70 laps last night.
I reached that point where I could have kept going forever. The hard part is actually getting to that point. It means pushing through the sore muscles and the body saying, "No, no, that's quite enough." I was shooting for 60 laps last night, but in the middle of my last set of 12, I felt the endorphins kick in and I knew I could keep going indefinitely. So I wound up doing a last set of 20 because I figured 70 was good enough since it is only my second week back. I had enough energy left in the last lap to ramp it up and sail past the people in the lanes on either side of me and touch the wall hard.
Am I gushing too much about swimming? Sorry, but it's kind of my favorite thing right now.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Positive Physicality
60 laps last night.
In church on Sunday we had a discussion at the beginning of class about what makes us happy. One woman said that her body makes her happy. It works and it's athletic and she can accomplish many things with her body. The phrase the teacher wrote on the board to describe this was "Positive Physicality."
That is my new favorite phrase and I think I need to work on making it a part of who I am. A lot of times I look at myself and I see the rolls and the cellulite. I, like most other women, dress the best I can to hide what I see as my physical flaws.
I have sort of a love/hate relationship with my body. I like my curves and like the attention that I get because of them. However, I would prefer curvy, but on a smaller scale. I am happy that my body works and allows me to swim and walk home from work. But I'm so apt to look at women around me and wish that my legs were that small or my bum could fit into pants like that.
However, when I swim I feel strong, especially afterwards when the endorphins are coursing through my veins. I look at my large legs and I see them toning up as the muscles remember these actions they've been doing since I was six years old. My powerful legs allowed me to compete in butterfly and be the fastest female freestyler in my league at one point. Swimming is the one thing I do really well and I am grateful that I have a body that is still capable of moving through the water. After I swim I am the embodiment of positive physicality.
So my calves don't fit in boots and my lower body will always be a size larger than my upper body. It's okay. I swim.
In church on Sunday we had a discussion at the beginning of class about what makes us happy. One woman said that her body makes her happy. It works and it's athletic and she can accomplish many things with her body. The phrase the teacher wrote on the board to describe this was "Positive Physicality."
That is my new favorite phrase and I think I need to work on making it a part of who I am. A lot of times I look at myself and I see the rolls and the cellulite. I, like most other women, dress the best I can to hide what I see as my physical flaws.
I have sort of a love/hate relationship with my body. I like my curves and like the attention that I get because of them. However, I would prefer curvy, but on a smaller scale. I am happy that my body works and allows me to swim and walk home from work. But I'm so apt to look at women around me and wish that my legs were that small or my bum could fit into pants like that.
However, when I swim I feel strong, especially afterwards when the endorphins are coursing through my veins. I look at my large legs and I see them toning up as the muscles remember these actions they've been doing since I was six years old. My powerful legs allowed me to compete in butterfly and be the fastest female freestyler in my league at one point. Swimming is the one thing I do really well and I am grateful that I have a body that is still capable of moving through the water. After I swim I am the embodiment of positive physicality.
So my calves don't fit in boots and my lower body will always be a size larger than my upper body. It's okay. I swim.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Maltitol = Evil
Has anyone else experienced the substance that is Maltitol? The majority of sugar free candies out there are sweetened with it. The first few times I tried those candies, I had maybe a little stomach rumble, but nothing major. I must have developed a full-blown allergy to maltitol, though, because after eating two SF Russell Stovers peanut caramel clusters a couple of days ago, my stomach expanded to about 3 times its normal size and made me feel like I wanted to die a little.
It makes me kind of sad since I liked having a choice in the candy aisle even on my no-sugar plan, but alas it is not to be.
Let's hear it for Splenda, though, whose magical sweetness lets me have Jello, pudding and ice cream that doesn't taste too much like artificially-sweetened poo on a regular basis. Mixed fruit Jello, chocolate fudge pudding, and Breyer's Carb Smart (NOT the Sugar Free) in chocolate keep me happy.
It makes me kind of sad since I liked having a choice in the candy aisle even on my no-sugar plan, but alas it is not to be.
Let's hear it for Splenda, though, whose magical sweetness lets me have Jello, pudding and ice cream that doesn't taste too much like artificially-sweetened poo on a regular basis. Mixed fruit Jello, chocolate fudge pudding, and Breyer's Carb Smart (NOT the Sugar Free) in chocolate keep me happy.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Exercising
50 laps again tonight, but it felt more like 100 since I was really feeling those 50 from last night too. My legs are sore and I was feeling a little light-headed. Have to get used to the breathing pattern again. With a day off tomorrow hopefully I'll be primed for 50 or 60 on Saturday.
