Look at me now! I'm a nottie!!!
Back in 2000 I did Weight Watchers, cranked up my VCR to do Tae-Bo and I lost 50, yes 50 lbs. It took 6 months. I managed to keep it off until 2006 when I moved to England. In the 4 years I have been abroad I have managed to gain it ALL back. This sucks. Apparently the fact that I walk, oh, I don't know at minimum 3 miles a day, has meant nothing. It makes me think though, if I didn't walk that much, how much would I weigh now?? That's too scary to think about. Quitting the gym 6 months ago probably didn't help things either, but it was just way too expensive and the classes available during the day were not great. Every couple of weeks I will reminisce to my husband about the wonderful gym I belonged to in Baltimore. The classes...the yoga that was included in the membership....the POOL! Oh, how I miss that pool. I'm tearing up as I type this.
You may remember last summer when I did Bootcamp. I really liked it, but the winter sessions are too far for me to access, so it that's a bit of a bummer. The spring/summer sessions are in the Phoenix Park, which is great, but I'm not going to lie, the whole 'no bathroom' thing really stressed me out. I'm my mother's daughter. Also, with this whole 'trying to conceive' biznaz, I didn't want such a hard core workout. If I did get pregnant, I didn't see how I could modify this workout. I'm sure the instructor could have modified it, but really, the bathroom thing was more of an issue.
You then may remember that I bought the 30-Day Shred video. I had high hopes, and actually the video is quite good, but I'm just not a video person. Apparently, I need to pay for my exercise in order to succeed. Way back in 2000 I did my videos, but then I joined a gym in 2001 and I've never looked back. I love going to the gym. I love doing classes, I love that stupid killer stair machine, I love the pool....ahhh....the pool. Kim, snap out of it!
So yes, I need to pay money to exercise, but I'm not willing to pay the ridiculous gym fees here. Even in the crap economy, gyms here are still charging rapacious joining fees. So ridiculous. Then the other weekend we were on a day trip to Wicklow (which is where the above picture was taken) and the bus passed a Curves. Now I've never been a huge fan of the idea of Curves. Mainly because one of my former coworkers went there and she was freaking annoying. Not to mention, she was my mom's age. I wasn't interested in working out with old ladies (sorry mom) and I like dudes at the gym. I don't really like them there, but I don't mind them so I never felt the need to go to a ladies-only gym. I have a friend here (who is not old) and she goes to Curves. She looks great and she's had success there, so the wheels started turning.
I looked it up online when we got home and lo and behold, they were having a great introductory deal: 6 weeks for 49 euro. I emailed up a friend and conned her into joining with me. Today was our first day and I'm happy to say it went great! Well, except for the part where they weigh and measure you. This is when I rediscovered those 50 lbs I previously lost. When I got home I pulled out the WW stuff I forced my husband to buy for me a few months back. Here's the thing about doing WW in Ireland. I find it more difficult to do than when I did it in the US. Basically, a lot of the things that really worked for me the last time aren't available here. I ate a lot of soup for lunch (don't get me started on soup here), the selection of ready-meals here is not as good and the ones they do have are boring/yucky, and there is no ground chicken available here. There are even restaurants in the US that have a special WW menu with the points already worked out and everything. Oh! And my biggest pet peeve are the nutritional labels on food. They usually list the information per 100g, even if the serving size is say, 15g (I'm looking at you, mayo). So yeah, I can do the math, but what's the point of nutritional information if it's not realistic? The worst is when they do it for 100g and there aren't even 100g in the package, like a small bag of crisps.
I'm hoping to rediscover some jeans in my closet. I'm hoping my arms will be less spongy. Mainly I'm hoping to rediscover the old Kim who is currently covered in fat. That Kim is a hottie!
I'm just about to write about this! I look forward to being a hottie again in due time. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm with you! Ugh...I tried WW and didn't stick with it, yet I am still paying. I need to go back. I have taken up Couch to 5k and so far so good! (But it's only week 3.)
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Good luck! I'm still doing my BMF and still love it. Next weekend is my one year anniversary!! Also don't be too hard on yourself, it's tough to keep the weight off when you're not working. Soo many opportunities to graze which is where I fall down.
ReplyDeleteI just moved to Dublin and I'm trying *not* to gain back the weight I lost by doing Weight Watchers in 2005/6. I too walk 3+ miles a day and keep trying to convince myself that it's enough. I see a couple key issues here: 1) they don't sell food with tons of fiber like they do in the US 2) too much beer. Guinness is lighter than I expected calorie-wise but it's still easy to drink away the points...
ReplyDeleteCaitlin - A lot of people have started that Couch to 5K and it seems like a good program. If I enjoyed running even a tiny bit I would think about doing it. Hope it works for you!
ReplyDeleteLindy - Well done to you for 1 year at BMF! Between being a student that first year and now being unemployed this past year, I think that's what did me in. Boo!
Dr J - The WW program here focuses on saturated fat, more than fiber (which is how WW was when I did it in 2000). I struggle the most with lunch time. A lot of my go-tos for lunch and snacks just aren't available here. I told my husband how I used to each English muffins (toasted) with a slice of light cheese as a modified toasted cheese sandwich. No English muffins here. I would have fresh salsa (0 points) with baked blue corn chips. No baked corn chips (let alone blue ones!) available here. If you're going to be here awhile it might be worth getting the WW stuff for here since there are different foods. Good luck!!!
Best of luck to you. I'm slowly starting to put on the weight I lost since October and it's getting me mad. I haven't decided how I'm going to take control, but darn it, I AM!
ReplyDeleteWow, it's almost like I wrote this post! I trained for a marathon the year I met Eric, and I haven't been that skinny since :( You know how most people lose weight for their wedding? Yeah, not me, I gained!! I have been using SparkPeople, which is a free website so you don't have anything to lose. It is sorta like Weight watchers from what I hear, but the nutrition tracking is not point based. But it may be easier for the UK foods if your WW material doesn't have the foods that are available to you. Good luck with whatever you decide to do! If you sign up for Spark People, let me know and I'll "friend" you!
ReplyDeleteYay Sarah! Thanks for reading my blog! :) Funny thing about losing weight for the wedding. When I went to my last dress fitting my dress was almost too big. The ties up the back were as tight as they could get without looking bad. The woman told me not to lose any more weight before the wedding. Uh...OKAY!!! Off to get a latte and a piece of cake! Needless to say, the dress fit perfect on the day. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI've heard some good things about Spark People, but I've never checked it out since I had the WW stuff. If I join, I'll let you know!
Firstly, Kim, you are so not fat and so cute! Secondly, sounds gross, but do they have Pets At Home stores in Ireland? If so, I just bought my dog some ground chicken there and made my husband taste it and he said it was perfectly fine for humans too :)
ReplyDeleteI would have NEVER thought about that as a place to buy ground chicken! That's an excellent tip, but unfortunately we don't have them here in Ireland.
ReplyDelete