It's only Wednesday and I want a drink.

This week has been... shall we say... stressful?

Work has me popping blood vessels (literally) and wedding planning has me wishing we eloped (no, really) and I can't seem to get enough sleep no matter how hard I try (Maize and Pete, I'm looking at you).

And as for exercise...

Sunday was a day of cleaning and cooking and my first yoga class of the new year. And, apparently, the first yoga class for 99% of the county because the room was packed. Mats were everywhere and there was barely any room to actually stretch your body out (which, I thought, is the point of yoga, is it not?) and there was a point, when the room was filling up, where I felt a panic attack begin to creep up on me. Rather than making me relax, as Sunday morning yoga has done in the past, it was freaking me out. There were about 45 other people shoved into this dance studio with me and I was in a far back corner (my normal spot, given that I can't see terribly well on my right side and live in fear of smacking my neighbor in the face when stretching) and all I could think was, "Oh, Christ, get me out of here."

But I managed to calm down long enough to enjoy a 60 minute class that left me incredibly sore the next day. Seems that 6 weeks away from yoga is a bit too long to simply hop right back in again without some kind of need for pain relievers.

Monday found me in spinning class after work. Granted, I'm a cyclist and I love being out on the roads for hours at a time pedaling away. With that being said, spinning class is for sadists. Or masochists. Depends. And it is nothing like actually riding a road bike down the highway - no matter what the class instructor says. But, I kept going and 45 minutes later, I felt like someone had run me over with the Space Shuttle - leaving not only tire marks but thruster burns right down the center of my body.

Tuesday found me fighting the New Years Resolutionites for the elliptical machines at the gym, but I did my hour (reading the most recent Life & Style and Self magazines) and felt pretty accomplished when I was done.

As far as eating goes, I watched Alton Brown's season premiere of Good Eats and was inspired by the eating plan that permitted him to lose 50 pounds in about 7 months. Lots of whole grains, nuts, omega-3 oils, leafy vegetables fruits, etc. I'm incorporating some of that a little at a time, while trying to snack sensibly during the day. I'm finding that my choices are becoming more meaningful, while still keeping me satisfied. That doesn't mean I don't splurge - tonight we went out to dinner and I had two small stuffed hot peppers (with prosciutto and mozzarella) and about 2 cups of whole wheat penne with calamari in white wine and garlic sauce, but I skipped the bread, skipped the dessert, restrained myself from snacking on the Dude's lasagna left on his plate, and left pretty happy. The fact I have to be accountable for everything I eat by way of WW Online is keeping me on the straight and narrow as well.

So, tomorrow, it's a "Buff Smoothie" for breakfast (thank you, Alton), packed with lots and lots of fruit and soy milk, 1/2 a chicken breast for lunch (with applesauce and a small salad) and some leftover pasta for dinner. I'm setting my sights on a 60-minute cardio session followed by a yoga class tomorrow evening, so I'm definitely going to be active.

We'll see how it goes.

Oh! As of Monday, I'm -4 pounds on the -40 goal. Another pound and I'll have a bag of flour.

One day, she will get me.

The female trainer on the Wii Fit program is creepy.

Seriously.

Okay, let me back this up a bit and set the scene... Yesterday, I did about 40 minutes on the elliptical at the gym. It's too damned cold outside to ride at the moment (I mean, I could, but I'm not a masochist), so I'm trying to do cardio several times a week for 40-60 minutes a shot. Which I love. No, really, the whole gerbil-on-the-wheel aspect of things is soothing and I'm catching up on all of the back issues of Vogue and Good Housekeeping that the gym keeps on the magazine rack (I can rip through a Vogue in about 35 minutes... though, I have discovered that very little pisses me off more than assholes ripping pages out of communal magazines).

So, I figure that while I'm getting my cardio in at the gym (and an occasional yoga class, when I can get over there during the week), I need to do some strength training. And believe me when I tell you that I hate lifting weights and sit-ups make me homicidal. After doing 60 minutes this morning on the elliptical, I came home fully ready to expand my exercise repetoire.

Cue the Wii Fit Plus program.

We hooked it up last night and I played around a bit but figured I'd hop on for 30 minutes of "strength training" today when I got home from the gym. Which I did. Until the female trainer built into the program freaked me out and I began wondering I'd have more fun playing Frisbee golf on the Sports Resort disc. Or perhaps by pulling out my fingernails one by one. I was sitting there trying to listen to her while half of my mind was debating Cyclons, the Terminator movies and artificial intelligence becoming self aware. I had visions of this chick waking me up in the middle of the night and making me drop and do side planks and torso twists.

I turned off the Wii and took a nap.

How did I get in this handbasket?

I originally started a journal on another site to chronicle my journey (along with my best friend) in training for a 66 mile bicycle ride to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The ride did happen last July. We did make it all the way. We did raise over $1,200 for the cause. And we did enjoy ourselves. And I stopped writing in the journal - imagine that - and life intervened and now, six months later, I'm about 20 pounds heavier.

Yes, I got lazy.

So, here I am in January, 2010 with one goal: I want to lose 40 pounds by my first wedding anniversary (which will be February 5, 2011). Along the way, I have some minor goals: participate in the 2010 ACS ride, participate in the 2010 Bike-to-the-Bay (a 150 mile, 2 day event in October), participate in my first century ride (100 miles in one day), get healthier, slim down, and, mostly, enjoy exercising.

To assist me in this endeavor, I have joined Weight Watchers Online (because past experiences have proven that I'm much more likely to be aware of what I'm eating and make conscious, healthy choices if I'm accountable to someone), I have joined the local YMCA, and I have purchased a Wii Fit system.

In theory, if I don't feel like going to the gym, I can at least do something here at the house, right?

Right?

So, this journal will be used to chronicle my adventures in healthy living, exercise, and trying to shed these eight bags of flour (or the equivalent) that have taken up residence on my bones. Be warned there will be snark and cursing and probably a great deal of frustration expressed here.

Sit down, grab a bowl of popcorn and enjoy.

This will be one hell of a ride.