Say it to my face or i'll put you in your place....or not

*** I interrupt this regularly scheduled blog post to write briefly about my experience at the gym. UGH! So the gym I go to now is a gym, gym. When you walk in you can smell the iron. There is absolutely nothing fancy about this gym. The equipment is a compilation of perfectly worn pieces of muscle making greatness. You can use chalk, you can drop weights, you can grunt. I visit this wonderful place every morning at 4:00 am. While I’m there I am typically in the company of maybe one other woman, two if I’m lucky, and about 5-6 gentlemen ranging from their mid 30’s to their mid 60’s. I’m not one to talk at the gym. I have work to do and do not have time for the chitter chatter but there are a couple people I exchange pleasantries with. Well, there is one older gentlemen who I recently started saying good morning too and sometimes he jokes around with me that he only has a set or two left and he’ll be out of my way.  Any who…..one morning a while back I felt like he was saying something about me to his friend that comes with him to the gym. In particular,I felt he was making reference to my butt. Yes, I said it. And it wasn’t me being conceited thinking Oh my ass is so big and great that people are looking at it, NO! I try to wear clothes that hide my figure not show it off. I really don’t know what he could be looking at in my boy shorts but whatever. I felt very insecure for a while and tried desperately to tuck my butt like a dog tucking its tail until he left. Then I decided I must be crazy…..no one here knows I exist let alone look my way so I let that thought leave my mind. WELLL!  Monday morning was leg day. Which means Laying leg curls (where your butt is just up in the air) and Squats (Just ass galore.) When I started on the leg curl I couldn’t help but feel he was talking about me to his friend. Especially since his friend was on the machine behind me and the guy was on the treadmill in front of me a ways. If people start speaking quietly when their voice typically fills the room and making faces at each other you know something is up. Then I was doing squats and the friend was doing jumping jacks. Well, I do a lot of jumping jacks and other high intensity cardio in between sets. The guy started calling out his friend to one of the younger guys for doing jumping jacks. Then the three of them huddled up and were speaking quietly again and although the younger guy tried to be discreet about it he clearly gestured in my direction. And they laughed and tapped each other on the shoulder blah blah blah. I just felt so…..violated. I don’t even know if that is the right word to express how I felt. In my mind, I was loud and made a statement and went up to them and gave them the business but in reality, I just put my head down and tried to concentrate on my workout. I thought to myself, don’t be conceited Jennifer, why would they be talking about you, in a positive or negative manner. But they clearly were. I instantly started thinking of what other gyms I could go to or if I could go at a different time. So sad. I don’t want people, male or female, to think I look bad but I don’t want them to think I look good either. So whatever they had to say about the way I look I rather just be invisible. Does that make sense?  My poor butt has just always been big. I thought embracing it instead of trying to fight it was the best way to overcome my insecurities but I was wrong. Anyone know how to calm my back side down? It is low weight high reps? Is that the trick? Duct Tape? Spanx? Maybe super baggy sweats and a long shirt? Hrumph. I don’t know. ****

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog post

Food. At. Work. I’ll just leave this here.

Holidays bring endless amounts of food….at work! It can make it soooooo difficult for even the strongest of will powers to stay in their lane. When there are boxes and platters of sweet, delicious goodness in every breakroom how can you stay on track? You can smell the cinnamon and sugar in the air, co-workers are walking by with plates full of goodies grinning from ear to ear so you might think….I’ll just have a bite. Well, if you’re anything like me, when it comes to sweets, a bite, turns into a half and quickly turns into Damn it! I ate them all!  It can be easy to lose self-control and gobble up holiday favorites.  

When I started working in an office and was sitting most the day I stopped eating at work. From my experience, eating at work causes significant weight gain, a hard-crash mid-afternoon and slows production.  I’m not really known for going slow, so I had to give it up. I was not about to get, what people call, the secretary spread.  In the beginning, it was hard. Especially when vendors are constantly bringing in muffins and cookies and chocolate. I mean, now it’s easy to say no because I don’t want to end up in the ER again but I know how difficult it can be. Especially during the holidays. The way I maneuvered through the holiday food coma was to bring my own food. I always pack my lunch and snacks. I know If I have my own food I’m not tempted to eat what is on hand because I don’t want what the food I prepared to go to waste. During the holidays, I bring an extra, small sweet treat with me. It might be a piece of hard candy, flavored gum, maybe a Lara bar or ½ of a Quest bar or even a cookie that I’ve made at home. When cakes, cookies and pies are going through the office I can eat my candy or protein bar or whatever I brought without the guilt and still have the satisfaction of eating something sweet. I hope this trick helps anyone else trying to avoid the holiday food hangover. When I think about eating at work I run through all of the scenarios in my head before I go for it. For example, “Do I really want to eat what Jane Doe brought for the office potluck? It looks like I could have it…..hmmmm I don’t know if she washes her hands.” “Oh plain dark chocolate, I can’t eat that! Buuuuuttttt can I have one piece? Probably not……then I’ll drive myself crazy craving it. Plus, I don’t know if it was manufactured in a facility that processes wheat or if the ingredients are just chocolate. Ehhhh it’s not worth the risk.”

Yah, welcome to my mind. So, if you ever see me staring at food for a minute with a concentrated look and then I walk away you know what just happened. By the time I think it through I don’t even want it anymore.

If you do succumb to a few holiday indulgences don’t beat yourself up about it. You’ll probably burn off the extra calories during your holiday activities.

Holiday activities like shopping, cooking and even wrapping gifts can really burn the calories.

Shopping burns an average of 200 calories per hour! So ditch the online shopping for hitting the mall to get rid of that pumpkin spice latte you had this morning. You can burn a bonus of 34 calories per hour if you are carrying a small child while shopping.

Have to clean the house for company? Again, an average of 200 calories per hour burned. Plus, tighten that mid-section while vacuuming for a great ab work out! Look at you over there Sexy Santa!

Cooking, which we do so much of this time of year, burns an average of 68 calories per hour. Add in some squats at the kitchen sink and jumping jacks between timers, you’ll be a calorie burning Betty Crocker!

While you’re cooking/baking make sure you add a little extra cinnamon to spread the holiday cheer and help your waist line.

Fun Fact! Cinnamon burns calories. That's right! All by its self! It also regulates blood sugar and aids in metabolizing carbohydrates! Whoop Whoop!

Don’t forget about wrapping gifts! Spend 30 minutes wrapping presents and you can burn about 48 calories! And hey, work those biceps by adding some extra curl to that ribbon. You little elf you! You look fabulous!

I hope this helps you out these next couple weeks. If you have any tips, please share in the comments below. My tricks might not work for everyone so it’s always great to have different tricks to try.

Hey! Before I wrap up this post, how are your goals going for this month? My goal was to do one un-assisted pull up. Well, I am past my 30 day mark and I feel I have made good progress but I’m not there yet. Just because my 30 days is up doesn’t mean I have to stop there. I am determined to do one stinking pull up.

I started at 95lb weight displacement and now I am up to 50lb weight displacement on the pull up assist. It’s difficult for sure but I must achieve this goal. I’m still doing pull ups every day, even when I don’t feel like it. Blah, I hate pull ups, just like I hate push-ups but I enjoy the challenge and I’ve set my mind to it. I can even see myself doing the pull up in my mind. That day will be glorious!

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-          On Instagram I’ll be posting some last minute gift ideas for $25 and under!

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