Musical theatre workout playlist

A fun tidbit of information for my blog readers who don’t know me in non-cyber life:  I am a classically trained singer.  I would say it’s not as cool as it sounds, but I’m pretty proud of my training.  I took voice lessons since around 7th grade all the way through my graduation with my bachelor’s degrees in Vocal Performance and Vocal Music Education.  If you know any classical musicians on any instrument, you know that we know what it means to be dedicated and put in slow, methodical work toward a goal.  I am working on transitioning these skills to weight loss.  

Anyway, the reason I bring it up is not to tell you the benefits of being a classical musician during a recession.  It is to tell you that MUSIC is an important part of my weight loss.  I set out today to create an amazing, inspiring, lifechanging workout mix.

Opera won’t really do for this.  As much as I love singing it, it isn’t ideal for driving a workout.  So I went to my second favorite genre: Musical Theatre.  I have to warn you that these are not all shiny happy songs, and there is some swearing during this mix, should you choose to adopt it.

Then of course, since I am a musician, I sorted them by tempo to create the effect I wanted, and also had to make sure no songs that were put together had any really jarring key changes that would throw off my system.  Quite a process.

Below are my picks for a 57 minute workout playlist, with commentary on each song, because I talk a lot.

“Seize the Day” – Newsies Original Movie Cast (Christian Bale as a kid.  D’awwww!)
Starts slow and then picks up and has a great energy.  Perfect for an opener / energizer.  I also like the message that “Now is the time to seize the day” in terms of a workout.  Working out is really about seizing every day.

“Bring on the Men” – Jekyll and Hyde (Gothic Musical Thriller Album)
Okay, so the tempos go all over the place.  This is still in the warmup phase of the workout.  But I love this song SO HARD.  It’s my sexy song.  And what is working out if not prepping yourself to be sexy?  So let’s bring on the men!  

“The Bitch of Living” - Spring AwakeningThis song is amazing for working out!  It contains profanity… as you can see from the title.  I really chose because it has a great driving beat.  Also, I can’t get through the line “Looks so nasty in those khakis” without giggling.

“Brand New Day” – Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along BlogAnother great driving beat.  And Neil Patrick Harris in my ear just makes me want to be Legen….. wait for it…. dary.  And it is a song about becoming an evil badass.  And working out is about becoming a total badass.

“The Temple” - Jesus Christ Superstar (2000 edition)
There’s really no true significance of the text of this song to working out, it just has an awesome driving beat and guitars… you must not forget the importance of guitars in getting the blood pumping.

“Do the Necronomicon” – Evil Dead The MusicalThis song is a dance song from Evil Dead, which is hysterical.  And MORE GUITARS!!!!!!!  It’s about zombies dancing.  ”Deddites always like to get their freak on, and when we get together we do the Necronomicon.”  Rockin’ tempo that will make you sweat, this ramps up the intensity a little bit in terms of the workout.

“Man Up” – The Book of MormonFirst of all, The Book of Mormon is recommended for everyone with a terrible, horrible, going-to-hell sense of humor.  This song, while yes, is hysterical, is about finding your inner courage when faced with something you want to quit.  A great message for this point of the workout.  Favorite lines: “No Jesus dug down deep knowing what he had to do / when faced with his own death, Jesus knew that he had to Man up.  Christ, he manned up.  He crawled up on that cross and he stuck it out.”  Also “Just like Jesus, I’m growing a pair.”  And while I’m not a man, sometimes even women need to man up.

“Whipped into Shape” – Legally Blonde The MusicalIf this isn’t on every single musical theatre fan’s workout play list… why the fuck not?  It’s a workout song with a perfect tempo.  Perfect for about halfway through the workout.  The text rocks.  Just the whole thing.  ”Do you want an easy miracle?  Do you want to lose a pound or two?  Then you can turn this off right now, my workout’s not for you.  I’m talking to the woman who wants it all, gotta pay for what you get, ’cause size two clothes don’t come to those too lazy to sweat.”  PUT IT ON YOUR PLAYLIST!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!  ”What does not kill us makes us HOTTER!”  In the stage show, they jump rope during most of this song. 

