Making a Bold Statement

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

I feel the need to talk about workouts and/or fitness right now. I haven’t really addressed it lately on the blog. [Don’t get me wrong, I am still SUPER active, I’m just SO active with work-workouts-life-and such that I haven’t really focused and sharing some of this stuff!]

I’m a terrible writer, so bear with me here.

Around this time last year I lost a ton of weight. Not drastically. Unemployment allowed me to focus on any and every workout I wanted, plus I could exercise a lot more restraint in the eating department. If I was bored [and that was a LOT] it was usually something I’d remedy at my desk with a snack. The big ‘U’ [referring to unemployment, don’t get lost!] allowed me to just nap it off. Or take the dogs for a walk. Or head to the mall and window shop for however long I pleased.

Back to that weight loss thing. SO. I loved the way I looked. More importantly, I loved the way I felt<– most likely a result of how the way I looked. I wasn’t killing myself in the gym, yet I was buying smaller and smaller pants.

Then my trip back home in January happened. Once I got in mom’s kitchen, I just couldn’t stop eating. Eating and working out. More eating….more working out. Blah. My main focus then was making sure I fit into my wedding dress by July. HUGE STRESSOR THERE YOU GUYS.

The scale barely moved.

Then I discovered hot yoga. The scale didn’t go back down, but my body responded beautifully to the new practice, and I was in love with the way my muscles looked and felt.

Then I got into more heavy lifting. And I saw the muscles really pop.

Heavier weights=more muscle= weight gain because muscle weighs more than fat.

(The above paragraph was a 4 month time-lapse, FYI)

Now, I don’t dare get on that nasty little scale. I know the number is going to be higher than it was last year, but it’s because I enabled my body to gain more muscle and change through a variety of different and new fitness activities. And I LOVE how I feel because of it. I’m going to bold the next sentence because it’s a heck of a statement for *me* to make.

I am more proud of what my body is able to do than what a scale could ever tell me.

Besides, if I brought my scale to Jupiter, I would be crazy obssessing over a number that would be well over 300 lbs 😉 (check out the link here if you want to see what your weight would be on other planets!)

That statement has taken me just about 27 years to realize. And I am SOOO happy to come to terms with it.

Soon after starting my new job, I noticed some changes in my body that immediately triggered thoughts that I would gain it all back because I was back at a desk job. But then I reminded myself that my eating is a LOT better, I am getting in a 2 mile walk at lunch each day (something not done at previous job) AND I’m working out 5-6 days a week, remembering to change up my workouts so that I don’t fall into a routine [routine= SLUMP].

If I eat something crappy, I know it’s just one meal/snack and that I have a liftime of workout/healthy eating opportunities to reset from what is, in retrospect, a very minor teeny tiny setback. Plus chances are I ate said rappy thing because I WANTED it, and pleasing the brain is just as important! Craving met= crisis of binging later averted.

So that, my dear friends, is what has been happening with ME lately. Lots of physical, emotional, and mental changes.

Be sure to check in on Thursday for this week’s edition of “Latests.” I’ll be linking up to some of the workouts I’ve been doing lately!

Let’s be wordy

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Let’s be wordy today, shall we? My posts are usually short and picture-filled, but today I feel like being an actual blogger and writing something. Where to start..

1. Weight. It’s not important really how much you weigh, but it is important to be healthy and FEEL good. I used to only weigh myself when I visited my parents (trying to stay consistent with the same scale), but now I have my own and seem to frequent it much more than before. A habit when I wake up, methinks. Since moving, my workouts have been shorter- possibly even less intense- and by myself. At first, the scale read fairly normal, but lately it has been going down, down, down. Does that make me mad? NO WAY JOSE. But it makes me nervous for when and if it starts going back up, up, up. I’m not even kidding- my number is 20 pounders lighter than March. And yet, all my clothes still fit. Last time I checked, those WW and JC commercials told me that when you lose weight, you go down dress sizes. Nope, not the case here. I’m not complaining- I have no monies to buy new stuff! The moral of the story: I FEEL GOOD. No, I FEEL GREAT. And I’m still eating Nutella and chocolate chip cookies and Dairy Queen, so there.

2. Workouts. Like I said- they’re just not the same. Maybe that’s a good thing! I was probably over-exercising in Boston, and my body finally got the ‘break’ when I moved. I usually have one day off a week, one purely strength day, one purely cardio day, and 4 days a week where I do intervals/circuits/whatever I want that combine the two. And I walk the dog a lot.

