Month #2 at the gym; complete.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Theme, Intro

The Good

• I seem to be acquiring a butt. This may be bad for some people, namely the ones that say they look at pizza and gain weight. I am one of those few that has no ass. I have to wear belts with EVERYTHING because I have no ass to hold up my pants. Not to mention my hips belong to those of a 12 year old boy. So the benefits of working out shows, on my butt muscles, in a positive way. Maybe now when I sit on a curb my butt won't hurt as much.
• My boobs have suddenly become much perkier. I guess I have been building up my pecs from all the swimming I have been doing. My boobs are super perky and the strange little fat side rolls from my bra decided to pester someone else now. This is a good thing!
• I went to have my blood work done on my anemia and vitamin levels, doc says my vitamin levels are where they should be. I am also no longer anemic. She advises that I get another set of labs done in 3 months to make sure I am still doing well. Hooray! I only have to take one iron pill a day instead of 3 and my multivitamin. She even told me that I look pink and healthy!
  

The Bad

• I had the flu in February. After I got over the flu, I caught a cold. So I neglected going to the gym. I was going five days a week but I didn't feel well so I stayed home more often than usual. I also didn't want to share my awesome plague with the other gym members. I tried to go to the gym between sicknesses and I was just so exhausted after. I decided I would wait it out till I was okay instead of just prolonging feeling sick.
  
• I failed to weigh myself because I don't keep a scale at home and I wasn't at the gym as much as I wanted to go. So the last time my weight was checked I was down 2 more pounds (total of 6 pounds lost) at the doctors office, that was about two weeks ago. I will try to better track my weight from now on. I also don't track my measurements, is that important?
  

And The Ugly

• Chlorine fucking sucks! It makes my skin feel tight and itchy, yes I shower immediately after getting out of the pool. It has also caused my hair to start falling out. Luckily I have tons of hair and I am not too worried. But it is counter productive when I am finally, after decades of short hair, trying to grow it out. So I need to get a swim cap; problem solved. I just hate how much hair I lose when I brush and wash my hair. And I think the lack of fullness that I am used to is making me more paranoid about it. The mister says my hair looks just fine, sometimes I wonder if he is just saying it to be nice.
  

So what's next???

• Germany is around the corner and after reviewing some of the sights I want to visit I realized, I am not physically ready. I go to the gym, yea that's all fine and dandy; but my body is not ready. I will be walking on tours and touring castles or cathedrals with a lot of stairs. Miles, upon miles of stairs! So I decided since my hair needs a chlorine break, I am making March my StairMaster Month. I will run, use the elliptical and use that StairMaster in preparation for Germany. I hate stairs!!!
  
• I need to continue working out my arms in preparation for the strapless dress I am wearing for Nina's birthday this summer. I am such a wimpy girl. I sit at a computer for a living, I have absolutely no arm strength. I think I would cause more damage if I flailed around like my arms had no bones than if I actually tried to straight punch something.
  
• I also need to stop being lazy about my ab routine. I am soggy in the middle, for a reason. I hate ab routines! But it's all for the best, I wanna look nice for that summer wedding. And I want to be comfortable in the dress not feel like I am constricted in a torture device (which I find most dresses to fall under this category) or muffin topping out of it.
• Stay way from the candy!!! Oh god I love Easter candy! Something about pastel colored candy. It does it for me. My favorites are the pastel colored malt eggs and the candy coated pastel almonds. It is not healthy, I will end up sugar crashing and my dentist probably doesn't agree with my snacking choices.

In other unrelated news. I watched a documentary called Forks Over Knives, my friend Jenn recommended it. On the long drive to the Aquarium earlier this month we got to the topic of food. This documentary is pretty interesting and I am seriously considering reducing the amount of animal protein in my good. The documentary talks about the benefits of an all plant based diet.

No meat?! What the hell; are you joking???? Nope, no joke. Absolutely no meat.

Santa Maria is famous for it's Santa Maria Style Barbecue meat is a way of life here. I eat fairly healthy and only have red meat when I am at a BBQ or go out to a steakhouse. At home it's usually chicken or fish. I think if I put my mind to it, I could eliminate more animal protein and add more plant protein. In an effort to keep the doctor away I am willing to try it. Fresh produce is in abundance here so it would not be a problem to try this style of eating. I am not going to be super crazy strict but if I improve my eating habits at home, why not try it.

I will have to keep meat in the house for my husband or he might die!