“Rent” – Rent (I used the original cast, but use whichever you like.)
I confess, I am not a huge RENT fan, but I have loved this song since first I heard it when I was a kid.  It will again, ramp up the intensity.  Those opening drum beats, and, you guessed it, a rockin’ guitar part makes this one of the fastest tempos in the whole list.  It’s just nonstop drive.

“Epiphany” – Sweeney Todd (Yes, I used the Johnny Depp version.  Don’t hate.  I prefer the orchestrations)
Kind of a dark one, since he is having the epiphany that everyone deserves to die and that people are kind of shit.  Maybe it’s a good epiphany to have if some skinny bitch eyeballs you at the gym?  Driving tempo, blah blah blah.

“Bad Horse Chorus & Bad Horse Chorus Reprise” – Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along BlogBecause I want to be an achiever, like Bad Horse.  The thoroughbred of sin?  I meant Ghandi.  Just something fun and upbeat after a few darker songs.

“Gorgeous” – The Apple Tree  (Barbara Harris version.  Has more energy than the KChen version.)
No guitars, no rock soundtrack, just pure message.  This song is about a transformation… into gorgeous.  ”I was positive this creature was there inside the old me, all bottled up waiting to get free.”  It is pretty much impossible to listen to this song and not get caught up in feeling gorgeous yourself.  This is my sing-into-a-hairbrush song.

“Ya Got Trouble” The Music Man (I used Seth MacFarlane’s version.  You can use the original movie version as well.  Under no circumstances should you use the Matthew Broderick Version.)
Super Tempo!!!!  With a capital T!

“Step in Time” – Mary Poppins (Movie version.)
Do what the man says!  Step in time!  Holy shit is that a workout!  Can someone please remix this song with some sort of awesome clubbin’ beats?  I’m not even the clubbin’ type (like, at all) but I know this would be EPIC!

“Wind It Up: – Gwen StefaniI know what you’re thinking.  ”That isn’t musical theatre!”  And you’re right.  But it incorporates “The Lonely Goatherd” fromSound of Music and is just hot sex in your ears.  Wait, that came out wrong.   Definitely a high energy song.  ”Let the beat wind you up and don’t stop until your time is up,”

“Bend and Snap” - Legally Blonde The Musical“Look at my ass at my thighs.  I’m catnip to the guys.”  AnotherLegally Blonde pick because I could really just use the whole soundtrack as a workout playlist.  ”I’m to rockin’ to lock away.”

“We Beseech Thee” – Godspell (2011 Cast)
I added this at the recommendation of a google search.  But I am so glad I did.  I guess the cast was jumping around on trampolines during this song.  This song is just so upbeat and happy.  

“Tomorrow Is a Latter Day” – The Book of Mormon
Book of Mormon appears again on my list.  I am cutting the slow dialogue at the beginning.  I really love this song both because of tempo and because it gets you pumped up for tomorrow’s workout before you finish today’s!  Yeah, there are some pretty offensive lines again, but… you know.  If you really can’t handle the text, “You can’t stop the beat” would fit nicely into this spot, and is in fact, the song that this song nods to.  OH!  In addition to cutting the slow dialogue at the beginning, you can also cut everything after “What will the future bring?… I can almost see it now.”  (Basically the “Hello” Reprise.)  I didn’t cut it, but you certainly can.

“The Impossible Dream” – Man of La ManchaMy cool down song.  Chosen for inspirational text.  ”To dream the impossible dream.  To fight the unbeatable foe.  To bear with unbearable sorrow.  To run where the brave dare not go.”  ”To strive when your arms are too weary.  To reach the unreachable star.  This is my quest.  To follow that star.  No matter how hopeless, no matter how far.”  ”To be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause.  And I know if I’ll only be true to this glorious quest that my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I’m laid to my rest.”  ”That one man, scorned and covered in scars still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable star.”  So now that I have quoted literally 80% of the song, is it even possible for someone to walk away from that song and not be inspired to keep fighting?

So there you have it!  The perfected musical theatre geek playlist.  What’s in your ears when you work out?

Being Proud of my Shopping Cart

Again, this isn’t my end of the night post, but I do what I want.  

