Fabulous, Dahling!

Thanks to PTG who nominated me for the Your Blog Is FABULOUS award. This post is going to be a short one because I'm getting ready to head out of town for the holidays. Don't worry... I'll be posting less, but I will be posting over the next few weeks. I think I'd go crazy without my blog support. So, who do I want to pass this award onto (and mainly give shout outs to)?

1) Kelly over at Choosing Losing: Her motto pretty much sums up what this journey is all about. She's my Miz Fit match buddy, and even though we've both been slacking in the whole communication update department (I blame finals.... I think K does too!), we've been reading each other's blogs and keeping tabs on the other. I'm hoping that now that we have a few weeks, we'll get our emails back in order :)

2) Angie over at Angie Eats Peace: I found Angie's blog through another fitness board that I used to frequent. I love to read her blog about her running, her adventures with her family, and her struggles to eat vegan in a omnivorous world. She makes me wish I lived closer to a Trader Joe's with all her yummy food posts!

3) KK at Running Through Life: The more and more I read her blog, I realize that we both have similar time constraints on our fitness/blogging/me time due to work. I love all the little tidbits that KK's been sharing with us lately by putting up links to fun workouts and advice. Hopefully you'll get some me time over the next few weeks!

4) Jason at Recast in Iron: Jason and I are coworkers, and I was happy to see that he found my blog and has freely given his advice on my running goals/training. It's been really helpful! He is such an inspiration to those of us who are still pushing through our weight loss/fitness goals. I figure if he can train for an Ironman, I.... er, I guess I could too, but I don't think I'm into self-inflicted torture :)

5) RooBabs at Work Those Lower Body Curves: Little does RooBabs know, but I keep her "I'm a Runner" bracelet that she sent me in my desk drawer. It's a little reminder to myself that as I'm pushing through a day of writing and research, I need to take some time for myself and go out and enjoy the day with a little bit of running. Because after all.... I AM a runner :)

What Have You Done Today To Make You Feel Proud?

Biggest Loser Spoilers Ahead!! Stop reading now!!!

I have to say: for all the tension and excitement that went into this season, and especially this finale... everything happened according to plan. Well, except Heba's win, but that's another story. Some general comments before I get started. Wow-- did Ali Sweeney pop or what? Even in the last week, I kept thinking to myself, I thought she was prego, she certainly doesn't look all that prego... but tonight she certainly DID look prego!!! Holy cow! What about no one cheering for Vicky's part of the intro? That was hilarious! It was pretty obvious that the crowd was behind Michelle 100%. I think everyone was sick of the negativity that this season generated. At one point, Ali also said that they spent 102 days on the ranch and 122 days at home before the finale. So, basically, the contestants had about seven and a half months to lose this weight. Sure, it's accelerated, but it's not as bad as it is sometimes portrayed.

First thing first: Who was going to be the "third" finalist? Heba or Ed? They both looked fantastic, although I'm going to be a bit catty. I thought Ed looked old. And yes, Heba needed a more supportive bra than the one she was wearing. As someone who now has some saggy boobs due to weight loss, a supportive bra does EVERYTHING for an outfit. The dress looked great, her boobs didn't. Ali tells us with 84% of the vote, ED is the finalist. HAHAHA. I'm so glad that 84% of the voters were in the same mindset at me!

Next, they bring the kicked off families off in order: Adam and Stacey (who looked FABULOUS), LT and Tom (who weren't as heavy as they were... but still looked big), Jerry (AWESOME!!!) and Coleen, Shellay (hot mamma!) and Amy C., Phil and Amy (I'd vote them for best looking couple!), Brady (eh), Renee (looked good, but didn't really like her hair), and of course Heba. I thought the $100K at home prize weigh in was the most interesting! The lead jumped around: first, it was Stacey in the lead, then Jerry, Shellay, and Amy C in quick succession. Philip weighed in and lost 151 pounds. His wife Amy P. weighed in, lost 105 pounds... and captured the lead with a 45.85% loss. At this point, I was like YES!!! I've always liked the Red Team, and I wanted them to stick it to the Four Musketeers BIG TIME. Brady weighed in next, and although he lost 117 pounds, he didn't have the percentage to beat Amy (YES!!!). Renee lost 106 pounds, but also didn't have the percentage to beat Amy. It came down to Heba. She needed to lose 134 pounds to beat Amy... and she lost 138. Grr. So, now I was worried about H&E walking away with $350K.

So, then they brought out the finalists. Of course, they all looked great. Vicky tried to claim that she only lost 2 pounds in seven weeks, with working out four hours a day. YEAH RIGHT. C'mon. We already had seen Ed, so, Vicky came out wearing a great looking dress (although Amy P was still best dressed... that red dress looked HOT on her!). But, she couldn't move in the dress at all. And the stage was super slippery. But (being the evil kikimonster that I am) I was disappointed that we didn't get to see her fall. Bob was such a gentleman that he caught her and walked her to the front of the stage. Then Michelle came out and WOWEE!!! She looked FABULOUS.

