Bridal Boot(y) Camp

1 Month To Go

I really can't believe that it's only one month until my wedding!

This is a picture of the calendar in our kitchen. Bree and I are tracking our gym time with stickers - a method developed and patented by my sisters for maximum motivation and goal tracking. Each sticker represents a minimum of 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise. I am using the fish stickers while Bree has opted for the junk food ones. I got two fish yesterday (7K run at lunch and 1hr spin after work), but I took this photo yesterday when they weren't there yet. Today is a well deserved day off!

Whatcha gonna do with all that junk?

One of the first things you will note is that a picture of my butt is not cleverly displayed on this blog.  Something I learned very recently is that it is very difficult to take a self-portrait of your tush, so I'll forgo you the pleasure of gaining insight into how well-formed my butt is becoming from my Jean's Marines marathon training. 

I joined Jean's Marines this year as motivation to compete in my very first Marathon – The Marine Corps Marathon (which, with its hardcore name, is probably just enough motivation to get going…not to mention the sweet hug you get from a crisp-uniformed Marine!)  Jean's Marines was set up by Dr. Jean Marmoreo, an avid marathon runner who decided that a woman of any age can finish a marathon and started up a group to prove just that.  Growing every year, Jean's Marines has a wide mix of women of all ages, and I'm in the group of young ones who liked the atmosphere and joined up.  I find the group very motivational and not intimidating at all, as opposed to the Running Room groups I see on the streets who look way too intense for me in matching gear and faces that border on rage (is this the sign of hardcore?)   Every time I say a good morning to them as I pass by on my run I get weird grunting sounds in return. When the Jean's Marines group runs you get cheering, laughing, chatty women enjoying themselves as they go for their goals.  Sure, a marathon is hard work, but training should be fun, right!?  I'm doing this for health, fitness, and PLEASURE! 

            Last year I quit smoking.  If my parents are somehow reading this, smoking is a euphemism for "eating healthy".  I don't even know how to light a cigarette.  Due to "quitting smoking", I gained some weight in my butt which is where cheesecake likes to go on my bod.  So when January rolled around I, like so many others before me, made it a goal to get back to my pre-quitting-smoking weight and my pre-quitting-smoking ass, which was pretty smoking itself.  So by Allison and Costin's wedding, I am going to have a sweet ass once more.  This is what my training weeks generally look like:

Monday Morning – Run, 5k

Monday Lunch – Arms at the gym

Monday Night – Yoga

Tuesday Morning – Run, 7k

Tuesday Lunch – legs at the gym

Wednesday Morning – SLEEP IN! (until 7)

Wednesday Lunch – Run, 5k

Thursday Morning – Run, 8k

Thursday Lunch – Spinning

Thursday Night – Yoga

Friday Morning – Run 5K

Friday Lunch – legs at the gym

Saturday – 8am – Run with Jean's Marines

Sunday Morning – Run whatever distance my body can handle.  This now ranges from 10-12k.

These distances are increasing every week, as is my muscle-mass.  I love the feeling of sore muscles because that tells me that my body is slowly changing.  No changes to my diet though, but it generally has always consisted of healthy food.  I eat very little red meat, tons of fruits and veggies, and no sweets.  I've decided to take it further and give up dessert entirely in all situations so this Easter, the bunny won't be visiting and I won't be visiting my Uncle Ken's amazing chocolate shop.  Even looking at his website makes me gain 10 pounds.  Instead I will be running the Harry Rosen Spring Run-Off, my first run of the year, and then enjoying a diet of baby play-time with Allison's adorable nieces.  Sweeter than cheesecake!

The Home Stretch

There are now 48 days until the wedding. My measurements have not really changed since the dress fitting about a month and a half ago, which is probably a good thing because the dress fit really well. However, I wouldn't mind being just a bit smaller. Here are the Washboard Watch photos (Week 1 vs. Week 12):

   

I think there has been an improvement even though I don't have a six pack. I saw a woman at the gym with a six pack but she was so skinny it wasn't attractive. Having a six pack with a bit of booty would be ideal but I think I would have to get lypo for that and I'm really not into vanity surgery.

Overall Bridal Booty Camp is going well. Kristin and I survived the Double (1 hr. Spin followed by Body Pump) and we will be trying it again on Tuesday with Bree. Will she survive? I think the spinning is making my thighs smaller, too, which is a bonus despite the massive headache I get afterwards (not to worry, it's probably dehydration as it goes away after I drink about a litre of water). Now, I just need to hold on to the momentum until the wedding!

Stevie has expressed interest in joining bridal booty camp, so I will be posting her starting stats in the side bar. She is training for a full marathon and is thus my hero. If I'm lucky, I'll get her to do the next post.

