Tag Archives: exercise

Shake it Like a Polaroid Picture

Okay, so you’re not supposed to shake a Polaroid to make it develop faster.

We all did it anyway…

But wait!

You can’t buy Polaroid anymore.

Many of you reading this right now may never have even seen, let alone EXPERIENCED a Polaroid camera.

Please don’t tell me that you don’t know what I’m referring to…

I’m getting old. Next you’ll tell me that you don’t know what Duck Hunt is.

But I digress.

This post has nothing to do with age or technology…

Unless of course to count taking a dance class to work on core strength to combat age, genetics, and a general predisposition to a squishy midsection…

I went to my second Egyptian Belly-dance class last night at Serpentine Studios in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Armed with my brand spanking new, handmade in Egypt, coin belt/skirt that was chosen for me by a charming Middle Eastern Man at Beads R Us on Quinpool Road, a desire to firm up my core, and an hour to kill every Monday evening for the next 6 weeks… I rocked it.

So in case you didn’t know… or in case you just thought Belly-dancing was for Middle Eastern themed restaurants and big wig business execs to ogle at…

Belly-dancing is HARD.

Which is precisely why I decided to take it.

Isolating your hips and stomach takes a great deal of concentration and energy. Keeping your arms up and relaxed looking is going to sculpt me some kick-ass shoulders.

The confidence and flirtatiousness of the whole experience is great so far.

Plus I get to shimmy my hips around like nobody’s business.

Watch out Shakira… here I come!

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Goals vs. Resolutions

I got to talking to a co-worker yesterday about New Year’s Resolutions.

He had an interesting take on them.

He told me that he didn’t make resolutions.

He set goals.

This struck a chord with me.

It’s the difference between striving to achieve something versus struggling to hold on to something you never really had to start with.

Why set ourselves up for failure by creating (sometimes) unrealistic expectations?

Whereas, if we set a goal for ourselves we are motivating ourselves with positive reinforcement rather than with fear of failure.

Wouldn’t you rather nearly reach your goal while reaping all the benefits of your hard work instead of facing the pressure to strictly adhere to a contract with the universe yourself?

A goal allows for a little wiggle room.

A resolution implies an all or nothing scenario.

Why else do so many people fail to keep them?

So if you are like me and you truly want to make positive changes this year.

Set goals…

The outcome will be so much more rewarding.

Here's a clue about one of my goals this year.

Here’s a clue about one of my goals this year.

When You Start Achieving Your Goals

All your hard work is finally starting to pay off.

Aren’t you proud of yourself?

I’m pretty stoked right now. In the last 2 months I have dropped 2 dress sizes, 15 lbs, and gotten a whole lot fitter. I’ve gotten accustomed to living with constant muscle soreness, but it serves to remind me of how hard I’ve been working lately.

You see, I was always a lazy exerciser. 

Once things got easier I thought I was set. I somehow convinced myself (in spite of the overwhelming contrary evidence out there) that once I got to the point where I was able to do the same exercise with less effort, I was somehow “in shape” even though I didn’t lose any significant amount of weight or increase my strength at all.

I would run for 20 minutes on the treadmill and maybe if I was feeling adventurous I would add a little elliptical or one rotation of the weight circuit. Barely any abs.

I hate doing abs.

When I decided I needed to put the push on the fitness in a desperate last ditch effort preparation for the musical and the revealing costumes I was required to don on stage 3 weeks later, I figured I needed to change the way I exercised.

For too long I had struggled with my weight. I didn’t really have any excuse for not getting into shape besides my own laziness.

I’m able bodied and I work at a gym. 

There are para-athletes who have had to overcome far more and would put me to shame in no time flat in a fitness test.

So I decided to be my own trainer.

Sure I have access to some fantastic trainers, coaches, and nutrition experts but I’m also not a complete dunce when it comes to basic fitness and healthy eating and how to get results in the beginning.