So many times, I would put the items of my shopping cart on a conveyor belt and not even think about them.  And then there were a few times where I was buying a lot of fruit, or veggies, or something particularly healthy that I would think to myself “Wow.  My cashier is going to think I am kinda healthy based on this cart.  Except that I am buying X [X usually being something very awful like a 3 lb bag of cheese or hamburger helper, or some other indescribable terrible thing I consume]“

Today, I am happy to say that I had a full shopping cart I could be proud of.  Was it perfect?  No.  But it was the shopping cart of someone who gives a shit what they put into their body.

Now, this is a bit of a misnomer.  The photo above is absolutely EVERY item I purchased in this shopping trip, but it was done at two stores.  The first were the items I got at Pomegranate Market… an ultra-snooty, hippie-filled, tofu-chowing, vegan, organic, locally grown, food market.  I didn’t really feel like I belonged there from the get go.  I literally saw a guy with long hair wearing tie dye and checking out hemp seeds.  There were also the foodie vegan types.  And then there’s me and Gary… being all fat…  

But I have to say, I LOVED this store.  They have lots of cool stuff that I didn’t know existed, plus bulk grains and spices you can purchase per pound.  So this is where I picked up the following:

- Chicken-Artichoke Sausages.  These look like brats and sound delicious.
- Matcha green tea powder.  I’ve been brewing green tea, and I can throw this stuff into things I cook for added benefits.  Win!
- Brown rice shaped like spiral noodles.  Holy shit!  They make that?  That’s amazing for a pasta addict like me!
- A spice container for Gary to try out.

And then we went to Wal-Mart for the rest of our stuff (for the Wal-Mart haters out there, save it.  It’s cheaper and I’m broke as hell.)  Here’s our list of items from Wal-Mart.

White flour (A healthy recipe I have calls for it.)
Baking Soda
Strawberries
Apples
Bananas
Pineapple
Grape Tomatoes
Greek Yogurt
Tomato-Basil Wrap tortillas (surprisingly low carb)
Lettuce Salad Blend
Cheddar Cheese (Can’t win ‘em all.  This is for chicken, spinach, and artichoke quesadillas tomorrow)

It sounds weird, but I am so proud of that shopping cart.  It is a huge departure from the cart from a week ago.  It may not be perfect, but it is a whole lot better.  My motto in all of this is “do better than you did yesterday.” and this is a huge leap forward.  In addition, look out for my end of evening post tonight.  It was a gooood day, and it isn’t even over yet.

The great quinoa adventure

So, this isn’t my normal end of the night post, but fuck it.  It’s my blog, I do what I want.  

I decided to try quinoa today.  I figured that if I screwed it up too badly, I would have more time to cook something else.  I was pleasantly surprised with the way it turned out.  I did quite a bit of research, and it seemed to have paid off.

Here was what I made, step by step:

Step One:  Rinse off the quinoa.  Important so it won’t be bitter.

Step Two:  Toast the quinoa.  I did this in a wee bit of olive oil.  Somewhere else I saw a recommendation for sesame oil, which I forgot I had.

Step Three:  Add the liquid and seasoning.  In my case, I added dried pesto, some Mrs. Dash tomato basil seasoning, olive oil, red wine vinegar, and water.  I added some tuna after a few minutes.

Step Four:  Boil.  I boiled for about 18 minutes, and that may have been a little long.

Step Five:  Simmer a few moments.

Consequently, before, after, and during each of these steps, I had to knock my cat off the counter.  He wanted to try quinoa too, apparently.

I have made this basic dish before using both pasta and rice, and I think quinoa made a nice base for it.  I think I can get used to it, for sure.  I want to try a sweet version analogous to oatmeal tomorrow.  Maybe do it in unsweetened apple juice with cinnamon and potentially a little honey.

I know this blog is pretty young, but I would love your tasty quinoa recipes in comments.  All the ones I see include beans, which I am not a superfan of.   I’d love to hear them!

New Habits

Day 3
Date:  Wednesday August 9, 2013
Weigh in:  Don’t know yet.
Exercise Report:  Got my baseline pedometer reading, taking a walk after I post.
Pounds lost: 0 (No Weigh in yet.)
Healthy food decisions: Lunch:  2 Krab sticks and a no-sugar added cup of applesauce.  Green tea.
Not so healthy food decisions:  Food at work, Qdoba for supper.  But it was delicious!
Distance walked: My pedometer reset itself at some point, but I checked it throughout the day.  When last I checked it, I was at 2156 steps, and when I got home it was at 190.  I’m just going to make my baseline a nice even 2500.

