Thursday, June 9, 2011

The $700.00 bet

Age: 21.  Weight: 90.  Dress size: 2petite (no muscle, just thin, no idea about endurance).   Activities: Partying.
Age: 25.  Weight 95.   Dress size: 2petite (no muscle, but lots of endurance).  Activities: tennis (lots)!
Age: 30.  Weight: 100.  Dress size: 4petite (toned, not muscular, great endurance).  Activities: tennis, beach volleyball, grass volleyball,  indoor volleyball, high impact aerobics.
Age 35: Weight: 100.  Dress size: 4 (toned, more muscle, great endurance).  Activities: beach volleyball, grass volleyball, indoor volleyball, hiking Yosemite trails, partying (tsk-tsk).
Age 40: Weight: 123.  Dress size: 4 (toned, muscular, strong..as in squatting 135 lbs for 3 sets of 10 to 12, no kidding!).  Activities: kickboxing, weight-lifting, Circuit training. Workout warrior!
Age 41. Pregnant with twins.  Weight at end of term: 175 lbs.  Dress size: could only wear Miche's sweats. Activities: NONE - bedrest on 1st and last trimester.
Age: 42.  Weight (a week after delivery): 123. Dress size: 6.  Activities: feed, burp, change/clean babies for first 3 months.  Circuit training slowly comes back after.
Age: 44.  Weight: 125.  Dress size: 6 (toned, strong, muscles are back except for the twin aftermath tummy! Still, for a 44 year old mom of twins, no complaints!).  Activities: running, Circuit, weight lifting.
Age: 47. Weight: 130.  Dress size 8.  Un-f..-believable.  Activities: Zumba (lots).  Eating (lots, more than Zumba can cure).  Cocktails (yep, kinda lots too).

So a few things have happened between 44 and 47 (now).  Injuries that keep me from running at the pace and distances I did at age 44, falling in love with eating (anything at all times), and of course, getting older.  I'm not going to say less time to work out, however true, it is what it is and I manage to carve out as much time as I possibly can.  Besides, I would not trade being a mom for the body I had pre-kids, even if it means not being able to workout 3 to 4 hours a day like I used to.

The $700.00 bet with Miche - shook hands over the dinner table tonight.  The deal is that I lose weight and he gain weight. It's pound per pound.  Whoever has more, wins.  The bet is super hard for each of us.  Had it been the other way, that I win by gaining weight, it would be a sure shot.  I can outeat my 6'3 Viking hubby on any given meal.  However, he loses weight when he does not work out.  I gain a pound if I sit for two minutes.  He struggles to finish his plate of food.  I am thinking of what to eat next while I am still eating my food.

My mom would be so confused about this state of love affair I have with eating.  You see, up until I was 18 years old, I so disliked to eat.  At 1st grade, when all my friends were having lunch at the school's quad, I was in my mom's car, being fed hot lunches, prepared fresh by my mom (an exceptional cook) every day.  She, along with the driver and my "yaya" (nanny) would come to my school every day at lunch to make sure I eat.  When that became too painful to do (from both sides), she put me into the "half boarder" program and I had to eat lunch every day with the nuns of my school, at their cloister.  Man did that suck.  I can't remember how long I was there for, but most likely, even the wrath of the nuns did not help in my gaining any weight as I most likely did not eat even with their threats or guilt-trips.


Up until a year ago, it was not so bad that I had this "affair" with eating.  I kept thinking, as soon as I'm back to the kind of running I was doing, I'll be shedding pounds easily.  Here's the thing, the nagging pains are constantly with me that I don't know if I'll run THAT way again.  And here's the even worse part of it, instead of me curbing the amounts of food I gobble up each day because I'm not getting the same intensity of calories being burned, I even doubled up my eating.  Mental isn't it?

So, those of you who say (and thank you, bless your kind hearts!), "you look great!" and "wish I look like you at 47"..... that's all very much appreciated.  I love hearing that and it does make me not feel so "too far gone."  However, I know what I am capable of being (and I'm not "reflecting" to Age 30 either), realistically, at this age.  I know the state I am in is not because of "I'm 47" or "I've had twins" or "I'm injured."  The sad, basic truth to all this is that I need to EAT less, and eat well.  No, not starve myself by whatever diet du jour is out there  (so not the way to sustain), but just to break my patterns and habits of snacking at all hours I'm not asleep!  Literally, I'm like pacman (and no, not Pacquiao), my mouth is chewing at each step of the way!

Tomorrow morning, we weigh in.  And the tracking begins.  6 months of pound for pound competition.  Iron Man, pshaw.....that's nothing compared to what I have to endure.  The thought of the snack walls at Mozilla, filled with pop chips in that zesty barbeque flavor, the bags of Pirate's Booty, the vats of Peanut Butter M&Ms and Rolos...all for the taking any time of the day!

$700...cold cash, in my pocket.  That'll come in handy for when I shop for a hot, little number of an outfit to add to my future new closet!  A closet full of, right now, cute clothes that don't fit right.  So, the question is, will they fit right again and I get the $700?  Or do I pay Miche the $700, and I spend 5x that amount for bigger clothes for my new closet?

Let the games begin....

6 comments:

  1. Love this! Yah, what a challenge! I know you can do it. Where is that Bengal Tiger determination as my yoga teacher says! Kick that Viking you know what and get ready to spend that hard earned cash! Woo hoo!
    (by the way, I am still trying to come down from track practice tonight, hence all the !!!. Besides the fact that I really do believe that you can do it. No offense Miche, I love you but she is my blood!)

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  2. Oh and by the way, I am almost 40 and in no way as in good as shape as you were @ 40! You were always amazing and still are. Check out that smokin' bod! Oh and your comments about not wanting to eat when you were little, right there with yah on that one. I remember us looking at each other and so wishing we could leave our plates. Those were the days.

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  3. Woohooo! We'll follow up this challenge closely. Siguro I will invite PJ also to join me in betting who will win...hahahaha! Whatever happens anyway, both of you will win. By the way, why $700? Why not an even $1000 (did I miss the reason why?)?

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  4. I highly recommend religiously tracking everything you put in your mouth. For me, it's the only thing that works. I also recommend www.myfitnesspal.com. They have a website and phone apps that make tracking your eating and exercise pretty easy.

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  5. Rowe, House Malgouyres is now betting on each of you: I go for you and PJ goes for Miche! What's our bet? We still haven't decided yet but now you know YOU need to win! Go! go! go!
    Oh just one point of encouragement... I worked in a store full of Gourmet stuff, including all the things you have in Mozilla. I kept myself really busy busy..moving moving...so that I did not have time to think of 'getting a pack of chips' and munching away on any of the gourmet or junk food. We had food tastes from time to time, but then its an organized tasting so I had it under control. Lots of water, no junk food or juices on the work table. Otherwise, i had fruits. I guess you know all these already but just to let you know you have all our support!

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  6. I am battling since I turned 40. Thank God I was only 120. Never had to diet till then and still do not know how to. Zumba is helping a lot but need to kick it up a notch. Target weight 130. We all have our battles. Hope you kick butt with this bet. Go Rowe!!!

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