Remember two years ago when I decided to change my lifestyle and lose weight? Continue reading “My Weight Loss Journey”
New Year’s Resolutions
I jokingly posted this tweet on New Year’s Eve, and unfortunately (but not surprisingly) I didn’t win the lottery.
In lieu of a windfall, I didn’t have many other resolutions to offer myself come midnight. Yes, I’ve got to continue with my weight-loss goal. Yes, I need to continue singing more. But are these really resolutions? They’re more like continuations.
Last night, I spoke with my friend Abby, who reiterated to me what I had been saying to myself for a while: I need to audition more. So does she, she said, and we decided we should keep each other on track and accountable in a sort of blogger’s pledge.
So, here we go: starting next Monday, I pledge to make at least 5 new contacts to the singing industry per month. Contacts can include an audition or sending out materials. I’m not exactly sure how to keep track of this on this blog (I’d prefer to keep the contacts confidential, for obvious reasons), but maybe Abby and I can write about what happens as a result of these contacts?
Any suggestions as to how we can keep each other accountable?
Bicyclepiphany
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that I’m not much of an athlete. I am pretty proud of my progress with the Body-for-LIFE program (it’s way past the 12 weeks now, but I’m 20 lbs. lighter, so yay), but I’ve been exercising just at home using videos and our Bowflex. It’s not like I play team sports or participate in any triathlons.
Last month, I housed one of the out-of-town tenors in The Crossing (he was here for the Month of Moderns), and he went running almost every day. I started asking about his running habits, and before I knew it, he had cajoled me into running with him three times a week. I don’t think I did that poorly, but my hip really started hurting every time we went out, and I have decided not to continue with the routine now that he has gone home.
(I also knew that I probably wouldn’t be keeping up with my exercise routine while on vacation, but I think every once in a while we all have to take a break, so I’m not going to be too hard on myself).
I mention all this now because this morning my cousin (who my dad and I are visiting) suggested that we all go bike riding through Chico’s Bidwell Park.
I’ve always had a difficult time with bicycles. My dad taught me how to ride a bike when I was nine or ten, but for some reason I really resisted learning, and while I do know how to ride, I never got very good at it. Biking in traffic freaks me out, and I could never figure out which gears were which on my bike…so anxiety always creeps up whenever even the thought of biking comes up. Nevertheless, I know the best way to counteract anxiety is to meet it head-on, so I agreed to go biking. But I warned my cousin that I wasn’t very good, and I hadn’t done it in a long time.
To which he responded, “That’s not a problem. Chico is very flat, and we won’t go fast.”
My cousin loaned me his everyday bike, and he pulled out an old one-speed from his shed (which he had to hose off because of all the cobwebs). My dad had brought his own bike on this trip, so he was all set. I test-drove the bike up and down the street, and once I had assured myself that I still remembered how to ride, we were off to the park.
Chico is a small town in the heart of Northern California, almost halfway between San Francisco and the Oregon border, in the middle of almond country. While we were out biking, people were honking and waving at my cousin, and it really had the feel of a Midwestern town from the ’50s, where everyone knows everyone else…such a difference from Philadelphia or New York or even San Francisco! (Okay, it doesn’t hurt that my cousin owns one of the bars in town).
And I had fun! We biked through parts of Bidwell Park, which, at about 11 miles in length, is one of the largest city parks in the U.S. We didn’t bike the whole way through…we made it about three miles in, and my cousin wanted to turn around and go back. I wasn’t tired at all, but I was hungry, so I was happy enough to stop and eat some Thai food in the middle of town.
But while we were biking, I realized my anxiety was melting away. I could easily shift gears on the bike I was riding, because shifter had all the gears numbered, which was so wonderful and new! On my old bike, I was constantly guessing as to what gear I was in, and which way was higher and lower. And because Chico is such a small town, I didn’t have to worry too much about traffic. We kept to the smaller side roads and crossed the larger roads at the lights, plus the cars always stopped for us (I’ve never seen that happen in Philly!).
