Why the Gym Didn't Work For Me

I don't know how many of you readers on the other side of the interwebs know this, I think I've mentioned it before, but aside from being a Beachbody coach, I work part-time at a gym daycare.  I've been doing that almost 2 years now, and it's a really great job for someone like me who has small kids (I can bring them with me) and wants a little extra spending money.  The shifts are only 3-4 hours, for me anyway, and it's been a great way for my girlies to learn social skills :-D Also, I get a free gym membership.  Score!

And let's be real, that was the #2 reason I wanted that job in the first place.  Cuz who doesn't want a FREE gym membership?  That's the dream right?  (The #1 reason was I wanted money and not have to pay for daycare or work graveyard shifts.)

BUT there was a downside to having the gym be my solution for health AND fitness.  The gym provides the equipment, and the personal trainers, and the gym rats that I HOPED I'd look like some day.  But, I didn't have anyone keeping track of my efforts and I wasn't paying for a personal trainer to call me everyday, so I would go home and eat whatever I wanted, because I EARNED IT!

And I did earn it.  I'd run ~3 miles on the treadmill, do 20 minutes of weight lifting, I'd go to the classes, and I'd burn between 600-700 calories for the hour.  Not that shabby.  But because I thought I COULDN'T eat through those burned calories, I GAINED 15 lbs over the course of a couple of months. Ew gross.

That's why I'm so happy my cousin invited me to her challenge group!  It provided the things I was missing.  Sure the workouts were great, but I could handle that on my own.  What I was missing was clean eating, which I could also do a week at a time, and ACCOUNTABILITY.  I found those things in that group, and it was FANTASTIC to be working out and working to eat healthier WITH OTHER PEOPLE.  We were a team, and we supported each other and were held accountable.  No, we didn't get kicked out if we screwed up and ate a couple cookies for no reason.  Everyone empathized and then said, "yeah, I understand.  But REMEMBER WHY you want to change." We all had our reasons why we wanted to change, and that was another way we all bonded.  We didn't have to know each others' reasons, but we knew we had each examined ourselves and thought deeply about why we wanted to lose weight/eat healthier/get stronger.  Those "whys" propelled us when the going got tough.  Now, I love going to the gym, but it didn't give me these things.

And I'm not saying that you can't find these resources on your own to ensure your success.  I'm just saying it's nice and convenient, and all bundled into one simple package :-)  And THAT was what I NEEDED to be successful.  What do YOU NEED?

Day 14: Yoga Fix--Round 2

Alright people!  We are two weeks into this and we have hit the home stretch!  Can you see the end?  Cuz I can! (I sound pretty pumped, huh?) The workout was good this morning, a much needed stretch day, but 30 minutes of yoga doesn't feel like I worked out for the day.  No offense to the yoga following, but to me, it just doesn't feel like enough.  It feels like cheating.  And YES, I did follow ALL the breathing cues, and it did feel BENEFICIAL.  But it doesn't satisfy my adrenaline junky craving or whatever.  Especially since I've added in a rest day; this program is supposed to be ONLY 21 days STRAIGHT.  This yoga workout is supposed to be the rest/active recovery day.  So, I'm basically giving myself two rest days a week; it just feels WRONG.

So, today I righted the wrong.  Do you ever have those days when you take a shift one week, thinking it's a permanent deal, and then show up the same time the next week and it turns out you were just covering for someone?  That happened to me today, to which I sang "Hallelujah!" because Miss {C} needed a nap, and I was not anxious to spend the next 4 hours with grumpy butt and a bunch of other children who probably also needed naps.  But {E} and {C} were both SO EXCITED to play with friends at the daycare, that in order to get them to leave without causing a scene, I had to promise that we would come back later with Daddy.

So Brandon and I went to the gym to workout after dinner, and dropped the girlies off at the daycare to play with friends.  I haven't actually been running for awhile, probably since I started Insanity a few months ago, and it was WONDERFUL.  Granted, it was only on a treadmill, and I only made it 2.5 miles, you know, so I wouldn't be dead tomorrow when I'm supposed to do TWO WORKOUTS, but it felt so good to just run!  I would almost say it was therapeutic.  Just to run, listen to my music, while watching some robots vs. aliens movie, and let my thoughts just come and go.  I didn't have to focus on anything, I just ran :-)