I’m planning on getting to the point where I can no longer train myself. That will be when I will seek additional assistance from the ‘professionals’. In the meantime, I understand the basic concepts of interval training, avoiding the plateau, the importance of strength training, and healthy eating.

I have already reached one major goal… I enjoy working out now.

It’s hard.

It’s hurts.

I sweat like a mad woman.

But I do it. 

I work out 5 days a week on weekdays and I’m now feeling the itch on the weekends to get up and get moving.

Another goal I’ve reached… I fit into my goal jeans. In fact, I’m wearing them right now. Purchased in 2007 and worn only twice before today.

I’ve got many more fitness goals yet to be realized but I’ve prove to myself that I can, in fact, achieve them if I force myself out of my lazy comfort zone.

New Year’s Resolutions are usually doomed.

That’s why I’m glad I started this 2 months ago.

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Y’all Come Back Now, Ya Here?

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas has wrapped.

I’ve been MIA. I know…

Since March, I’ve never gone this long without posting.

But we all saw it coming.

There’s no way I could have had time to post and finish up the show at the same time.

And let’s be honest… everyone was starting to get a little sick of hearing about the show.

It’s tough when your life is consumed by one thing.

Makes for a repetitive blog.

So in the spirit of wrapping up the musical, I have for you some photos to share.

With 4 costume changes and approximately 20 girls in one dressing room, it made for some quick changes in tight quarters.

The fact that I’m posting this only is testament to how I’m starting to feel about my body and the hard work that I’ve been doing to get it looking the way I want it to… also… with 17 shows… hundreds of people have already see it live. This is the costume I wore for the opening scene – my 3 lines included “Y’all come back now, ya here?”

This lipstick truly glowed backstage. This is me doing my makeup for my role as a “Dogette” – it was kind of fun getting to be ‘holier than thou’ on stage.

The 80′s called… they want their makeup back. Innocent and pure… stark contrast to the Chicken Ranch girls in this play.

Dogette duckface… I couldn’t resist a mock duckface Facebook profile picture in my white gloves.

Angelette – My character’s lifelong dream was to be a Dallas Cowboy’s cheerleader.

The lot of us dedicated “precision girls”…

Me as Dogette as Sneaky Reporter #2…

There you have it my friends… The end of a run. 

What’s next?

Opening Night Exhaustion or: an Ode to Peanut Butter

GCB – Dogettes style… I forgot to put my gloves on for the photo

We had our dress rehearsal last night. 

Only 1 person fell (poor Vanessa) and some minor lighting and sound cue issues, but it went off pretty well in spite of these little hiccups.

Tonight we have a charity preview show… then the official opening night on Wednesday (which is already sold out by the way… NBD)

I’m already exhausted, I can’t even fathom how hard it is going to be to continue forcing myself out of my warm comfy bed at 6:30 every weekday morning for the next 2.5 weeks.

Surprisingly (or possibly not) the one thing that is getting me through the day is not coffee (bad for the singing voice).

It’s peanut butter.

It’s my reward.

And no, in case you were wondering, I don’t reward myself for going to work (though I think I probably deserve it right about now).

I reward myself for continuing to go to the gym every day. 

2:00 pm hits and I’m off… all on the promise that I will get 2 glorious heaping spoonfuls of creamy smooth peanut butter to enjoy once I’m back at my desk (rice cakes not always necessary).

So here’s to my opening night, here’s to living healthy…

…and here’s to Peanut Butter!

I’m Patting Myself on the Back

Hard work and sacrifice beget real results.

Today was pay day and fortunately I get three of them this month. Great timing with Christmas coming up next month.

(Holy eff?!? Summer just ended!)

I’ve been a super good girl since I started my budget in September. I track all of my spending… which has seriously curbed most of my incidental and impulse (read: “I deserve a new pair of shoes”) purchases.

I did the math (that’s pretty impressive in itself) and I’ve paid almost $5,500.00 of my debt down since the end of August!

Yay me!

There is still a ways to go (like to Japan and back a couple times) before it’s all gone but I am pretty darn stoked about my success.