And I realized that the reason I never liked going biking was that I didn’t have enough positive experiences like this, where I could go at a nice, leisurely pace and feel confident. Even the few times I have gone biking with my husband, I always felt like a big wuss because I got so nervous around intersections.
The thing is, I know cycling is better exercise for me than running, especially since I have a bad knee. So maybe I should spend some time biking on my own when I get home. I live in a suburban neighborhood, which has a lot more of those smaller, quiet roads, so I can work on my confidence on the bike before I venture out into traffic. And then, just maybe, when I feel like I’m up to it, I’ll join a bike team and train for a triathlon.
First, though, I have to find a bike that has a shifter I can understand. Baby steps.
Exhaustion Test
So I started the Push-ups/Squats/Situps Challenge today with an exhaustion test, to try to see what level I belong to. Turns out Cindy Whitmarsh’s abs workouts on Exercise TV have done me a whole bunch of good, because I managed to do 100 situps in one set (N.B. – the “situps” recommended by the 200 Situps site are actually crunches, since full situps are not good for your back). I got 80 squats in, but only 18 push-ups! So now I know I need to work on my arms most of all.
It’s been an hour or so since I did the exhaustion test, and already my muscles are complaining. I think it’s a good idea to do these exercises every other day, as recommended on the site, to give my body a chance to recover.
Another Challenge
So I finished the 12-week Body-for-LIFE Challenge (or my version of it, at least), and I managed to lose 15 pounds! This is just about exactly what my doctor told me I should aim for, so obviously my hard work paid off.
HOWEVER, we are now in the midst of the heavy eating and drinking portion of the year. Between Thanksgiving, various holiday parties, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve, I’m afraid the temptation to be bad has been overwhelming, and I’m not eating with as much discretion as I was while I was in the middle of the challenge.
Also, I have not reached my goal weight of 160 yet, and I think I may need another challenge to motivate me. My friend Ellen has been participating in a weight-loss motivation program called Lose It or Lose It, a website where you make a monetary investment in your weight loss, and if you don’t lose the weight, you lose your money. It’s a pretty clever idea, actually, and I’m considering joining the program (once New Year’s Eve has come and gone and I’ve stopped eating so many darned Christmas cookies).
In the meantime, Ellen and I have been talking about the Two Hundred Situps challenge, which, like the Couch to 5K program, trains you to gradually be able to do 200 situps in one day. Talk about six-pack abs! There are related challenges, like Hundred Push-Ups and Hundred Squats.
So we’re going to go triple-threat and participate in the 100 squats/200 situps/100 push-ups challenge and get our bodies nice and strong! The great thing about these programs is that they have an log book that is connected with Facebook, so Ellen and I can keep track of our progress and stay accountable to each other. Right, Ellen? And I invite any of you to come along for the ride and post comments letting me know what you think and how you’re doing.
Body-for-LIFE: Walking the Plank
One of the hardest exercises I find about many of the workout programs I’ve been sampling on Exercise TV is plank position. Designed to strengthen your core (abs, back, legs — as well as shoulders and arms), the plank position is essentially the position you put your body into before starting a pushup, only you make sure your hands are directly below your shoulders.
Once you’ve gotten your body into that position, you can either stay there for a while, yoga-style, while your abs and arms scream in agony, or you can do any number of dynamic exercises, from plank jacks to mountain climbers to just plain push-ups…all of which are incredibly difficult for me. I am getting better at it, though, which is encouraging.
Only 13 days left in the Body-for-LIFE Challenge! I’ve got 1 more pound to shed before I get to my challenge goal, and I’m pretty confident I’ll get there. I think I’d like to drop at least another 15 pounds, so I’ll continue this same regimen until I get to my ideal weight.
In the meantime, here’s my girl Cindy Whitmarsh showing how to do the plank pose.
