July 2021

Girl, Look At That Friday – Journey #5

Alright alright alright. Friday is in the house. You know who else shows up on Fridays? That’s right, the Reverend SteelerShyner. The Rev is in the house and looking forward to hearing the congregation in full throat. We do a call and response. I say “And the congregation said ROCO” and you say “ROCO!” Pretty easy, right? Let’s warm it up. It’s Friday, and we ain’t got shit to do. And the congregation said ROCO. You may also JOCO if you are more comfortable with that. I’m all for picking your chosen genitalia.

And now, my good people, my lovely congregation, let’s get on with it. Today’s soundtrack is heavily BBD based. Never trust a big butt and a smile, and the congregation said ROCO. If you are not running your day with a soundtrack, you’re definitely missing out. Music will make all tasks that you might not necessarily want to complete get done that much faster. I mean, work goes way faster when I’m doing glute isolations in my chair as I type, lol. Go ahead, try it.

TL/DR: Cool shit happens when you join a BOD group. The Fit Inn is waiting for you.

On to the journey. As previously mentioned, I’ve been doing Beachbody workouts since 2009. I’ve been subscribed to BeachbodyOnDemand (BOD) since 2017. Huh. That’s a long time. Anywho, when you sign up for BOD, you get a coach. I really never paid any attention to that part of it; I just went in and did my workout and that was it. Fast forward four years and I see that my pole idol is now doing Beachbody and she’s a coach. We connected and I switched over to her as my coach.

Well, she’s invested in her coaching business and so she runs her BOD Group like a champ. (A BOD group is an online room where we encourage each other, ask and answer questions, and just be silly.) After four years of using the programs, I started actually using the program to its fullest. I joined her group when we started doing #mbf (muscle burns fat), then continued on with Let’s Get Up (oh, just had the opportunity to talk to Shaun T and his hubby Scott on their IG live, no biggie), and now we’re doing 645 and I just received my 2 week invite to be in Amoila Cesar’s (!) BOD group where we can chat directly with him and ask him questions. In case you somehow missed it, Amoila is the trainer for the 645 program. Yup, direct access!

So yeah, it’s legit. I’m kicking off my baby BOD group, The Fit Inn. The Fit Inn is where we get it in. I’m so clever. Let the congregation say ROCO!

Alright, today’s shake is in my belly (peach mango). I’m absolutely full of fucking energy. There’s no need for coffee. I’m waking before my alarm and I’m mostly staying awake until I’m ready to go to bed. Happy that I’m not having an afternoon crash as it moved itself to around 8:30 after I’ve had dinner and a shower. I suppose that’s fair. I kinda gave my body all of the time to rest signals and then I expect it to not rest for another 90 minutes. I’m a dick.

I just saw Fred Durst’s selfie from Instagram. Remember back when I talked about reading Rollin’ in a smoking jacket with a pipe? Fred Durst is now set up to do it his damn self! Please let this somehow get to him and he actually does it. Me getting credit would just be a bonus.

My mood may be slightly improving considering that I’m not ready to knock anyone’s block off and my period just started. We’ll take that as a win. No weird cravings but still hungry often. I’m probably going to have to have a look at what I’m eating and add more freaking calories. Yes, more. Feed the beast. No poop details today. It happened and that’s enough.

I think that’s gonna be it for me today. Even though I’ll be working out tomorrow and having shakes both tomorrow and Sunday, I probably won’t be checking in here again until Monday. Writing deserves a weekend break and besides, I have my other job and shit. 🙂 Have a great day and an even better weekend! ROCO!

The Journey #4 – Ain’t Cryin For Shit

Ooooh, boy does this song take me back. Hi Mario! Yeah, so there’s a small group of people who are going to get this song and unless I tag them on FB, they aren’t gonna even see this. BUT that doesn’t mean that this song doesn’t STAY in rotation on Spotify.

Back in the days of drinking. A lot. Like starting my shift at work with a mind eraser (straw version, hi Tania!)Like drinking all through the shift because trying to deal with a bunch of drunk people while you’re stone cold sober will have you punching people and losing your job. Like finishing your shift and going to the next bar and slamming down cheeseburgers like your life depended on it, lol.