Swim
Swam 50 laps last night. I was shooting for 40, but I was with a friend and while she was finishing up a set, I did a few more laps and wound up with 44 so when I told her that she told me to just go ahead and do 50. Okey-doke.
My new goggles didn't fog up, which tells me that my old goggles were probably a lot older than I thought. Seeing clearly underwater makes the laps easier. I don't know why, it just does.
I'm going again tonight and then tomorrow it's supposed to be -10 with the wind chill so I don't think I'll be walking around outside with anything approximating wet hair. My next swim attempt will be Saturday afternoon.
My new goggles didn't fog up, which tells me that my old goggles were probably a lot older than I thought. Seeing clearly underwater makes the laps easier. I don't know why, it just does.
I'm going again tonight and then tomorrow it's supposed to be -10 with the wind chill so I don't think I'll be walking around outside with anything approximating wet hair. My next swim attempt will be Saturday afternoon.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Friday, January 12, 2007
Testing, Testing
Um, hi there. Remember me?
One of my New Years resolutions is to step up this plan again after letting myself go hog wild over the holidays. As of January 2nd (January 1 was still a holiday after all) no more sugar. Sugar in this case means refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Once I had a couple of days of craving all things sweet, I'm now feeling good about it and also just generally doing pretty well at eating healthy. I've lost a few pounds already.
I know many dieting experts and amateurs will tell you that cutting anything out is bad and just equals forbidden and will make you want to binge. Not so, says I. What makes me binge is when I give myself license to eat sugar. Oh, I'll just have a little candy bar. Just a little miniature one. And then I'll have 4 more because they're so wee. Then I'll have a donut because I've been out shopping all day long and there's a Dunkin Donuts right there and maybe I'll have a Vanilla Coolatta too. Or I'll try the cake and the pie and the cookies at the dinner party. Just a little bit of everything, which, when I really think about it, is in reality a big pile of sugary goo. For me, this sugar restriction works. I get one splurge day a month so when I think how it's a bummer that I can't have something on, say, January 8th, I'll just add it to my list for splurge day, which usually winds up being around the end of the month sometime.
As for exercising, my schedule has been pretty wacky over the last few weeks, but I have managed to at least get out and walk more. For instance, I've now walked home from work a few times (including last night), which clocks in at about 3.2 miles. It feels great, I just really need to get my iPod fixed so I have something to listen to besides traffic and me breathing.
So basically, I'm back on the ball and I feel really good about it. Sometimes I get to a lethargic point where I just don't care anymore, but with the New Year has come my new more positive attitude. I know I can do this, I've done it before. I just have to stick to it and hopefully this time lose more weight than last time and NOT gain it back. I don't need to be perfect. I think my main goal right now is to not have to shop at the Lane Bryant for pants. Once I reach that point, I'll set another goal.
One of my New Years resolutions is to step up this plan again after letting myself go hog wild over the holidays. As of January 2nd (January 1 was still a holiday after all) no more sugar. Sugar in this case means refined sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Once I had a couple of days of craving all things sweet, I'm now feeling good about it and also just generally doing pretty well at eating healthy. I've lost a few pounds already.
I know many dieting experts and amateurs will tell you that cutting anything out is bad and just equals forbidden and will make you want to binge. Not so, says I. What makes me binge is when I give myself license to eat sugar. Oh, I'll just have a little candy bar. Just a little miniature one. And then I'll have 4 more because they're so wee. Then I'll have a donut because I've been out shopping all day long and there's a Dunkin Donuts right there and maybe I'll have a Vanilla Coolatta too. Or I'll try the cake and the pie and the cookies at the dinner party. Just a little bit of everything, which, when I really think about it, is in reality a big pile of sugary goo. For me, this sugar restriction works. I get one splurge day a month so when I think how it's a bummer that I can't have something on, say, January 8th, I'll just add it to my list for splurge day, which usually winds up being around the end of the month sometime.
As for exercising, my schedule has been pretty wacky over the last few weeks, but I have managed to at least get out and walk more. For instance, I've now walked home from work a few times (including last night), which clocks in at about 3.2 miles. It feels great, I just really need to get my iPod fixed so I have something to listen to besides traffic and me breathing.
So basically, I'm back on the ball and I feel really good about it. Sometimes I get to a lethargic point where I just don't care anymore, but with the New Year has come my new more positive attitude. I know I can do this, I've done it before. I just have to stick to it and hopefully this time lose more weight than last time and NOT gain it back. I don't need to be perfect. I think my main goal right now is to not have to shop at the Lane Bryant for pants. Once I reach that point, I'll set another goal.
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