Adventures in the Hotel Gym

 

   I was determined to use the fitness center at our hotel, especially after that revelation I had at Tahoe Joe. The only problem was that I spent so much time worrying about where to make a reservation for dinner that I forgot gym clothes. So naturally I hunted down a Ross Dress for Less and we purchased shoes, socks, a t-shirt and leggings to wear while I worked out. Can't you tell how excited and proud of myself I was?!

    Then I met the "Evil Elliptical"... a special name given by Ryan and myself. Not only was it the only piece of equipment that worked, but it was built to sabotage your workout! It literally pushed you forward and the handles that track your heart rate are awkwardly placed so that you can't stay balanced. A 35 minute cardio session turned into 35 minutes from hell. I pulled a muscle in my arm...how does that happen?!

   This is my amazingly supportive husband realizing that I wasn't lying about the machine. He only lasted 18 minutes and I'm not going to lie...I felt pretty awesome for outlasting him. I just hope that the next time we go to a hotel gym it will be a better experience.

Tahoe Joe...My All Time Low!

   As you know from my previous blogs about traveling and my poor eating habits, I have a hard time sticking to healthy habits when I'm on the move. And I will be completely honest, a recent overnight trip to Bakersfield began the same way. A couple days before we left we were on Yelp trying to figure out where we were going to have dinner and what we were going to order...it got out of hand. When the time came we ended up going to a restaurant called TAHOE JOE'S FAMOUS STEAKHOUSE. My experience there will be an experience that I will never forget. As we were being seated at our table I took a good look around and had an epiphany:

   70% of the people in this are obese or morbidly obese!

   Right away I turned to Ryan and said, "Babe, I really shouldn't be here!" He looked at me with a confused look on his face and I just vented everything that was going through my head. If I am walking into a restaurant and everyone around me is my size or bigger, then it is not a place that I should be eating. It was terrifying and emotional all at the same time to be experiencing this. From that moment on my dining experience took a completely different turn and I want to actually show you how it triggered my brain to think about dining out differently.

 

   So this was my "healthy" choice: spring lettuce, balsamic vinaigrette, blue cheese, tomato slices and pecans. It was absolutely delicious and my favorite part of the meal.

   Ryan and I also shared some fried onions pieces, but we didn't even come close to finishing them because they were so greasy. This is literally what we left on our plate!

 

   This is the plate of food that came to me and it is a lot larger in real life than it looks. In fact it was so massive that I couldn't stand the thought of actually eating it or taking  the leftovers. After 2 bites of steak it was so heavy and dry I could feel the constipation coming on. The green beans were also full of grease and I couldn't even eat them. 

 

Even though there was so much food I left all of this on my plate. Just the thought of eating all of this food made me sick to my stomach and I had to acknowledge that my body just didn't want it. I had to force my myself to look at this plate and realize that this is how much I would normally over-feed myself. This is part of the reason I have problems... I have to be able to know that it's okay not to eat everything on the plate and that I need to be making healthier choices. I really feel like this experience was a wake-up call!

Stress Test

   Well my stress test was completed on Friday, but there isn't a lot to report. When I arrived I undressed down to my yoga pants and sports bra, then the technician sent up my monitors. That took about 5 minutes and then I was ready to get on the bike and pedal my little heart out. Every 1-2 minutes she would increase the resistance and make sure I was okay to keep going. After about 15 minutes she had everything she needed and told me to stop.

   I'll admit that I was slightly confused because I was expecting to go for about 20-30 minutes. I asked her why it was so short and she replied, "because you results were easy to ready. There were no irregularities so I didn't have to have you keep going. When we ask them to stay on longer it's because we need as much documentation as we can get. You were easy." So basically I have surprised 3 people in the office with my level of health. I'm incredibly overweight but I'm still pretty healthy. 

Battling My Body

   So I am absolutely at war with my body! I have been really good at my portion controlling and I can feel my body trying to figure out what to do. It is literally yelling at me and I have no control over it. Tonight for dinner I made a hamburger patty on whole wheat bread and I was STARVING when I finished eating it. No... I'm not exaggerating or saying I'm hungry because I want more food. It was that burning sensation you get when you wake up after skipping dinner the night before. Or...like drinking alcohol on an empty stomach. 

   I literally didn't know what to do wi myself so I cried. I told my husband I was starving and cried like a baby. I guess my body needs time to adjust? All I know is that I had to fight for this victory. I gave myself a glass of milk and that was it. All I can do is stick with it until it gets easier!

Nutrition Appointment #2

   I am pleased to let you know that I officially dropped 4 pounds the week before my appointment because I made some very minor changes:

1. I now park on the opposite side of my college campus so that I give myself a mandatory 20 minute walk.

2. I have switched to Smart Ones breakfast items and protein shakes for breakfast. No more McDonalds drive thru for me!!! I just felt gross after eating. Yes I was full, but the feeling of total disgust with myself just isn't worth it. 

The goal we set for this following month is to make sure I am pre-planning my meals for 2 weeks at a time and that I set up a gym schedule. I also have to be sure that I am doing enough strength training so I don't lose muscle.