3. Volunteering. Since I can’t get no ~~satisfaction~~ job yet, I gotta volunteer. That’s right, donate time for free. Yuck. As you know, I volunteer at the YMCA in Downtown Calgary. It’s been pretty sparse work, but I am slowly getting the equivalent certifications in Canada. By that time, I will be legal to work, and hopefully get paid to kick butts. For this upcoming session, I will be teaching a Tuesday night outdoor bootcamp, helping with a Wednesday afternoon TRX class, possibly introducing a kickboxing class indoors, leading a ‘warm-up’ for a fundraising event, and participating in a weekend-long fitness retreat mid-September.

4. School. I just got my grade from my most recent course in grad school: A (or 99.3% if you want me to be more specific). I have two courses to go, and by December of this year I will have my Global MBA with a certificate in Marketing. Attention all you hiring Calgarians: That means I will be an excellent candidate for ANY job requiring a Masters Degree, experience in Finance, certifications in tons of Fitness ‘things’, and CPR and First-Aid certified. I better be getting job offers in my inbox.

5. Dog. She is spoiled. Just yesterday, I took her for a long walk, a dip in the river, bath, and a new Furminator to make her coat shiny and clean.

Back ~~that ass~~ it up, let’s talk about the bath. I am 100% against bathing dogs in human tubs. It’s gross. Lots of hair and dirt- and that’s where I get naked. No. No dogs should be in the human tub. But, we didn’t have a hose so I sucked up every morsel of irritation and placed my 70 pound pup in MY tub. The only saving grace was the hilarity of her sad face and her apparent love for the faucet nearly shoved up her ass. Don’t worry, I Mr. Cleaned the shiz out of the tub when she was out.

6. Wedding. It’s coming along. As much as I don’t really feel the need to constantly talk about it on the blog (omg there are wedding OVERLOAD bloggers that drive me bonkers. Plus, I want some of the stuff to be a surprise for guests, so why bother spilling the beans just yet?!)

I got my dress
Got the venue
Caterer is booked (OPEN BAR, Y’ALL. I’m guessing the ‘yes’ count for guests will go up after reading this)
Cake/desserts are in the works.
Decorations/flowers: Chosen
Makeup/hair booked
Bridesmaids dresses pretty much chosen
Favors: decided.
Scrapbook/guestbook table done
Save the Dates going out this week

Still need/I don’t feel like doing yet

DJ/MC. not that I wanted either, but the planner said I should. To ‘announce’ things. I’m pretty sure people are gonna figure out it’s dinner time when the food comes out.
Hotel/transportation. School bus, people. No limos- that’s so Wedding Singer-y.
Officiant. Don’t really care.

That’s all. It’s easy.

7. Fall. I do not like cold weather. I have already started walking around the house wrapped up in my blanket. And goosebumps IN the shower. Do you know how hard it is to shave when you have goosebumps? But, fall things are out. And I like fall things.

But I won’t be in NY this year to go apple picking. Or to have my mom make 3 apple pies (1 for me, 1 for dad, and 1 for everyone else who comes to our house). And I won’t be able to stock up on pumpkin butter from Trader Joe’s. OMG pumpkin butter, you guys. I totally forgot about my obsession with this stuff. I put it on pancakes, swirl in oats, on toast, with a spoon…it’s so dang delicious. Apple butter comes in a close second.

Anyone wanna get wordy? Leave a comment!

I’d like to go to a fancy party

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

I have to start the morning off right. Look at this dress:

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Ah, gorgeous! I think I could even pull it off.. Not that I have any reason to wear a floor length gown, but still. And then there’s my favorite part:

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Woof, take a took at that back (not specifically Elizabeth Bank’s back, but the back of the dress) LOVE. I think one of the boards I have on Pinterest mainly consists of backless dresses. I have an obsession. Does anyone want to invite me to something fancy so I can buy one?! Pleeeeease…

Back on track, Jen, back on track. Today is Thursday! *duh* no different than any other day, BUT I’m having coffee with another American! Yup, I’m not the only one who has left the U.S of A. to be with their man. You have no idea how exciting this is for me. More importantly, I have plans. That’s right, something to get ready for. A brush my teeth, comb my hair event. We agreed to meet at a coffee place halfway between our houses and perhaps walk the park or browse some boutiques (she has no idea what a pro I am at browsing).

Just had myself another bowl o’ oaty goodness in preparations for today’s events.

I actually weighed myself this morning (pre-oats) and discovered that I haven’t gained any weight! I usually only weigh myself when I am at my parents house because I’m one of those people who could obsess over the number (cue: downward spiral). But Tyler just taught me how to use his scale (I’m too stupid to figure it out, apparently) and I thought I’d give it a go after this past months events. Woohoo! Jen’s a happy lady.

Question: What’s your relationship with the scale?