Body-for-LIFE: Getting into the Groove
This will just be a quickie as I wait for some files to download onto my computer.
I noticed this morning that I was very easily accomplishing the Cindy Whitmarsh Exercise TV workouts that a few weeks ago made me feel like I was going to die. I guess that means I’m getting stronger! And I guess it also means I have to step it up a notch (again).
I have now lost 14 pounds and am continuing to lose more. Everything they say about getting fit is true: I do have more energy, and I’m generally happier (even though winter is on its way, which brings out the SAD in me). Surprisingly, I’m also noticing that I have a lot more self-confidence, which is affecting my singing and my personal interactions with people.
I still have to force myself to start exercising every day, though. And I am continuing to struggle with my nutritional choices. But it’s all a part of the process, I know…just as my friend Rebecca is going through a walkabout to discover more about herself, so my physical changes are bringing out emotional sides of me that perhaps have been buried. I know that the simple (simple? ha!) feat of losing weight is not a silver bullet for all the problems in my life, but this process is certainly putting some stuff into perspective, and THAT is why I am doing it.
Working Out and Singing
My friend Amy suggested that I write a post about my experience trying to keep up with the Body-for-LIFE Challenge while also rehearsing and performing at the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s production of Madama Butterfly, so here goes.
This year, I have had the great good fortune to be able to make my money singing — and nothing else. That situation made this past summer very lean (and a little scary), but once September came around, I was happy to see my paycheck come in from the Opera Company. I had a small role in Madama Butterfly (I played Kate Pinkerton, the American wife), so my checks were larger than I am used to just being in the chorus, which makes the scariness of the summer a little more tolerable.
I only mention this because it means I’ve also had the flexibility in my schedule to work out every day, something that I may not have had time for a year or two ago. The Body-for-LIFE guidelines suggest working out 6 days a week, which is no easy feat if you’ve got to get up early, go to your day job, then go to rehearsal, and come home exhausted. My day job was opera rehearsals, and since my role was so small, I wasn’t even called to very many of those! So I eased into a morning workout routine that has served me well.
Being gone from the house for such a long time, especially around dinner time, does wreak havoc with one’s meal plans. I tried the best I could, bringing protein bars in my purse to help with hunger cravings and trying to buy healthy salads instead of fatty tuna melts (my kryptonite), but I’m sure that one of the reasons I didn’t lose weight nearly as quickly over the five weeks of rehearsing and performing Butterfly is that I didn’t eat quite as conscientiously as I would have otherwise.
What also didn’t help is that, as a principal artist, I was invited to receptions and dinners by the company (to meet donors, etc.), and of course there was food and wine at all these events. I think there may be something about being an actor that turns on this pig-out mentality in my head when free food is available. Perhaps subconsciously we actors think that this free meal might be our only meal of the day (and there have been times in my life when that has been the case!), so we might as well fill ourselves up. Either way, it was difficult for me to turn that sensor off in my brain, and I think there were a few days there where I ate way more than my allotted caloric intake.
My costume helped a little: I was wearing a very heavy skirt (it must have weighed about 30 pounds!), and my dressing room was on the third floor, so walking up and down the stairs in my costume helped burn at least a few of those calories. And even though I was starting to get too small for my jeans in the real world, my costume stayed on just fine…probably due to the fact that I was slowing my weight loss with all that free food!
Now I’m in rehearsals for Philadelphia Singers‘ season opening concert, Bach and Beyond. I’m back to rehearsing at night, but I still have my days free. That means I can stick to my routine of a workout first thing in the morning, followed by a protein shake for breakfast. I eat lunch at home, and, if I can, I also have an early dinner at home before I go to rehearsal. I really like Amy’s idea of making sure that I have at least one salad a day; it helps keep my fiber intake up, as well as being a low-fat, low-calorie meal choice. Plus, I really like salads.
