Meet Ronda.

Blog readers, say hi to Ronda.  (hi, Ronda!)

Ronda is my wedding dress.  She’s by the Spanish wedding dress designer Pronovias.  As you can probably tell…she’s not the most forgiving.  She’s fitted basically to my knees, showing every curve and crevass.   You can see the proverbial T&A, not to mention my thighs, which tend to be the last bastion of fat on my body.  I won’t bore you with the millions of pictures of me in this actual dress just yet, but here’s a sample:

Not exactly the same as on the model.  Now, this isn’t going to be an “OMGWTF I HAVE TO FIT IN MY WEDDING DRESS” blog.  Nope.  I ordered the sample size in the store, so I know it fits, and, in fact, is a little bit big.  But I’d very much like to not have to suck it in like a champ my entire wedding day, and I’d like to feel comfortable and non-poochy.  And I don’t want to look back at my wedding photos and feel a little twinge of “maybe I should have worked a little harder.”

I am a big believer in inspiration to get you through the tough workouts.  When I don’t think I can do one more stinking around the world step, or hold my chair pose in yoga for another ten seconds, I tend to look down at my engagement ring on my hand.  And then I usually groan, “Ugggh…that stupid dress” and do it.

What’s your inspiration?

Two left feet.

Oh, Monday.

I guess I can’t complain too much, since I’m still unemployed.  But the house is empty, and it’s back to the gym bright and early.

My gym is great.  I really do love the classes.  But there’s been a whole lot of politicking going on lately regarding the morning class schedule.  For the last several weeks, the class on Mondays has been 24Set, which is basically three minutes of cardio with very light weights, then three minutes of heavy lifting.  I love it.  Minimal coordination required, but I’m always feelin’ it the next day.

Well, I roll out the door this morning and head to what I think is Set class.  About halfway to the gym, I realize that I’d left my water bottle at home.  (I usually guzzle an entire 24 ounce Camelbak during classes.)  I sighed and realized I’d just have to make do with sprints to the water fountain.  No fun.

Then I get to class and guess what?  The schedule’s changed.  The cardio-lovin’ stay at home moms have lobbied to turn Mondays into step aerobics instead of my beloved Set class!
Now, I’ve tried Step before with mixed results.  I am not exactly coordinated, though I’m in great shape.  By my count, I fell off my step three times during the first class, and for the last fifteen minutes I just exasperatedly jumped on and off my step, not knowing what a “horsehoe step” and an “around the world step” were.  But, what the hell, I’m there, I’ll try it again.

The first twenty minutes were not great.  I tripped, I stumbled and I was unable to ascertain exactly what L-steps and T-steps were.  But eventually, I just went with it and it was a surprisingly good workout!

According to my heart rate monitor:

Time: 54:48

Average heart rate: 165

Calories burned: 614

Not too shabby.  I think the good instructor made all the difference.  I’ll definitely be back.  I think with time I’ll become at least slightly less awkward.

And, of course, when I got home, I rewarded myself:

(Please note the missing Camelbak in the background.)

Off to hit the shower–back later with some wedding stuff!

Past, present, future

Hi, blog world.  Call me B.

I’ve blogged before in various capacities and on various sites, but I’ve never had my very own actual blog, so here I am.

First of all: why I’m here.  I want to blog about getting, and staying, in shape and being healthy.  I want to talk about my wedding, which I think is going to be pretty neat.  That’s about it for now.

A little bit about me: I’m in my mid-twenties and live in the Midwest.  In May of 2007 I met, and started dating, my fiance, T.  I was so madly in love I stopped working out and ate out far more than was advisable.  I gained about 30 pounds, putting my already overweight frame at an even 200 pounds on June 6, 2008.  Shocked, I immediately started losing weight by simply cutting calories and working out (mostly cardio exercise, like running).

By December 2008, I was down to 150 pounds.  Since I’m 5’6″, it looked pretty good on me.  However, I wanted to get stronger and more in shape, so I began lifting weights.  I bought the book “The New Rules of Lifting for Women” and did the program religiously from December to May 2009, when I graduated from law school and moved to a totally new state with my fiance.  (I was almost finished, but didn’t quite get there.)  While weightlifting, I added about 5 pounds of pure muscle and was 155 pounds, lean and mean, and really happy with my body.

From May 2009 to now, I’ve been dealing with living in a new, unfamiliar town with no friends, studying for the bar exam, and unemployment.  Oh, and planning a wedding.   All the stress made me put on about 7 pounds (and not good muscle ones)!  I took about 4 weeks off the gym at the end of July/beginning of August to study for the bar, take the bar, and go on a vacation.  I’m about 162ish pounds right now, and my jeans are a little snug for my liking.

Now I’m back in the gym, and determined to get in the best shape of my life thus far for my wedding day.  I’m not quite sure how I’ll do it, but I will.  (I suspect the solution will involve a healthy combination of cardio I enjoy, heavy weightlifting, and eating lots of healthy food.)

For the record, I don’t believe in low-calorie diets.  I eat 1800 calories a day, minimum, and much more if I’m working out hard.  My philosophy is that my body is a machine, and it needs good fuel to run well.  I’m not perfect–I usually eat at least one really indulgent meal a week.  I try to avoid high fructose corn syrup and trans fats, but I’m not going to panic over a little white pasta now and then.  I work out hard and I’m not afraid of gigantic barbells and the weight room.

Wedding-wise, we’re planning a 200 person wedding in the Chicago area in May of next spring.   We’re going for a very spring-y feel, with our main color scheme being pinks, aqua blue, and champagne gold.  I’ll have several posts getting you up to speed on everything we’ve planned so far!

I’ll hopefully have a good mix of wedding-related and fitness-related posts, with a little bit of random stuff here and there.  I don’t plan to post pictures of my food every single day, because I eat the same breakfast pretty much every day and will often eat the same lunch several days in a row, too.  But if there’s anything worthwhile, I’ll let you know!

So, anyway, welcome.  Nice to meet you!