Speaking of success…

So I told you all about my revelation a few weeks ago that I would appearing scantily clad on stage in the Dartmouth Players production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and had seriously dropped the ball on working out and eating right.

Well I’ve been seeing (and feeling) some pretty impressive results from my attitude and routine shift in that regard as well.

I’m looking more ‘curvy’ than ‘muffintop-y’ in my jeans these days.

I’ve increased my running speed on the treadmill and not getting winded as easily.

I’m back on the salads and loving it.

I’m even allowing myself to be photographed head to foot (this is hugely significant).

Like my debt-load, my fitness and body-size have got more work ahead of them, but short term goals (like feeling like a rockstar in my lingerie/whorehouse costumes) are making the process go a heck of a lot more smoothly.

We’ll see if I feel up to posting photos of me in costume all over the internet.

I might never be ready for that.

It’s Business Time

It’ll all be worth it.

This is payback for falling off the wagon.

I should have started a long time ago.

Somehow I find myself one week into another crash healthy-eating binge (I hate calling it a diet since it’s the way I should be eating anyway).

The time got away from me. When I signed up to do the musical I figured I’d have plenty of time to visit the gym, watch what I was eating, and generally get seriously svelte in the the 3 months before opening night. Really, it should have been easy. Gym at the office, little to no junk food consumed on a regular basis and the motivation of having to look relatively decent on stage in front of dozens of people clad only in my knickers…

We open in just over 2 weeks.

Shit just got real.

So last Monday I kicked it into high gear after an especially slothful week prior. 

I’ve instituted (with the help of the guys at work who are always on board with someone training for something) Operation Svelte for the Stage. One of my colleagues even went so far as to set his alarm for 2pm everyday for me to go to the gym. So far I’ve gone 7 out of 8 days and I’m on track to keep it up.

Ideally for good.

Same goes for the food.

With the exception of a bit of a Bulk Barn induced candy coma over the weekend… I’m back to my salads and I will be making a bulk batch of my sodium free homemade tomato basil soup tonight.

I guess it turns out I work better when I have short term goals… and frankly, I’m not surprised to find out I work better under pressure and serious time restrictions.

Reminds of that time I had to drop 10 pounds in 2 weeks to fit into a bridesmaid dress.

That was fun…

The crazy part though, is that I’m not a crazy dieter or someone who is going to hurt themselves by overdoing it the gym. Cutting portion sizes, sodium, carbs, and adding more fruit and veg while getting 30 minutes of high intensity cardio is really not that much. So while my muscles might be a little on the tender side, I feel fantastic!

The only reason why I haven’t been doing this on a consistent basis up until now is sheer laziness.

No more excuses.

Pre-Review Review!

In the process of trying to make a go of this little blog of mine, I’ve had some wonderful help along the way. 

Don’t you just love when good news just  falls in your lap?

Last week as I was lamenting my drop in viewership (I’m still hesitant to go by the WordPress.com Stats page… seems a little wonky if you as me) I was checking my Spam box (as I usually do) for any real comments that might have been filtered out. So when I saw a request for me to review a new fitness tracking product I was surprised, excited, and a wee bit skeptical.

I took a chance and emailed the commenter to get a little more info.

I’ve wanted to expand the scope of Not So Skinny Genes for a while. I love what I’ve created so far. I’d love to have it grow. So once I did a little research I felt this was a great opportunity for me to use my platform.

I will be reviewing a new Slimkicker Tracker device in the not so distant future.

 

 

In the meantime, check out slimkicker.com and the free iPhone App.

Essentially, it’s a creative and motivating way to track your calorie consumption (among other daily dietary intake items) as well as your exercise outputs. The interesting part about this service is that it’s designed for you to set up rewards for yourself once you reach a goal you’ve set for yourself. You can also play along with others.

Track your inputs and outputs and earn points.