Anywho, back in those days when everyone is pretty liquored up (Club Med, ya heard) after the main bar closed, off we headed to the after-bar bar. Of course, everyone is on a certain high and no one wants to bring that down just yet. Without fail, we would put this song on so Mario could rap it. But the first part is so slow and people would start to get mad. Complaining like we were at a high school dance all of a sudden. People knew me as the keeper of the booze so if I gave them a side eye, they piped down and right about then Mario busts it loose. Good times. Sharkies forever.

This is unrelated to anything but the 90s RnB is just HITTING today! Go look up DJ Cassidy and his Pass the Mic stuff. It’s great.

Ok, let me get into the update. MOOOOOOOOOD! Today, I’m feeling like I did a couple bumps after Shakeology. In this particular case, I’m not blindly making that comparison, lol.

I’m no angel. I’ve tried my fair share of illegal drugs. Starting with the black beauty I found in the couch as a kid (LOL I will never not tell that story, mom) I’ve seen the things. Cocaine is the ONLY drug I tried that I could 100% understand why people got addicted to it. Like why they wanted to go back and wanted to go back so badly. I did it twice in the span of a couple days and never again. Thinking back on that particular not wise decision will be enough. Besides, I’m obviously getting my crazy energy out of the Shakeology. Totally legal.

That actually takes care of both mood and energy. Still no weird cravings. What I am finding (again) is that I really gotta fuel myself better. I don’t have cravings, I’m just flat out hungry so it’s time to get back into making sure that I’m having my snacks. The first time I heard someone say I needed to eat 5 times a day, I thought they were out of their damn minds. This particular workout program is working me hard and I know because I am hungry. Breakfast, shake, lunch, snack, dinner, and then maybe some chocolate milk before bed. All the food. All the calories. Yes and yum. Gotta fuel the beast!

Ok, look. No one wants to talk about poop. Except me sometimes, lol. It’s just poop. We all do it. If you don’t, see a doctor. I spent a larger part of the day than I wanted to yesterday feeling like I had to poop. Every time I went in there, though, I got nothing but maybe a fart. That’s not to say I didn’t have my morning constitutional…twice. But then I just felt like I needed more. Then this morning poop acted like it needed a fucking written invitation. GTFOH you literal piece of shit!

Yeah, that’s probably a good place to end this today. You’ve had enough. But come back tomorrow because it’s Friday and the Reverend may be in rare form.

Bye, Norma!

Gasp and clutch your pearls! Did she just say that the great Marilyn Monroe could get the hell on?!? Damn right I did. So what? She ain’t/wasn’t perfect. *cough* JFK *cough *a bunch of other dudes* But this song for sure, she is wrong about.

I’m not a big jewelry hound. I’m not saying I don’t have any jewelry, because I do, I just don’t really wear it. I did wear it daily when I was going to work in an office, but now, I work remotely and hubby isn’t really interested in cute outfits with matching jewelry (not that anyone in the office was either, but I had standards to keep). So, yep, I put my wedding ring on if I’m going out somewhere, but other than that, my earrings/bracelets/rings/necklaces are just chilling in my jewelry box(es).

BUT, you know what is/are my best friend? SOCKS!! I have sock problems. No show, ankle, crew, knee, and thigh-high I have them all. Socks for sliding around the house, socks for sliding around the studio, and compression socks for working out. I LOVE SOCKS! I have stripes and checks, dots, hearts, and puzzle pieces. There are Batman, bacon, and Namaste as Fuck socks. Like I said, I have a sock problem. I’m ok with it though. Hubby enables me. When you’re married to me, it’s 1000% acceptable to give socks as a gift. Ain’t he lucky?

Let’s pop into the journey, shall we? Don’t stop believing.

Today in the shake, I learned a valuable lesson. I need to go ahead and puree my blackberries and strain them because I spent WAY too much time spitting out seeds while trying to drink my shake. *facepalm* However, having the right amount of fluid in it made it, again, something I didn’t hate. I wouldn’t say that I’m a picky eater, but I would go out on a limb and say that I have a refined palate. Thanks, Club Med! Introducing me to world foods. Texture is almost more important than taste in some cases. I’m weird. Know what’s great? The texture of a kiwi. I love the sandiness of it. See? Weird.

Anyway, nothing has changed with my mood or energy. I did have a brief moment of extra tired last night before it was time to actually be tired, but it passed pretty quickly. I’ve been sleeping like a champ. Solid 6.5 hours, pushing 7 over the last two weeks. The last two nights, the ole Fitbit said my sleep was excellent. We’ll see if that streak holds. I’ve never really had sleep issues, but high sleep scores are fun to see. I remain my same slightly grumpy at the world but generally pleasant self.

