Thursday, May 3, 2012

Wedding Dress Workouts

It's absolutely fitting that I write about my latest ventures in exercising the day after the taco post ;) There is an important reason for it though:

I need to fit into my wedding dress! 

So, one of my sisters' best friends, Dana started a blog recently and I've been really inspired by her to step up my game when it comes to fitness. Our wedding is in about 4 weeks (!!!!)  and since New Year's we've been saying how we want to be in the best shape of our lives. T has always been better about working out than me because he likes to play sports whereas I am so uncoordinated, they only way I can catch a frisbee or ball or something is by it hitting me in the face. Seriously. Not good!

Anyway, so while Tomislav is out playing squash or ultimate frisbee, my main exercise came from walking the mile up and down hill to work and sporadically doing a yoga video at home or pilates. Since I had a week off after Easter, it was a great time for me to really get healthy inside and out. I started running, pretty regularly. Tomislav and I have gone together for a run on the riverbanks on a nice day before but usually I couldn't muster the motivation to go running on my own. It always felt boring to me and I felt self conscious thinking that neighbors or people around would think, "What is she doing? She doesn't know what she's doing." I did absolutely horrible at track and field in high school and never found an event I was good at because I was terrible at them all!

But I want to be active and healthy so, I began doing a 2 minute run/1 minute walk on the riverbank, I jogged to the market (then walked back with the groceries), and shockingly enough, after I dropped the groceries off I wanted to go back out there and keep going! This never happened before. I'm usually really not the type but so far I've really enjoyed my newfound exercise strength. Now, it's just about finding the time to go out. I would really love to go for a run in the morning before work but that would mean getting up even earlier (like 6am early, yikes) and no matter how many times I've set the alarm, I can't get up that early. I've been tutoring after school almost everyday and that combined with meeting up with a friend for a coffee, the endless wedding meetings we have and everything else going on, I can't find the time until like 9pm, and I really don't have the energy to go out in the dark then. So I'm considering going at least for a short run during my lunch break. I don't want to get all gross and sweaty though so not the best idea.


There you have it, this is how I look after a work out! 
All red and sweaty...who cares what the neighbors/girls at our neighborhood bakery think?


If anyone has any advice, I'd love to hear it! I just want to be healthy and I also need to fit in my wedding dress...oh how I dread that measuring tape! Since my dress is still in the States, my Mom sent me the measurements. I'm not trying to do anything drastic, I just have a couple of centimeters to go so I can zip up my dress. Really hope it'll fit by the time my sister brings it here! I don't belong to a gym here in Zagreb (they are very expensive here!) so I need to use my surroundings (as Dana says, the world is your gym!) and any online resources that are available internationally! So, if you have any tips for a relative newbie in the exercising arena, please let me know. Hiking on Sljeme, the mountain in Zagreb, would be really fun to do and I think a nice form of exercise but that's more of a weekend work out.

Do you exercise regularly? What do you do to switch up your routine?



7 comments:

  1. I hear you. It has been difficult for me to stay in shape here, especially because of ongoing knee pain! Not good! Have you considered getting a bike? I just got one from a friend, and I cannot wait to use it... just as soon as the knee is better.

    Also, though I love working out regularly and being active is important, for me, the quickest way to slim down a bit is through diet. Specifically, if I go paleo and really stick to it, I am visibly slimmer in just a week! I also feel great eating paleo, so it might be worth checking out!

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  2. Hey love,

    Jason and I exercise regularly and the best advice I can give you is to try and get T-Slav to exercise with you as much as possible. I swim with my best friend twice a week and run with Jas about 3 times a week. Having someone else to go with me makes it so much easier to get the motivation.

    On working out in the morning- I swim before class so I usually start at 7:30 and thats not bad because swimming really wakes you up and isnt hard on your muscles. But I cant go for a run in the mornings because my body just hasnt woken up yet. Jas and I tried to get up at 630AM and run and every time we do I just get nauseous, so I would suggest just running when you get home from work/on the weekends.

    Also, try and get a copy of P90x. Its expensive if you just buy it from the sight but I got it off a friend's hard drive- if you do the program you will def see results. I can never stick to it because Im lazy at heart, but I did it for a month straight and looked fantastic. And its perfect because you can just do it in your living room and you really dont need any equipment for it if you dont have any. Instead of using weights I was using soup cans for a while and it still worked!

    So happy everything is going great for you!!! And youre beautiful and skinny so I wouldnt worry too much about losing any weight!

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  3. Thanks for the shout out!!

    You're seriously already doing great by starting and keeping it up! Trust me I know what it's like to feel like you don't have the time because you want to be social. Thankfully for me I have really supportive friends that understand why I don't want to meet for dinner until 8:30 at night or why the coffee we're grabbing after work needs to end by 7! :)

    I also cannot wake up before work to get in a run which definitely makes things trickier. Going out during lunch is a perfect way to get in a workout. But it doesn't have to be a run! You could go for a brisk walk or if you school has stairwells, just walk up and down those for like 20 minutes.

    Keep it up - I know that dress will fit and you will look stunning!

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  4. 30 situps on an incline (i.e.hanging off the edge your bed) and some quick resistance exercises every night before bed will help you shape quicker because it elevates your metabolism up to 2 days, meaning more effective toning. Just make sure to drink milk, so you don't feel awake the whole night! The lactic acid will help your muscles heal and not feel as sore too. Hope some of this helps!

    ~Tanya

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  5. Wow all of this advice is fantastic! You guys aer awesome!

    Elaine - I would love to have a bike here but I don't have one :( I wish I had a foldable bike but it's so not in our budget right now. It would be so fun to ride everywhere and especially at Jarun and stuff. Anyway who knows, maybe someone will be getting rid of one soon! There is an Embassy garage sale at my school next weekend so maybe I'll be able to score a deal there!

    Cindy - First of all thank you, you're so sweet. I'm definitely not trying to lose a lot of weight, I literally have 2 or 3 cm in my waist that needs to go down a bit if I want to zip up/breathe in my dress. It's just hard bc I haven't tried it on since I was home last in January so I have no way of knowing if it really will fit just yet! I've heard good things about P90X so that sounds like something I'd like to try! I wish I could go swimming in the mornings. I love swimming, I know that would definitely wake me up the right away. I'd have to find a swim cap though bc I don't want my hair getting all chlorine-y before the wedding ;)
    I already told T-Slav last night that we need to start working out together more and start doing yoga together! Also, it's great to hear from you girl :) Lots of love to you and Jason! <3

    Dana- my inspiration! I just found out some of my co-workers go power walking during lunch! I think I will have to rearrange my schedule and start eating lunch earlier and maybe go out with them. Also, we have so many stairwells (our school used to be a hospital building) and that is a GREAT idea! I always run the stairs a lot in our neighborhood because they lead up to the riverbank. Thank you Dana!

    Tanya - Great advice! I will be in better shape in no time and will hopefully fit perfectly in my dress! Otherwise, if it's too big my sister will have to stuff her face with me all week before the wedding and if it's too small...well...let's hope it's not too small! xo

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  6. I wish I were better at exercising. It's just lower on the list of priorities to me. But I do try to walk/ride my bike as many places as I can. And when the weekend comes, my favorite way to spend it is by doing something active. It's amazing how great simply walking can be.

    Cute blog!

    Catherine (your newest follower)
    FEST (food, style & travel)

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  7. Hi Catherine! That's so great that you have a bike and try to use it and walk a lot! I'm trying to stay motivated now and just be as active as I can. Working in a school is helpful though since the kids keep me running around a lot :) I love your blog and I'm so happy you've found me over here! Come visit often! ;)

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