Don’t Be So Shellfish
04 May 2010 Leave a Comment
in GRAVITY Experiment Tags: gravity, guilty, mommies, nursing, pregnant, seafood, shellfish, treadmill
GRAVITY Experiment Day #23
Today’s weight: 146.5 (okay, let’s try this again)
Pounds lost / pounds to go: 4.0 / 11.0
Exercise: 30 min of interval training on the treadmill – 4.2 mph for 2 min at 0% grade alternating with 2 min at 11% grade (did jog at 6.0 mph for 30 seconds during 0% grade time); jogged for 8 min between 6-7 mph and walked another 4 min at 4.2 mph to cool down; ab work – 30 reps each of reverse crunches and heels to heaven, 30 sec each of bicycles forward and back, side plank holds for 1 min each. This was supposed to be my GRAVITY day but I’ve been wanting to switch my days around and I just felt like being on the treadmill today.
Those of you who have kids know that they sometimes get their words a little mixed up. During a recent argument between my 5-year-old and 8-year-old, the little one emphatically declared that his older sister was being “so shellfish!!!”
I couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit (as did his sister) but he was simply stating the truth given the situation. She was being shellfish. But aren’t all kids shellfish? Isn’t it our job as parents to get them to understand that the world doesn’t revolve around them?
But what about us as adults? Even more (in my humble opinion) – mommies. When did the switch flip that made us feel so insanely guilty taking time to invest in ourselves? I have really struggled with feeling shellfish about taking the time to get my workouts in because it’s time that I’m not focused on the kids, my job, my home, my husband, and on and on. But I’m beginning to understand the importance of it.
Over the past 9 years, I have spent approximately 5 years either pregnant or nursing – sometimes both at the same time. I know I’m supposed to look back on those years with all of these fond memories (and I do – for some things), but I literally felt like my body had been taken hostage. My kids have finally gotten to a stage where nobody is having to be held continuously and there isn’t a munchkin wrapped around my leg 24/7. There are definitely parts of that I miss but I do appreciate my regained independence and ability to be a little shellfish again.
I’m a little over three weeks into this experiment and my husband has commented on how my mood has evened out (don’t know what he was implying). I don’t feel like a hypocrite telling my patients to exercise knowing that I’m putting in the time also. And last but not least, my confidence is slowly coming back. I’m feeling like a more effective wife, mom, friend and worker.
I’ve concluded that seafood is good for you. Everyone needs a little shellfish in their diet.
Grills and Candy Cigarettes
25 Apr 2010 2 Comments
in GRAVITY Experiment Tags: 3-D, antibacterial, Big League Chew, bling, candy cigarettes, classical music, date, Gargamel, gravity, grill, heart rate, How to Train Your Dragon, jogging, Mr. Bulky's, pregnant, Snickers, treadmill, Willy Wonka
GRAVITY Experiment Day #14
Today’s weight: 148.5 (felt 95% better today)
Pounds lost / pounds to go: 2.0 / 13.0
Exercise: Doubled up to catch up today – 30 minutes interval training on treadmill (4.2 mph for 1.5 min / 5.0 mph jog for 30 seconds at 0% grade alternating with 4.2 mph for 2.0 min at 10% grade); felt great at the end of this so I jogged for 10 min at 6.0 mph; 30 minutes GRAVITY training – very cool workout that kept my heart rate up from what I could feel but I need to start wearing a monitor
I had the pleasure of taking my 5-year-old on a date tonight to see How to Train Your Dragon. After forking over an insane amount for the flattering 3-D glasses, there was no chance I was spending a dime at the concession counter. I was totally cool with smuggling something in my purse from Mr. Bulky’s though so we headed off hand-in-hand;-)
Because it was a special occasion, I told Will he could pick out one item as a treat to enjoy during the movie. After choosing the giant amusement park lollipop, I had to set a $2 limit and a size restriction of, “It has to fit in Mommy’s movie purse.”
A friend had tipped us off last week that Mr. Bulky’s had candy cigarettes so of course, like any good parent, I suggested he get those. Seriously. I have very fond memories of eating candy cigarettes as a kid. It ranks right up there with dipping Big League Chew and watching little blue dwarfs living in mushrooms try to outsmart the evil sorcerer Gargamel. I’ll save the psychology behind all of that for another post.
Anyway, Will was not at all interested in the smokes. He wanted the candy grill instead. Not my first choice but hilarious. Here he was in our local version of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory and he picks the blinged-out teeth.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d say I rate about 7 when it comes to being one of those freaky moms – I’m pretty far up there when it came to playing classical music through headphones on my pregnant belly and exposing my children to anything that would undoubtedly make them geniuses (at least with the first child).
Stuff like this doesn’t phase me though. I was just thrilled to find out the grill only had 45 calories in it opposed to the 440-calorie King Size Snickers. My kid has a much greater chance of being obese than he does of thinking that a grill is the way to go. I almost grabbed the cigarettes and bubble gum chew just to prove a point – doggone it, I want to be the one that teaches him about tobacco use, alcohol, sex, and drugs – not his friends! But then I remembered it was just a trip to the candy store;-) And I have standards - in this situation I’m teaching him it’s okay to smuggle in the name of frugality, cigs are cool (as long as you can eat them), and rotting your teeth is mandatory during a movie. I’m a shoo-in for Mother of the Year;-)
Back to the bling – I think Will is going to remember more about his time with Mommy than his candy choice. In case you were wondering, I did squirt his hands with antibacterial gel before he put in his gold teeth.
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