, and Cha Cha Cha. It was definitely a good workout and I was pretty sweaty by the end! I love sweating. It was a bit hard to follow because the moves are really, really fast! I thought I was doing great, then realized we were dong the moves in slow motion! Ha. I'm definitely not a dancer and find it hard to remember some steps, but I did pretty good for my first try! Best of all it was really fun so it didn't feel like work. After zumba tonight, doing my couch to 5K running this morning, plus floor hockey last night, my body is tired!

If I had taken pictures this is what the class might have looked like. Hot.

picture source

C25K Week 3

I am almost finished week three of the Couch to 5K program. It's basically a nine week program and each week the amount of running is increased, to eventually reach 30 minutes. So far it's been on the easy side, but I may regret saying that soon!

A couple of years ago I took a Running Room clinic and at the end signed up for a 5K race with M and another couple. I was so ready. The race took place in High Park in Toronto and when we got to the starting line I think there was a total of 12 people registered. Smallest race ever. So underwhelming!

Everyone got a race map, but since I'm directionally challenged, of course I got lost. I was all by myself and the course was not marked well at all. Suddenly I found myself out of the park, running along a very busy road.

Eventually I found my way back, almost in tears and on the verge of hyperventilating. Everyone was standing there waiting for me, about to send out the search team :) So embarrassing. And wow, I felt so proud of myself when I got my award and official time in the mail - 42 minutes. Ridiculous.

Obviously, I'm not over it yet! This year my goal is to run a 5K (without getting lost). I will be done the C25K program by mid February, but you see, the problem is that nobody in their right mind in Canada runs outside during the winter. Running on a treadmill is quite different from running outside and I want to have some practice running outside before I sign up for a race.

I am very tempted to sign up for the St. Paddy's Day Run on March 14th in Chicago, since I'll be there at that time. What do ya think? Should I just live a little and go for it?

It's a Dangerous Game

M and I play on a floor hockey team and tonight's game was rough! I fell and slid across the floor like Superwoman and M did a leap that ended with a few rolls. It was pretty impressive. I got slashed so hard that my hand started bleeding. Ahhh, all in the name of a good game - in a league that is supposed to be non-competitive. Is there such a thing?

Seriously though, floor hockey can be dangerous! I was slashed about 7 weeks ago in the ankle and although the massive bruise is gone, the bump is still the same. M told me tonight that it could take a year or more to go away! Is this true? Every week I leave with ball shaped bruises all over my body. People at work think I'm being beaten.

Oh well, it is a lot of fun and a great workout! Talk about doing a million lunges!

Wine Tasting Tour Via Bike

I like wine and I like biking. Put the two together, add some lovely scenery, and it equals pretty much the best weekend activity ever.

A group of 17 of us went biking in the Niagara region on Saturday and hit up four wineries (we didn't have time to make it to the fifth one as planned).

Everything started off all fine and dandy, until about five minutes into riding and M had a flat tire! I swear, this type of thing always happens to us. The bike had just been tuned up the previous day! We made it to a mechanic shop where they blew the tire back up. And it proceeded to flatten in.. ohhhh.. about three seconds. We ended up taking the tire off and one of the guys biked with it to a cyclist shop just up the road. So lucky! It only set us back maybe forty minutes.

It was a hot day! Can you tell?

It was smooth sailing after that incident.. until the rain came, and oh did it ever come. Thank goodness we were safe inside having a tasting and it passed quickly. Okay, more smooth sailing.. until we reached the hills. Oh my. The hills.

Let's just say it was a workout and a half. We stopped for a picnic lunch at the third winery and reenergized. And drank more wine. This time on a full stomach :)

We ended up buying two bottles that we tasted and really enjoyed. I can't wait to pop them open over a nice dinner. Hmm, I guess that means I'll have to cook?

We were definitely exhausted at the end of the day, but it was so much fun! I want to go again!

*Thanks Moira - I stole some of your pics from facebook.

Queen of the Stairs

Does this look like something out of your nightmares?

Not to me! This is the set of stairs I run at Extreme Fitness. I snuck my camera in there with me this morning. Actually, I didn't have to sneak at all, because I am usually the only one ever using them. I don't think most people even know they are there because it's down a SHORT hallway, near an emergency exit. Maybe that's why I like it so much - very peaceful. I try to stay on the side where people could potentially see me if I fall and break my legs.

It is indeed very dark - 2 of the lights are on the fritz. There has been a Second Cup cup laying around since November, and the doors let in quite the breeze when it's windy. You can still faintly hear the club music pumping.

This week I have been running 60 sets, and this may seem like a lot to you.. but considering I was doing between 75-100 (in the same amount of time and with less difficulty) before the wedding, it's not that good at all. But it is getting easier already.

Yesterday, I was having lunch with the CYW I worked with last year and was telling her how I started exercising again. She said she was so proud last year when I came to school and announced, "I am Queen of the Stairs!" Well... right now I am no longer Queen, but I will be soon!

Back to the Extreme

Today was my fist day back at Extreme Fitness since... I can't remember when.. probably November. This is not good, not good at all.

I stepped on the scale and haven't seen a number that large for about 4 years. It's not like I didn't watch it happening right in front of my eyes. I just chose to do nothing about it. Why? I have a few ideas, but there's not much I can do about it now.

Here is my plan of attack. Continue The Shred (day 9!) on a daily basis, start running stairs again, go to Extreme at least 4 days a week, and after I've lost a little weight, start strength training. Mike and I started doing the 200 sit-up challenge on the weekend. I am also going to count my calories and aim for 1400 calories a day which is pretty reasonable and I won't starve.

I figure if I talk about it here, I might be more motivated to actually do it. I will weigh myself every Monday and let you know how it goes!

I also want to climb the CN tower again this April. Last year I climbed it in 21:06 and this year I want to beat that time! Who wants to join me???? It really wasn't as hard as I was expecting! It's on April 18th this year. Come on, you know you want to!

A Case of the Thursdays

1) Thursdays make me tired. It's my favourite school day (2 preps!) and so close to the weekend, but by Thursdays I am dead tired.

Okay, enough complaining. Today I stepped out of my comfort zone and went to a book club meeting I found on meetup.com. I've been looking for a book club to join and none of my friends here seem like big readers, so I figured I'd give meetup a try. I'm glad I did! It was fun!

We went out for dinner at a Thai restaurant, had a really good discussion, and I met some nice girls. It's different for me to actually "think" about a book I read. I mean, I think about the story a little bit, then move on. I rarely, if ever, think about the themes, underlying messages, and reasons why I liked the book or not. I usually just think, yeah, that was good.. okay, next! So this was a nice change and I'll definitely go again!

The book, by the way, was called Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan. I thought it started off a little slow, but really picked up. The average rating given was 8/10, so if you're looking for an interesting book, read this one! (1940's, war, poverty, racism).

2) I am excited about this:
I need Jillian Michaels to whip me into shape! I'm going to start this weekend and do the video for 30 days straight. That is how it is recommended to be used. So... that is my new goal. Wish me luck!