Earn points and treat yourself to predetermined rewards you choose for yourself. I’ve only had a cursory glance at the website and the App so far but I’m looking forward to start playing, searching and sharing recipes, checking out their nutrition and fitness advice on their blog… and start slimming down of course!

Check it out!

I’ll be letting you know how it goes. 

Keep It Up: 6 Easy Steps to Keep You Fitness-Focused

 

Below are some really great ideas (laid out in six steps) to keeping you fitness minded. I think these steps could also be used in other areas of your life with a little bit of tailoring. I found these in this article by Dr. Joti Samra in the Globe and Mail.

1. Pick a specific behaviour to change. Start with no more than one to two behaviours to change at a time. Precisely define what you want to change.

Ensure that your goal is measureable. If you need to revise your goals later on, you will have to know where you are headed, and how to determine if you are getting or have gotten there.

Ensure that your goal is realistic. You may want to lose 30 pounds, but a realistic goal may be to lose 15 pounds this year and 15 pounds the following year.

Ensure that your goal is time-limited. Set a specific period of time in which you will accomplish it.

2. Identify your readiness to change. Before you begin, ask yourself questions such as: “How ready am I really?” “Is this the right time for me to make a change?” “What are the pros and cons of changing?”

Consider the benefits of the change. How can you begin to change in a realistic fashion? What would life be like if you didn’t do it? Is it worth it – how or why? Consider how the change fits with other important life values you hold.

Prepare to change. Gather the information and tools that you need. Anticipate setbacks. Remember that small change is better than no change. Get supports as you begin the changing process.

Consider how you’ll build on your changing behaviour over time. What other behaviours can you add in? Once the changes have been made, consider how you’ll transition to a long-term maintenance plan.

3. Identify barriers. Anticipate setbacks. If you had tried to make a change in the past, what got in the way of success? Be brutally honest with yourself about why you failed.

Then solve the barriers that you encountered in the past. Identify the pros of not changing your behaviour – this can often help you appreciate why the change hasn’t happened yet. Identify the cons of changing – the reasons the change may be difficult to do. Establish a specific contingency plan for each of the barriers you identify.

4. Implement change. Approach behavioural change gradually. Make small, specific changes.

Make a schedule with yourself to build change activities into day-to-day life. Follow the “double-time” rule: Schedule double the time you think it would take to achieve the change.

5. Revisit and revise. Do not get discouraged by setbacks. If you are not on track with the changes you identified, work to identify the barriers again. Were your expectations too high? Was the specific goal you set too ambitious?

Revise your goal as necessary. Expect and visualize success.

6. Reward yourself. Set milestones that help you track your progress and ensure that you schedule in regular rewards for each one that you achieve. (I sheepishly admit that shoes and purses motivate me quite well!)

Dr. Joti Samra, R.Psych., is a clinical psychologist and organizational & media consultant. She is the host of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network’s Million Dollar Neighbourhood and is the psychological consultant to CITY-TV’s The Bachelor Canada. Her website is www.drjotisamra.com and she can be followed @drjotisamra .

The Definition of Insanity

As my dad always says the definition of insanity is… “to do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.”

Arguably, this is true.

However, it’s not the type of insanity I am referring to.

I’m talking about the torture fitness program as seen on TV.

I’m not exactly the kind of girl who likes responds well to trainers (be they in person or on a DVD) that motivate by via fear, screaming, threats of pain, or general rowdiness. I like my trainers to smile, encourage, speak in soft tones (hello yoga) or allow me to feel like I’m just out at a club dancing my buns of steel off.

My sister’s the opposite.

Insanity is right up her alley.

In fact when I first saw the infomercial, I immediately thought of her. She thrives on the intensity and the schedule of the program. Where I like dance and step classes completely void of props, she loves high intensity cardio strength classes with weights. And as it turns out, my vacation does not correspond with a break in the Insanity regimen.

And I am expected to join in.

Can’t deny it’s a crazy awesome workout.

But holy sweat balls Batman!

Am I supposed to feel this light headed?