Thought for Food

Jun 5, 2009

It occurred to me that I’ve never fit into my smallest jeans without the aid of drugs…

Until now. (I’ve abused Phentermine and Adderall in the not-so-distant-past, both of which eradicated my appetite and made me into an OCD gym fiend — as well as anxious, irrational, and borderline-unpleasant to be around. Good times.)

Today my life is in balance like it’s never been before.

Not only did I not take short-cuts to get into those jeans, but I’m dating a foodie/cocktail geek — so it’s not like I’ve been deprived of amazing food (always fresh and well-balanced) and fabulous drink.

But I have made some major changes to my eating and workout habits. Namely…

» Nothing but sustainable meat, and very little of it: I’m doing this because it’s the ecologically responsible thing to do (and it’s only a matter of time before we’re all eating a lot less meat), but it’s had the add-on effect of helping me lose weight. I’ve always been a pretty healthy eater, but in the past I would have had that piece of fried chicken at the party, or the hot dog at the BBQ. Now I don’t. In doing better, I look better and feel better. A no-brainer.

» Breakfast cookies in the morning: the most filling, delicious, and fast breakfast I know (I add frozen blueberries when I make the cookie the night before; they thaw by morning). And I practice the 50-25-25 rule as best I can the rest of the day.

» I found an effective workout that I can do anywhere, anytime — and I do it a lot: I’ve been doing Tracy Anderson’s Dance and Mat DVDs since late February. (I quit my gym membership to save money — who knew it would lead to a fitter body?!) Not gonna lie, the Dance DVD is a bitch — it’s one of the hardest cardio workouts I’ve come across, and it takes a good 4 weeks until you can do all 8 dances in a row, and another 2 weeks before you actually like it. But now I love it, and do it almost every day (minimum of 5 times a week). I do the Mat DVD 3-4 times a week, while I catch up on TV. That workout’s gotten easy, so I’ve added ankle weights. Looking forward to the day she adds new workouts on her website. Also have good intentions of upping my frequency to 4-5 times a week.

» Setting the alarm: Inspired in no small part by the Obamas, who rise before 6 am to hit the gym, I get up at 6:30 on most days (7:30 on weekends) to do the Dance DVD. (When it’s hard to get out of bed, I think, They’re running the country and raising two kids. If they can do it, I damn well can, too!) After work, if I’m not busy, I do the Mat DVD. On an ideal weekend, one day I’ll do the Dance and the Mat in the morning, and on the other day, I’ll do a fun physical activity, like biking.

Point is: I’m not fucking around. This is WILL POWER. But it helps that I don’t have to go to the gym to do this. I bring my DVDs to my boyfriend’s place and even on vacation.

Moral of the story is, I’m feeling good.

And JUST SAY NO.

Comments (View) | 17 notes