Booty Camp, Reloaded

It's been a month since I tried the dress on. Despite all of my worrying, it fits like a glove. Strange how after writing down the measurement I need to maintain, I found my hand on the inside of a dill pickle chip bag. The junk food binge was quite intense, and even included a Mr. Big chocolate bar. Luckily it didn't last more than a weekend.

Since the beginning of March, Bridal Booty Camp has been re-loaded. Two critical things happened: Bree joined the gym and Kristin fell in love with spinning. Hopefully, they will both need to buy new dresses in May because nothing in their closets will fit them.

                 

Tonight Kristin and I are doing something that some people may think is utter foolish: 1 hr Spinning back to back with Body Pump. Will we survive?  Stay tuned!

PS: If you would like to join Bridal Booty Camp, I will post your before and after pics (totally optional) as well as your work-out goals and progress. You don't need to be a bride to join.

The Day of Reckoning is Approaching

I just got a message yesterday that the dress is in. This means I can go for a fitting and find out whether I am a size 8. This terrifies me. Looking over the stats though, I've been doing pretty well.  Although I've only lost 2.6 lbs (I went back to the old scale), I have lost an inch off my thighs, an inch off my hips and an inch and a half off my waist. I only lost half an inch on my guns but then don't go into the dress, so I'm not really worried.  But stil...what if the dress is too small?

Garlique

When I lived with my sister it seemed she pointed out that I smelled of garlic every single day.  In fact, we decided that my super power would be my uncanny ability to scare of villains with my powerful garlic smell and my super hero name would in fact be "Garlique".  I don't think I smell like garlic, but Mary's super power (in real life) is her heightened sense of smell.

Today though, I pulled my gym shorts out of my gym bag to find that my salad container had spilled and they were now soaked in vinegar. Ever intrepid, I wore them despite the acetic acid odour. To add insult to injury, the BodyPump class Kristin and I went to tonight was lead by "Captain Guns" (Kristin's great at coming up with names for cute guys with big muscles). Thank GOD I'm engaged and don't have to worry about whether I reek of vinegar when my fiance's not around.

Noticeable Difference?

After one month, the tape measures says that my hips and thighs have gotten smaller. However, the pictures are not of identical scale, so I sort of look the same. I did take my jeans off without unbuttoning them at the gym on Friday though (totally unplanned), which I've taken as a good sign AND my bikini is coming up higher in the front because my bottom is smaller - another good sign.

 

I wasn't able to visit the new official scale of Bridal Booty Camp this weekend, but I have updated the other stats. By the way, the tan line just above my knees is from too many cycling trips.  It's pretty much permanent.

It's Not Just Me

I've been cheating on the scale in the bathroom with a hot little scale I ran into at the gym. It's been sweet on me, telling me I've been losing weight and such, while the bathroom scale is non-committal to any sort of weight change trend. Today, Brianne confirmed that she has a similar relationship with the bathroom scale and is thinking that it may be time to change its batteries. I think this is just the excuse I need to change the official scale of Bridal Booty Camp. I have been weighing myself since the beginning at the gym, so the transition should be relatively painless. I've updated the original and week 3's stats to reflect the change.  However, after a weekend of poor eating and partying (yes, there were chips and booze!), I'm not hopeful that I will like the gym scale's read out. The exercise part went well over the weekend though, so hopefully it will all even out.

Since Monday I've been back on the waggon, so to speak. I went to the gym on and concentrated on my shoulders after my sister advised me that the secret to hot arms is to have bigger shoulders. Last night I did my half-marathon training on the treadmill. Today I am hoping that it is warm enough to run outside at lunchtime.

Addicted to Sugar

My diet just went right out the window this week.  There were chocolate bars, bar food items and BEER!  Beer is actually my nemesis because whenever I have it, it makes me crave sugar during the next couple of days.  Anyway, although I've been exercising, because I've had such a piss-poor diet, I am now back up to my pre-bridal booty camp weight. Luckily, my waist measurement is still the same and my hips and arms are now a bit smaller. My thighs though are another story. They are half an inch bigger!  I am very sensitive about my powerful thighs because they are so...uh...powerful and my lower body is where I carry all of my weight. For some reason, I have deluded myself into believing that working out will make my thighs smaller. I know that there is fat down there as well as muscle but will getting rid of the fat make them smaller or will the muscle gain occlude any size changes due to fat loss?

Maybe I should be doing a photo diary of my thighs instead of my abs... If I'm brave enough, I'll post a "before" pic tomorrow.

I Survived the Weekend

The weekend was most uneventful.  I followed my diet, did my race training, did some weights on Saturday and then did some yoga on Sunday. No big deal. However, I was permanently marked by my long run on Sunday. My thighs rubbed together so much that I actually got visible welts on the insides of my legs!

By the way, I got an email from Mary stating that the incline on the treadmill should be "1" (and not "2" like I set it at on Saturday).