Because Michelle had won the last week on campus, she chose the weigh in order: First, Ed, then Vicky, and then Michelle. Ed lost 139 pounds, with a 41.49% weight loss. He held onto first place when Vicky weighed in and lost 101 pounds, with a 41.06% loss. Ali tells us that to win, Michelle needs to lose 100 pounds. Seriously, at this point, I don't know how that girl kept a straight face. Her starting weight was 242 pounds, and looking at her, you KNEW she was under 140, easily. She weighed in at 132, with a total loss of 110 pounds, with a 54.54% loss. MICHELLE WINS!!!! I'm so glad this season ended on a positive note.

Although, I'm curious if we have the same commercials nationwide. Right after Ali cut to commercial, when we were all waiting with baited breath for Michelle's weigh in, NBC ran a Coco Chanel commercial starring none other than Keira Knightley. Yes, that twig of a girl. Seriously, NBC... bad timing? Someone with a bad sense of humor working the commercial desk? I just found it odd. To me, anorexic people aren't inspiring. Sorry Keira.

And what about the new season which starts January 6th? (NBC, I sure hope my check is in the mail for all this free promotion!) They're bringing in the HEAVIEST contestants ever, the OLDEST couple, the HEAVIEST woman, and the HEAVIEST CONTESTANT EVER. PERIOD. I think this is going to be a mess. I think we're going to move from being completely bitter to feeling sorry for all these people. What was up with showing the "oldest" man passing out? I seriously almost cried at that point. Sure, inspiration will be shown, but to me, sometimes, this is just torture. We'll see soon enough!

On a final, personal note, I had a hard time moving today. I was snowed in, and I spent most of the day in front of my computer, stressing over an article that I'm coauthoring with someone who works in the UK. My coauthor and I went back and forth over email for much of the afternoon until I sank into total frustration at the state of this article. I wanted it to be done by the end of the week, and that's just not going to happen. It's like we're so close to being done, but yet, because of the holiday, so far away. So, I didn't work out. However, while I was watching the finale, I couldn't help but get up and MOVE. I ended up doing SparkPeople's 30 Minute holiday workout, which someone (KK? Cammy?) had posted on their blog right before Thanksgiving. IT WAS AWESOME. There are seven exercises that you can do with NO equipment, and you do three circuits with 15 reps of each exercise. I feel great because I moved my body today. That's what I did today to make me feel proud :)

Are You READY to RUMBLE???

The highlight of my day will obviously be the Biggest Loser finale tonight. I am keeping my fingers crossed for Michelle, who is my one and only choice to win. At least last season, I was pulling for Ali and Kelly (both of their before and after pictures are on my fridge!), but this season, it HAS to be Michelle. I can't wait to give you all a rundown tomorrow!

This week has been kind of tough for me, exercise wise. Sunday, I went to spinning for the first time since the beginning of the month. Holy cow! I felt so out of shape it was unbelievable. I made it through class, but my legs felt so heavy while I was spinning. I felt that there was no ease or lightness to my spinning. It felt like work, not something that I enjoyed. Yesterday, I did a HIIT (high intensity interval training) session on the elliptical, where I went full out for 30 seconds and then had a recovery period of 90 seconds. I did a five minute warmup, a 20 minute HIIT session, and then cooled down for another five. It felt great. However, my abs and shoulders are super sore. I think my shoulder is more of a factor from my mattress. Brand new mattress... but I turned it from top to bottom for the first time. So, my little nook is now at my feet, which makes me sad. I also can't find my spot just yet. Grr. I think on this snowy day, I'll be working from home, and working OUT from home. I'll dig some of my favorite videos out and have some fun for 60 minutes. Now, which ones should I choose....

Speaking of choosing, I've decided to do some shoe shopping while I'm home. For you runners out there: Do you buy one pair of sneaks for running and then another for gym workouts? I was thinking that if I do this, my running shoes will last longer, and therefore, I won't have to shell out money for good running shoes more often than not.

Ruffles Galore!

The past three weeks of my life have been like a circus (and yes, Britney, I blame you for putting all your new songs in my head... and myself for adding them all to my workout mix). Between end of the semester grading, finals, and then grading finals, I finally got a chance to breath. E and I went out to dinner tonight. Here's a pic of my infamous Ann Taylor size 12 outfit :) I love the satin pants and the ruffle-y top. And I apologize to my friends who are going to see me wearing this EVERYWHERE this holiday season. Sorry... but it's a great outfit and I love that I look great and FEEL great in it. I'll be back to my regular fitness (soreness) posting tomorrow!

Weekly Weigh In: Weighing In

Sorry for the late weigh in... this week has been killer. I've been doing so much work, trying to play catch up with the semester (not to mention the guilt that comes with taking the next three weeks off) that I didn't weigh in yesterday morning. I also woke up with this horrible sinus headache/migraine that had me laying around the house all day. All in all, it wasn't a good day.