Still pooping. I think that the shake may send me to the land of two poops a day. I can deal with that being at home. Besides, we’re all walking around with like 5 pounds of shit in our colons (or so they say. Who knows if it’s true. Do you get an ultrasound of a colon? Can’t be an x-ray. MRI doesn’t really make sense. I digress. Not important. But what is important and kinda going along with the poop is drinking all of this water. First two days I had to pee just under a million times. Fortunately, the bathroom is right next to my office and my office is in my house and nobody cares how many times I pee. But if you’re at home often, this is the perfect time to up that water intake. Cuz you’re probably dehydrated.

Well, since my router died and now I gotta use data…peace!

The Journey: Day 2

Heeeeeey there! Welcome back. When we last left our heroine, she was setting about her day of doing IT stuff and stuff. As we’ve returned today, she’s doing the same thing! Imagine that. It isn’t always interesting, but it pays the bills and the people are nicer than Bob Ross and Mr. Rogers put together.

Let’s jump right into it. Today’s workout is done. Truthfully, something has to be really wrong where I don’t work out. Like an extreme amount of physical pain. I will work out through headaches and cramps and usually feel much better after in both cases, so a little bit of pain doesn’t stop the train. It wasn’t as sweaty as yesterday, but I know I still put in work. This is a whole new concept in working out, for me, anyway. It’s the way I wish I had always known or been taught to work out. Functional fitness is just everything that I need.

One of the things (a pair of things) that I am using to determine how my flexibility, strength, and mobility are changing is squats. The other is side lunges. Neither of these things is a strong point for me, however, I am certainly seeing some progress. Where I never could before, I can now sit all the way down in malasana AND I can stand back up without having to tip forward and use my arms. My squats have been shit for a long time, but I’m finally getting to a point of getting parallel to the floor without issue. Baby steps, ya know? Those side lunges? Hated them. Still do, but now a little less. Glute meds are opening up and I’ve gotta be breaking up some scar tissue around my hip.

I know you’ve been dying to hear about today’s shake. Well, wait no longer! It was, dare I say, tasty? First off, even though the instructions say use 8 to 12 ounces of water/milk, I didn’t do that yesterday. Then my shake was thick and gross and so whey forward that I scooped it like melted ice cream (but it wasn’t quite that satisfying). Today, I wised up and actually followed the instructions and whaddya know, not too bad. Now, truly, can you ever go wrong with the combination of peaches and crystallized ginger? I think not. Calling the shake a win today. The right amount of liquid plus fruit plus spice equals a tasty drink.

As I mentioned yesterday, mood and cravings are on the tracker. Again, not feeling really any different as far as mood. I have thought of something to be consciously aware of as far as mood goes, though, so I’ll keep an eye on that. No, I’m not telling you here because you don’t need to know every damn thing about my life. I mean, seriously. But seriously seriously, there are like 4 people reading this, so I could tell you where I buried all the bodies and no one would be the wiser.

DISCLAIMER: I HAVE NOT HIDDEN ANY BODIES ANYWHERE!! OMG

While the shake is supposed to curb cravings, last night I wanted something sweet from out of nowhere. We didn’t have anything so I didn’t eat anything, but I thought that was something of note. It wasn’t a level 10 get me cake or die craving, more like a level 2 passing thought of some cake would be nice. I can handle that.

ENERGIA!! (That is only funny if we worked together in Ixtapa…boobies boobies) Yup, plenty of energy. Possibly too much. It wasn’t the best night of sleep, but I’m going to go ahead and blame that on the storms that rolled in and stuck around a while. Somewhere in the middle of the night, there was thunder so loud it woke both of us up. Now, to wake Lovey up doesn’t take much, but I sleep through everything. Not that thunder. I wake up with plenty of energy and the levels stay high throughout the day unless I smoke my face off. Then I’ll be a little tired before 9, lol. But I’ll also be uber-relaxed. You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have us smoking weed on the couch. (Legally. If you’re so uptight. I have a medical card for my state.)

What’s left? Everyone’s favorite topic! Poop! I’m such a good pooper. That’s what I thought until this morning when I went to the well and the well didn’t produce much. Huh. Oh well. HAHA. Sometimes it just takes a workout to get things moving and move they did so again I’ll check the box for regularity. Smooth.