Don’t think I’m sitting around doing nothing else during the day, though! I’m trying to run a business and learn music for a recital I’m doing in March (featuring works by Philadelphia composers Benjamin C.S. Boyle and Jeremy Gill), not to mention my ever-increasing work I’ve gotten myself into for The Crossing. I’m still as busy as ever.
Exercise TV Review: Abs of Steel
When I saw the “Abs of Steel” workout listing on Comcast On Demand, I couldn’t resist. I remember growing up with commercials for Abs of Steel and Buns of Steel on the television, and I always wondered what they did to make their abs so rock-hard. Since I’ve been concentrating a lot on abs during my workouts recently, I thought this new, updated version with Leisa Hart would be the perfect addition to my armamentarium.
At least, that’s what I thought.
Once again, I was disappointed that I strayed from my Jillian Michaels/Cindy Whitmarsh training. The workout was 25 minutes, divided up into 10 minutes of standing abs work, 10 minutes of chair work, and 5 minutes of mat work, none of which were extremely effective.
The standing abs portion was a series of fairly standard combinations targeting the obliques, mostly, but the combination of movements were put together way too quickly. By the time I actually figured out the series of moves, she was on to the next combination, so I never had any time to do the moves properly. I did get my heart pumping, though, and I was sweating by the end of the 10 minutes, so good for that.
The next part was seated abs moves, for which one needs a chair. Now, I do these exercises in my living room, and the only chairs we’ve got are soft and squishy couches — definitely not conducive to good exercise. I tried my best to keep my abs tight as I did all the exercises, but my couch kept sucking me into its vortex of comfort.
The last five minutes were for crunches on the mat, and this part actually was effective, but it was only for 5 minutes! And the last minute of that was stretches, so really it was four minutes of crunches. Very disappointing. All in all, I think if I want a good abs workout, I’m sticking with Cindy Whitmarsh. She knows how to get me into shape.
Exercise TV Review: Slim & Sexy
I’m not sure how or why I got to this category, but I think I was trying to find something completely different. And I did. I have only tried one workout in the “Slim & Sexy” category and I was not impressed. The programs in this category (as of today) are:
- Booty Beat (12 mins.)
- Bootylicious Buns (11 mins.)
- Camera-Ready Core (11 mins.)
- Chair Dance (8 mins.)
- Kendra’s Shape Up (11 mins.)
- Kim Kardashian Abs (23 mins.)
- Kim Kardashian Butt (23 mins.)
- Kim Kardashian Step (23 mins.)
As far as I can tell, this is geared towards the Reality TV-watching, Cosmo-reading demographic — you know, the women who go out to night clubs every weekend and want to put a strip pole in their bedrooms for “exercise.” I ended up choosing the Kim Kardashian Abs program, because it was the longest program…and, sadly, because I had heard of Kim Kardashian (although I’ve never seen her show).
The first thing I noticed is that Kim wasn’t the one leading the workout; her personal trainer was. In fact, this was essentially a peek into what Kim Kardashian does when she works out…only she’s working out in full makeup, wearing a girdle (!!!) and a push-up bra. Oh, and her long, luxurious hair is down, so you know she’s not going to be exerting her head too much. I was rolling my eyes from the very first minute, but I decided to keep watching and working out.
Kim’s personal trainer (too bad they never say her name) is actually a pretty good trainer. I got a good workout on my arms and abs (not so much my legs, but the video did specify this was supposed to focus on abs), but I didn’t break a sweat because Kim never broke a sweat. I mean, if you’re going to cake that much makeup on for the camera, you can’t actually sweat it off, now, can you?
(Oh, I’m sorry. Was that my out loud voice?)
Let’s just say that although I do watch reality TV (mostly Survivor and Amazing Race, but yes, The Real World is a guilty pleasure of mine), I don’t really read Cosmo, and I am a lot more no-nonsense than the women this particular category is catering to. I’ll be avoiding the Slim & Sexy category from now on…and also anything by Kim Kardashian.