Wednesday, February 4, 2009

You bought me a WHAT?!?

My hubby brought home a "gift" for me yesterday that probably would have gotten most men smacked: A new scale. But don't worry, I didn't hurt him. Instead I was totally psyched! I've been saying that I wanted a new scale. Ours is missing one of its "feet," so I didn't believe it could really be giving me an accurate reading in that condition. Plus, I wanted one that would measure my body fat.
Well when he was at Target he happened to remember my request and ended up finding one that was majorly on sale! Oowah oowah! Isn't it purdy? Ok, so yeah, it's still a scale meaning "woman's worst enemy." But I'm going to put this thing to work. (It won't cry "OH!" when I step on it like the Wii Fit, will it? *haha*) 

I was anxious to see what my body fat percentage was, since I'm always CLAIMING to be a "dense" or "thick" person that builds muscle really easily. That's how rationalize I how much I weigh. *haha* But seriously folks, I've been watching this show on Fine Living Network called "Last 10lbs Bootcamp" and all of these girls look about what I think I look like, but weigh a lot less than me! So I was relieved, nay, GIDDY, to see my body fat percentage was at a much lower number than those gals. In fact, it matched the number that some of them ended with! So THERE! ;) But I looked up what a woman should average and my number is still too high...so I'm just excited to see that number go down as I continue to build muscle...and I hope that will make up for when the other number stops moving. We'll see how it goes.

Ok, let's talk about something else, shall we? I discovered a bit of a miracle product and I feel the need to share. You already know I love Kashi, right? Well I just discovered (at Super Target) that they make rice! Did you know I also love rice? (Love really isn't the word. I have a bit of an obsession with rice. I could eat it at every meal, which would negate all of its healthiness.)  I picked up a package of the "Original" to try.

Ok so if you don't like wild rice, you won't like this. I'm describing it as a "wilder" wild rice with lot's of texture. But I thought it was really, really good! The miracle, however, lies in the nutritional info. You get a whole cup for 220 calories (I only ate 1/2 cup and it was PLENTY!). Plus, there's 7 grams of fiber in a serving and 8 grams of protein! PROTEIN! In a "carb" side!!! I could do backflips. What a concept. 

So last night I came home from sweatin' it up at the gym and I was ravenously hungry, but way too tired to really want to stand around in the kitchen cooking. So I threw together the easiest peasiest dinner that was delicious and healthy! (It involved the Kashi rice, in case you're thinking I didn't even bother transitioning. I don't NEED TO! Same topic here! *haha*) Want the recipe? HA! 
1/2 cup Kashi Original 7 Whole Grain Pilaf
1 cup Birds Eye (steam-in-the-bag) Asian Medly (my FAVE! So yummy!)
1 chicken breast (which I'd baked earlier and just had to reheat.)
And voila! So satisfying.

I need to tell you about my workout last night. I decided at some point yesterday that I was going to take TWO back to back classes at my gym. This sounded like a super idea...untill after I was done with the first class! *haha* It's called TurboKick, and guess who teaches it! You got it, the teeny tiny firecracker of energy! I was pooped by the end of it and was really considering leaving before the next class started. But I told myself, "No, just stay at least for a little while and see how far you can go." So I did. It's called Cardio/Core and I really like the instructor. I took some classes from him last year and enjoyed them...until I fell off the wagon but that's another story. :^P Anyway, he's very athletic but not in a body builder "We're going to pump you up!" kinda way, more like a coach. He's really funny and energetic, and for some reason he doesn't get on my nerves like the super peppy female instructors do. He says things like, "How we doin' athletes?!?" and encourages us to yell "HEY!" with every kick. He doesn't just stay at the front of the room, he comes around and works in all sections of the group. It's all very energizing. I even start to think, "Yeah! I AM an athlete!" when that couldn't be further from the truth.

Ok, I digress. So I stayed for the class and at one point he was showing us the high intensity version of a move and I decided to try it. I was dying, but it felt really good to push that hard. And then suddenly I got like a second wind and wasn't tired anymore! It was like an adrenaline rush, I guess, and it felt SO GOOD!! I was jumpin' and kickin' and huffin' and puffin' but loving every minute of it. Then, of course, I crashed hard right around the time we were moving into the "core" portion of the class, but I still tried that part. I was SO proud of myself when I got home and it's inspired me to push myself harder every time. You know on shows like The Biggest Loser, when they have the contestants do something really hard, like hike up a mountain or carry someone on their back? The trainer usually says something like, "Now that you know what you're capable of, you can never make excuses again. Look back to this moment and know what you can achieve." Well I never really understood that but now I think I kinda do. Normally in a class, if I was feeling tired I would just stick to the lower intensity using the rationalization "well I don't wanna make my heart explode!" But now I've seen that my body really is capable of carrying me that extra mile or working at that higher level! No more excuses!!

6 comments:

Monica said...

YAY! Good for you, that's just fantastic. Reading about work outs makes me miss my running. I know just the feeling you described. One of these days...

Camevil said...

Sarah was in the zone! *high five*

I have a love affair with my scale, too. Isn't that sick?

Cheerful Homemaker said...

I am tired just reading your blog, but WAY! TO! GO! We're planning on going to the Y next week and I really want to take the classes.

Anonymous said...

I keep asking my husband to get me a scale that shows body fat as well. Jealous!

That's awesome that you did two back to back classes and got a second rush! That reminds me of when I have a really good workout, and think of it and look forward to the next one :)

Monica said...

Hey, saw your comment on my blog. It really, in all honesty, tastes pretty good. It just looks horrible. We used to have a different brand of it and it was pretty bad, but this stuff is actually very palatable. I definitely don't dread drinking it, and obviously neither does Gemma.

Stephanie said...

Hi Sarah, thanks for stopping by my blog! Love that scale ... I'm planning to buy a new one soon too. I've been watching The Biggest Loser and getting inspired to hit the gym. :o)