Legit other things happen in my life and maybe one day I’ll get back to writing about those too. Who knows. But until tomorrow, drink your water, say your prayers, know your role and SHUT YOUR MOUTH! Jabroni.

The Journey Begins

Well hey there reading friends. How ya been? I know that I go and leave you all alone with no warning after I get you into a habit of checking what silly shit fell outta my brain on any given day, and for that, I apologize. Will I do it again? Oh, 100%. But that’s simply how I roll so round off your edges and just roll along with me.

What’s with the 30 days, you might ask? Well, for as long as I’ve been doing these Beachbody workouts, I’ve always heard about Shakeology. I did try it twice before and it wasn’t my jam. BUT, for the sake of research and actually seeing if it makes a difference in me personally, I decided to suck it up and try to have one of these shakes every day for a month. I’m going to make my best effort to blog about it daily, although it’s highly likely that Sundays will be a rest day for writing the same as they are for working out.

Maybe you know, maybe you don’t that there are several different flavors of Shakeology. I tried four of them and decided that vanilla would be my best bet for this trial. While chocolate seems to have more recipes, I’m not the biggest fan of chocolate and fruit seemed like it would go better with vanilla. In that vein, I stocked up on my frozen fruit. For the beginning of the challenge, I have strawberries, blackberries, mango, banana, and peaches. I think that fruit can always use a little spicing up, so for that there’s the always available cinnamon, honey, and some crystallized ginger.

I started the week with just strawberries. It isn’t that the shake has a bad flavor. It is, however, pretty whey forward. Which leads me to wonder if I should try the vegan one since it’s made differently, but I digress. I feel fairly certain (no I didn’t read the label) that there isn’t caffeine in this, per se, but there is definitely something in there that gives me a somewhat caffeinated feeling. It’s made with Madagascar vanilla but I feel like it could still use more. Mmmm, might have to get some Mexican vanilla extract, ooh look a squirrel! Anyways, day 1 shake has been consumed.

When you get an order of Shakeology, you get a tracker to see how you’re feeling over the course of the month. They touch on four topics: energy, cravings, mood, regularity. Over the course of the next 29 days, I’ll keep track of those four things plus trying to make sure I get 64 ounces of water a day. Yes, I’m legit gonna talk about pooping. Hooray!

The first one here, energy, is going to be interesting. Why? I don’t usually have energy drains. I have a schedule and my body is pretty accustomed to it. We get up at 5:30 and we’re back in the bed by 10. Sleep is key. Like I said, I feel as though there is something energizing in the shake, how much it affects me remains to be seen.

Next up is cravings. Again, kind of a weird spot for me. I’ve trained my body and mind to know that we know what we’re gonna eat and when we’re gonna eat it. I’m not someone who has a sweet tooth – I am really picky about my sweets. I will admit to having cravings for steak about once a month. You go ahead and do that math. That’s actually calmed down also now that I’m on my iron pills.

MWAHAHAHAHAHA MOOOOOOOOOD! If we were at two years ago, if we were at 4 years ago, my mood would, without a doubt, be something I needed to take a look at. However, current day, I work from home so no traffic and no germy office. I don’t have to be concerned with what I wear to work. I can step outside for fresh air any and every time I feel like it. If I need a day off, I can take it and no one is an asshole about it. If I’m simply not feeling well, they say go lay down. It’s kinda like working for family (with that every now and then annoying cousin popping in). Perhaps the hubby should be the better monitor of my moods, lol.

SHIT! Hahahahahaha, oh yes, I’m a child. 30 days of hearing about my poop. Are you not excited?!?! For the sake of the science, I’m a one-a-day’er mostly. Right about 5:45 before I can work out, lol. Every now and then, I’ll catch a second visit to the porcelain lair if I’ve had a particularly strong coffee. But yeah, I’m pretty regular.

All of those things, we’ll see how they go, but the most important ones for me are the scale numbers. Pounds and percents. Today I’m at 137.6 and 27.8. I would love to see some magic at the end of this 30 days. I’m going to be eating well (that doesn’t change), drinking lots of water, exercising my ass off (nope, exercising one ON), and having these shakes. My first goals are 130 and 26. (Next goal is to stay there) I invite you to read along, ask questions, or maybe even join in? Until we meet again….

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