Enough about my love affair with my run.  I did alright with my meal plan today, until I came home from not working at 4:30 and had to fix dinner.  {E} asked for grilled cheese sandwiches, so that's what we had.  I was planning on using the last two pieces of whole wheat bread for my "tuna melt," but I got into a rhythm making sandwiches, and I totally spaced on it.  So my plan for a semi-healthy grilled cheese sandwich (healthy because of whole wheat bread and tuna) turned into a basically not healthy sandwich because I fried it with butter and it was on white bread.  Oh well, I went running tonight ;-)

Pictures!  First, we have my workout picture, me in bow pose or whatever it's called.  I'm amazed it actually looks as cool as it does, because when I do it, I feel like I'm pretty much lying flat on the floor from my knees to my shoulders and TRYING DESPERATELY to grab my ankles.  So we'll call this a win :-)

I know I post a lot of pictures of my kids, but I mean, come on, is this NOT a cute sister picture?  This one will definitely be used at someone's wedding, A) because it's cute, and B) because FOR ONCE they are BOTH looking at the camera AND smiling.  This rarely happens.

Food! Had my v8 energy for breakfast (I may be addicted to those), had my Shakeology with frozen fruit, Greek yogurt and a splash of apple juice for lunch, and the carrots, tomatoes and apples were the snacks I prepared for work, so I've been snacking on them throughout the night.

BONUS INFO: Because I know you are all deeply involved in the mundane details of my life :-) here's a fun story.  Brandon bought me a heart rate monitor for my birthday last year, right after I finished Insanity the first time, and before I started Asylum.  Probably since June-ish, it's had a hard time reading my heart rate.  I assumed it was a problem with the strap, since my watch was still working.  I replaced the battery in the strap, following the instructions in my manual to the "T", and still that did not fix it.  I finally called customer service about it, because it's under warranty for a year, and I sent it in two weeks ago to get the strap replaced.  Well, my replacement strap came in the mail yesterday, and when I tried to pair it with my watch before going to the gym tonight, it didn't work.  I tried lots of different variables, to no avail.  And yes, I checked, and there is a battery in the strap, SOOOOOO the problem must be with my watch, right?  So now there is a puzzle on my bed, and I will probably spend the rest of my time tonight trying to figure out what the &%#@$% is wrong with my HRM.  Sounds fun, no?

K, so tomorrow starts week 3, and that means DOUBLE WORKOUTS!  I am scheduled two workouts each day, to be done at different times during the day, not one after the other.  Another bonus for this last week, is the 3 Day Quick Fix, which is a stricter meal plan to make sure we end on a BANG! So I'll be *trying* to follow that the last 3 days of the program.  Wish me luck, because Autumn just turned up the intensity!  Tomorrow: Total Body Cardio Fix and Pilates Fix. :-D

Day 13: Dirty 30--Round 2

I'm sorry.  I tried to pay better attention, and I still don't know why this workout is any "dirtier" than the rest of them.  Maybe they just called it that because they couldn't think of a better name for it?

But I digress.  Today I did alright with the workout.  My knee hasn't been bugging me the last few days, maybe even a week, but after my side lunges it started aching again.  I really don't understand it.  I'm pretty sure my form is correct, and I'm not sinking super deep into the bend, so why does my knee hate me so?!

Also, my wrist started bugging me again, so for a couple of the exercises, I down-graded from my 8's to my 5's, and then the next go round I still needed to go down to my 2 lb weights.  Maybe for Christmas I should ask Santa for 3 or 4 lb weights...hmmm.

Here are the pictures to prove that SOMETHING happened in the way of working out.  You'll just have to take my word that I did the entire 30 minutes ;-)

I may need to invest in a photographer a little older than 6.  Or a camera with a timer....

Here, Miss {E} is showing us her balancing tricks...

...and the obligatory group selfie :-)

Don't be fooled; we really are this cheesy.

I did pretty good on food today, but when I got home from work at 8:30 I was a little bit hungry and I may have finished half of Brandon's steak burrito from Chipotle.  MAY HAVE.  And I apologize for this post not being as peppy and excitingly written as my others.  I know that a 4 hour shift is not that long to work, but when it's at a daycare, and it's MY CHILDREN that are misbehaving for most of the shift, it makes for an annoyed, tired, perturbed, exhausted Brooke.  And it didn't help that I was hungry.  So now I will conclude and sit and veg on my couch.  Maybe I will read.  Maybe I will tell Brandon to stop playing Destiny so I can watch "How I Met Your Mother" on Netflix.  Or maybe I should have a healthy snack and go to bed.  Lots of good options there.

Goodnight world!