A weekend challenge.

I'm tired right now. It's 5:15, I have another hour and 45 minutes at work, and I'm fading fast. I don't think I've been getting quite enough sleep lately. Not intentionally - and it's not like I'm staying out late or anything. But I really require 9 hours a night and lately I'm getting more like 7. Eh, I suppose it could be a lot worse.

Regardless, I'm presently exhausted for some reason. All I want to do is curl up and take a nap. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. I might have to have a small cup of coffee before hitting the gym this evening, or my planned 60 minutes of cardio is going to be a big fat mess.

God! Why am I so tired! Seriously, this is ridiculous.

ANYWAY. It's been a busy day at work today - this whole week actually - so I'm just now getting a free moment to relax. I went to the gym on my lunch break to do some light lifting - I've been doing a new lifting routine from Shape magazine just to try something different and keep my workouts mixed up. It's been fun and it's not easy, so I feel good when I'm done. Definitely a different kind of workout than I'm used to doing. I haven't taken a yoga class in over a week so that's something I'd like to get back on asap. It's hard to find the time though.

I'll go back tonight after work, before my improv show, to get in a "long cardio" day. Twice at the gym in one day might seem a little crazy, but it's not out of a desire to be some kind of workout fiend. If I have time in the city to kill (like I will tonight after work/before improv) or if I have a lunch break available and the energy to squeeze in a workout, I'm going to take advantage of it. I did the same thing last Friday - got in a quick workout on my lunch break, ended up with some time to kill after work/before date night with Kev, so I went to the gym again. And it felt great. It's certainly not something I'm forcing myself to do, nor is it something that nets in more than an hour or an hour and a half of actual exercise. It's just something I'm finding myself inspired to do.

Last week I worked out 6 days of the week. It felt incredible. That's something I haven't done in quite a long time - 6 days out of 7. But it's bringing me such a sense of peace and satisfaction lately. It clears my head, my body feels fantastic, and it's time to myself. I've been focusing on doing a lot of cardio, because it just feels so good lately. I've been mixing it up as much as possible as to avoid getting bored. I've been doing the stairmaster (which I actually think has been KEY in shedding some quick inches lately - I have slimmed down bigtime in the last couple weeks and I just know that that machine is part of it) just for 10-20 minutes at a time (because it's a bitch), the elliptical when I want a don't-have-to-think-about-it easy workout, and running outside or on the treadmill for my "long cardio" days. The lovely thing is that when I go running, even if I haven't been running in almost a week, I'm able to go faster and farther than I was able to do the week before. All the cross training is making me stronger. Plus I'm totally ready for that nice long exhausting run when I do run. I realize, of course, that the perfect days of running outside around the park are numbered so I'm really soaking them up. Kevin and I went for two jogs this weekend, one long and one short, and they were both just awesome. Perfect weather, body felt great, pushed it a little bit, and got to run side by side with that sweet guy I live with.

And when I'm not doing the cardio mix-up, I'm doing some very light lifting (nothing like I was doing before I threw my back out), and yoga. I haven't done pilates in a dogs age, but hopefully I'll get around to that soon. It would be a nice surprise for the muscles for sure.

And as I've already mentioned (and am apparently going to mention again), I can notice a huge difference because of this extra effort. I'm feeling slimmer, tighter, and more toned than I have in a long time. When I catch my reflection I look narrow, my clothes are all fitting really well, and I'm getting regular compliments from people saying I look like I've lost weight. So, it's all positive of course.

I'm doing my best with eating, as usual. Lots of whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies, lean proteins, and trying to avoid too much dessert. It doesn't always go as planned, but it seems to be working itself out just fine. I lost another pound this week, more than enough for me, and I'm seeing lower numbers on the scale than I have in a good year and a half. It's thrilling to me that I am able to eat basically what I want at any given meal, within reason of course, and still drop weight and inches. I'm in a good groove and my body is too. I feel victorious over the 15 pounds I put on last year.

I'm going to eat a roasted veggie enchilada (a frozen thingy) from TJ's in a little while - just some fuel before I go get on the treadmill. And I'll probably grab a slice of pizza (yum!) before my show. I had a big spinach salad for lunch and low-sugar cereal with fruit for breakfast. I'll probably have some kind of sweet snack when I get home tonight too.

The next few days are going to be very busy. I'll get home late tonight and will hopefully go straight to bed. Tomorrow is Yom Kippur and a good friend's girlfriend is throwing a little gathering and Kevin and I were invited. So we're gonna go to that - I'm looking forward to it. Apparently she's making amazing food and there will probably be a lot of stuff I've never tasted before so I'm excited. It could be a potential death trap in terms of caloric consumption but I plan to eat lightly today, eat lightly tomorrow, get a workout in, and go to the party having just had a handful of nuts or something else that will take the edge off. I think I can ALSO get away with just having tastes of everything she's prepared instead of eating huge portions. There will be wine, that much I know, but my plan is to only have two glasses and sip them throughout the evening. Yikes, a challenge for sure.

Due to this Yom Kippur invite, though, I'm not sure when we're gonna get a chance to clean the apartment! My cousin is coming to visit on Friday and I'd love to do the bathroom, the floors, and make sure things look relatively neat. I want her to feel comfy and at home. PLUS I want to get to the grocery store so we can have a few meals at the house, which means I'll need to restock on some stuff. Unfortunately for poor Kevin, I might have to ask him to do this stuff tomorrow. He has been so awesome lately, cleaning, doing the laundry, dishes, and cat boxes. He calls himself Mr. Mom, which is hilarious. (He doesn't have a typical 9-5 job - he left his 12 year formal career as a producer last June and has been freelancing, doing voiceover and acting work, and working on his own projects since then. So he basically works from home.)

I'm really looking forward to seeing my cousin, Kalan. Kevin and I will take her out to dinner on Friday night and maybe to walk around the city a little bit - maybe Times Square so she can see it at night. Not sure what we'll do for dinner, but it will be another challenging meal, most likely. We'll want to enjoy an interesting New York meal with her which could easily result in high calorie stuff. I doubt she does sushi. So we'll see.

Saturday is going to be an active day - we'll do some touristy stuff with Kalan (we have tickets for the Ellis Island Ferry since she specifically asked to see Ellis Island) and probably walk around the city a bit more. I have two shows that night (!) so the walking around during the day will have to be my workout on Saturday. Then Sunday will be another day of seeing some other sites and different parts of the city. Sunday night I'm having a very small dinner party with just a handful of good friends. I think we're doing veggie lasagna (one of the guests is a vegetarian) and maybe some other kind of dish in the crock pot. I'm hoping to get in some cardio on Sunday - maybe my cousin will want to go for a run in the park too.

So tomorrow through Sunday will probably present a few food challenges, but now that I've mentally prepared myself for that reality I can probably navigate them without it all falling apart. The goal is not to get completely stuffed to the point of feeling ill at any one meal. That in and of itself will be a victory.

Now the real victory will be if I'm able to fit in the grocery store and a once-over of the apartment before Friday. I'm gonna have to call in sick to get this shit done. ;) Kidding. There's not enough time in the damn day.