However, this morning was a different experience. Not only did I sleep for 10 hours and woke up with my headache gone, but the scale also told me that I lost a pound this week. WOOT! On Thursday, I had a conversation with one of my work colleagues. We started at the same time, so we've pretty much had the same experience within the department. One thing he complained to me about is that he's gained 20 pounds since he started the job and he racks it up to being unhappy. I had to shrug at him. I gained about 15 pounds my first year on the job, and now, I've lost 50 of those unwanted pounds. His response is that some people lose weight when they are unhappy. I laughed: I wish it had been that easy to blame my divorce and my early dissatisfaction with my job. Unfortunately, a lot of sweat, tears, and frustration has gone into losing those 52.4 pounds.

On a happier note, this week was the first time since HIGH SCHOOL that I have worn a size 12 in public. I know, I know, high school wasn't that long ago for me. But seriously? I think the last time I wore a size 12 was 1996. TWELVE YEARS AGO. E gave me a bag of her dissertation clothes (and a big WOOT to E for fitting into some smaller sized pants this week too!!), which contained a bunch of size 10s but also one pair of size 12s. I figured that since my Ann Taylor shopping spree over Thanksgiving where I bought a pair of size 12s, I might actually wear them in public one day. I figured Wednesday was a good day for that. I can't believe it. I'm sure I walked a little taller that day, just because I knew what number was on my label. Monday night is the debut of the Ann Taylor outfit, which is when E and I are going out for a big end of the semester survival dinner. I'll be sure to take some pictures :)

Taking Care of Me

Yesterday, I finally made it back to the gym after a full 10 days without it. It's funny how easy it is to slip out of your routine. When I was at home for Thanksgiving, I was more willing to stay snuggled up in my bed rather than get up and go for a run in the morning. Now, getting over my cold, it is so much nicer to stay in my warm house in my sweatpants than to go out in the wet cold weather to drive to the gym and spend 30 minutes on an elliptical. Plus it's finals week. Sure, the students are stressing, but so are the faculty. I have a ton of mini projects that I need to get done before I leave for my break, because, trust me, nothing gets done when I'm at home. So, this morning, I found myself entering data (one of my mini pre-break projects), and wondering when and if I should go to the gym. I'm having dinner with some friends tonight, so yes, I should go work out. But I REALLY should finish this data before my dentist appointment in two and a half hours. However, the data will still be here tonight, where my motivation to put on my sneaks and get to the gym may not be. So, I'm heading off in a few minutes. Gotta take care of me first and then I can focus clearly on my work.

Biggest Loser: VOTE FOR ED

Okay, this is going to be a total BL post, so stop reading (MIZ!) if you've Tivo'ed it.

Can I just say how disappointing last night was? Sure, I was super excited that Michelle kicked ass at the weigh in, that we finally saw Jillian cry (I love her), and that America decides the fate of the final three. However, more and more this season, this has been about playing the game, not making choices that will change the lives of the contestants. For example, take Vicky: Bob asked her what she learned from the whole BL experience. She said, "I learned about exercise and nutrition." And Bob asked again: "What did you learn about YOU?" Vicky: Mmm... nothing. I love when Bob told the Blue Team about the guy who won in the first season (total game player) who has now gained back all his weight. I feel bad for Bob. He has a team of game players, and you can see that it breaks his heart to know that he's working so hard at supporting them, and all they're getting out of it is how to win the game, not how to change their lives. And yes, I think this goes for Heba and Ed too.

So, let's go there: Heba and Ed. They work as a unit, which is good in some respects, but HORRIBLE in others. Heba totally half-assed the challenge because she knew that Ed could win it for both of them. Ed completely threw his weigh-in so that Heba could make the final three, but that turned out not to work anyway. And then their "plea" videos (which you can see here)??? As soon as Ed started talking about how we should all vote for Heba, I got turned off. Ed, don't you want this for yourself? To me, this just shows what a slackass he is (geez, guys, sorry for all the cussing, but last night really ticked me off). He never wanted to work out, he already went home, and to me, this just all says that he's not that into continuing with the hard work once he has gone home. Obviously, Heba is going to come back looking great because she's going to continue working hard at home. But, again, what has sunk into their heads about this? NOTHING. To me, they have taken nothing away from this.

Which brings me to my point: Vote for Ed. Screw these game players big time. I've been struggling with eating right all week, due to my cold, finals stress, and just being cooped up in my house due to the previous two issues. To me, it kind of sucks to have gained some weight this week, but you know what? I've learned so much about food, about myself, and about what I can do on this journey over the past year. And I refuse to gain the fifty pounds that I've lost back. To me, it's not about having a negative movement on my weight tracker. That's great, but I know that it's not going to happen every week. I lost close to 30 pounds this year. Would I have liked to lose more? Yes, but at the same time, weight loss is not a contest. I used to find this show so inspiring, and really, I credit the first "couples" season as being a huge motivator in my exercise challenges to myself. But now, I'm getting as jaded as all of you. And Bob's pleas last night for Vicky, Heba, and Ed to realize what this show is all about is too little too late. I'm just hoping that next season isn't as cut throat as this season, or NBC will be losing another viewer.