…that something good can work and it can work for you, and you know that it will”-Two Door Cinema Club

It has been a while since I last blogged and a lot has been going on, so this post might be a doozy!

Irene has been awesome at getting my bum up at the crack of dawn for Spin, and for that, I am grateful. I was able to see the remarkable Jannicka TWICE on Wednesday, for spin and BodyPump, and when I couldn’t go to the big BodyPump reveal on Saturday, I was missed! This is the first gym that I’ve been to where I have made my presence known, talking to instructors and the staff, and it is an extra set of people that unintentionally hold me accountable for going to the gym.

I had a slightly different schedule this week with Chapter (for my sorority) and a professional event on Saturday, but still got in a total of 6 workouts during the week! On Friday, after Zumba, I even ran a mile on the treadmill, something I haven’t done in a while.

Saturday was a long day, and like I said earlier, I was unable to go to BodyPump because I attended the 2nd Annual IHI Open School Southeast Regional Event. IHI Open School is an organization focused on improving the healthcare system through quality improvement, patient safety, teamwork, leadership, and patient-centered care. The event yesterday focused on creating a “just culture,” and students and professionals from all different disciplines were there, all for the same reason: to make a change in the current system. The reason that I attended this event is because I am one of those people that want to make a difference. I learned a lot in my IE healthcare class last semester, but after yesterday, I realized that there is so much that I still have to learn, obviously! I am curious to take classes outside of my discipline to learn about what all goes into the current system of healthcare, like nursing an health administration. Maybe I can do this in graduate school?

Anyways, today was also weigh-in day. I knew after last week, having lost almost 5 pounds, I would not have a big weight loss, but I am still disappointed.

Total loss: 7 pounds

I am still losing weight, and am doing the right things, but was just hoping for a bit more. This is the beginning of birthday week and was hoping to be able to indulge for it, but I don’t want to compromise my weight loss, or at least if I had lost more, I wouldn’t have felt as bad for having cake and wings and beer, all things I have avoided or had sparingly. This is also recruitment week for my sorority, so I will have to work extra hard to put in the effort to get to the gym. Now the wheels are spinning in my head for scheduling out my workouts this week.

On Friday though, I did make a pretty awesome baked pumpkin penne, that I will be sharing with you later this week! So, I promise, there is more to come.

Happy Sunday, y’all!

The weather was dreary all day Saturday and after a morning workout of BodyPump, Irene and I spent the remainder of the day running a couple errands, treating ourselves to 3 Spoons frozen yogurt, and watching two very good, and very different, movies One Day and Columbiana. Oh! And I can’t forget attempting Zumba Fitness on the Kinect. Now, I truly wish I had taken a video of this because between the crazy dance moves and Lilly’s desire to participate, we worked our abs out more from laughter than getting an actual workout in (but I tracked it anyway). Probably one of the best 15 min dance sessions of my life.

But to also take advantage of the day inside, I just made the most delicious dinner courtesy of How Sweet It Is. A mixture of butternut squash, brussel sprouts, and pear. Savory and sweet. A perfect balance. And it almost looked as good as this:

Sweet and Savory Squash, Sprouts, and Noodles

Adapted from How Sweet It Is

• Butternut Squash, peeled and cubed*
• 10-15 Brussel Sprout heads, halved or quartered, stems removed
• 1 Anjou Pear, diced (I couldn’t help myself and nibbled on some while cooking)
• 1/4 c Sweet Onion, chopped
• 1/4 c Water
• 2 tsp Garlic, minced
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1/4 c Mozzarella Cheese, shredded**
• Pasta of your choice

Prepare pasta according to directions. During that time, put the squash, brussel sprouts, pear, onion, and garlic in a large nonstick-pan on medium to med-high heat. Season the vegetables and let it cook. Stir occasionally. I also added a bit of water to allow for the vegetables to steam. When the squash and brussel sprouts are tender, remove from heat. When the pasta has been cooked, drain the water. 

I made a whole box of pasta so that it could be used for various meals, but made a normal serving size for myself (approx. 3/4 c) and sprinkled the mozzarella cheese on top. I then took a quarter of the vegetable pear mixture and scooped that on top of the pasta. Enjoy!

*In place of cutting up the actual squash, many grocery stores carry packaged butternut squash already peeled and cubed!

**1/4 c per serving, or for every person you choose to share your meal with :)

So some pretty exciting things happened last week!

1. I went to my first spin class, and finally understand the meaning of face down, ass up!
2. I got the sweetest email from my friend Darla about blogging my exercise…which even inspired her to get to the gym :)
3. I survived my first 2-a-day, courtesy of Miss Irene!
4. A good friend of mine, Michelle, called me with exciting news of her possible move! I miss her and we haven’t talked in a while, so it was really nice catching up with her!
5. Wednesday night I went out for my FGSR(future grad school roommate)’s boyfriend’s birthday and instead of drinking the usual beer…well, ok, I seriously had only 1/2 a beer and then stopped…I had a pitcher of WATER! And I drank all of it! My friends gave me a hard time (it was all in good humor), but I felt better leaving that night having not thrown all my hard work at the gym away.
6. Finally, Irene and I decided that to celebrate our gym-goings for the first month, we are going to get motivational gym shirts. I’m thinking either:

 or 

What do you think?

Let’s get to it today…the weigh-in

01/07/2012: 215.0 lbs (start)

01/14/2012: 213.0 (-2.0)

01/22/2012: 208.4 (-4.6)

Total loss: 6.6 lbs

Holy moly! I wasn’t expecting that. At all. But it definitely makes it worth getting up for 6am spinning and feeling tired today. I know this is not going to be a regular thing with significant weight loss, but today, I am excited to see my efforts pay off.

In addition to weighing in, I am assessing and reevaluating a couple of my goals:

• I have not been very diligent about drinking a lot of water. I have not been bringing my water bottle with me to school or anywhere else I go, well except for the gym, but still…so this week, I will be toting the water bottle with me everywhere. Accessibility is key!
• Attending gym classes in evenings prevents me from my 7pm eating curfew. I have been good about not eating too late, but it’s hard to turn around from a hard workout in the evening and then spend more time making dinner. Hopefully, I have curbed this problem by making a lot of frozen meals and leftovers so that when I get home late, all I have to do is heat up some food
• Working out 4x a week. I have been very good about this, so I am not worried all that much. Not yet at least. School is still starting up and work has not started yet. This goal may become an issue in the future, but at the moment, we’re good!