So my goals for today were to get a baseline walking distance and to drink my 5 refills of water, one being green tea.  And I sorta got those accomplished.

If you recall from this post, one of my goals for right now is to double my walking distance.  So for today I got my baseline reading.  I tried to keep my walking at my normal distance.  I must have accidentally hit reset at some point, but I checked it toward the end of my work day and I was at 2156 steps.  When I got home it was at 190.  Not sure how many steps I took in the time between checking and resetting, so I am going to just call my baseline 2500 steps.  So my new goal is to walk 5000 steps.

As far as water goes, holy shit.  How do people drink that much water?  Keep in mind, I am coming from being a teacher.  Believe it or not, teachers don’t get a lot of time to take care of their own basic needs.  Drinking something means you have to go to the bathroom, and ain’t no teachers got time for that shit.  My new job gives me a little more freedom for that sort of thing, but I still work with kids, so I get distracted and realize “Wow!  It’s 4:00 and I haven’t had a drink since noon.”   Is that weird?  But!  I am about 4 ounces into refill #4, so there is still hope for me tonight.  And the very first one I drank was a full 24 ounces of green tea.  Woo hoo!  Go me!

I had tried green tea before and thought it was foul.  But this blend is much less bitter.  So, there’s still time to drink 2 more… although I feel like a very full pitcher of water as it is.  So I will realistically try to drink at least one more.  Goes well with my walk.

No gym membership yet.  Unfortunately I need to wait until I get paid.  Kinda broke at the moment.  But!  The two block area I live in is great to walk.  The first two sides are both pretty flat, but that third turn… UPHILL.  Pretty steep too.  I was pretty excited.  I felt the burn.  My poor fiance felt it too, and he is less into this fitness thing, but he wanted to keep me safe on my walk.  So this was a decent exercise until I get my pass.

I feel like this post was boring as shit, so if you have made it this far, low-fat kudos.  But here is one of the reasons I want to lose weight:  for the fucking adorable clothes.  I really don’t care about looking hot like so many people do.  I just want to wear cute little dresses and jeans that make my ass look good and nice tops, and I never want to wear the fucking plus size floral pattern ever again.  Ever. Again.  What is it with plus sized retailers and the ugliest fabrics known to man?

Financial Commitment Equals Value

Day 2
Date:  Wednesday August 8, 2013
Weigh in:  Don’t know yet.
Exercise Report:  Walked up and down every aisle at Wal-Mart, and it’s a really big Wal-Mart.  Does that count?  Not really?  Shit.  Gary and I are going for a walk after this blog post.
Pounds lost: 0 (No Weigh in yet.)
Healthy food decisions: Supper:  Whole Grain Pasta with Homemade Pesto Sauce
Not so healthy food decisions:  Again, my lunch.  Broccoli Alfredo, which doesn’t sound terrible except when you consider that it all came from one packet and the broccoli was practically a seasoning instead of a vegetable.  

I am still very much in the transitioning stage to this whole lifestyle change.  My mind belongs to the new, determined me, but my cabinets belong to the old “eat whatever the fuck I want” me.  Hence the peanut butter pop tart I ate yesterday.  It tasted like shaaaaaaame.  But I can’t make every single change in one day.  Today progress was made in the “laying groundwork” department.

I went shopping for healthy stuff today.  I feel like this is a good time to explain my weight loss strategy.  I’m not following any diet or specific plan.  It’s all pretty haphazard.  I am just simply changing my lifestyle to make weight loss a priority.  Here is a basic list of strategies I am using.

- Be conscious of what I am putting into my body.  That’s the top, most basic, overriding principle of the “diet” side of my weight loss.

- Drink at least 120 ounces of water per day (5 fillings of my water bottle)  Make at least one of these green tea.

- Double my current distance per day walked.  Long term, I would like to more than double this distance.

- Work out in a gym 3 days per week.  On the remaining 4 days, walk an extra X amount.  (More information after the pedometer dry run tomorrow)

- Make healthier decisions regarding food.  This is really vague, but I think it will help me to keep it vague in the long run.  Basically, I will try to find healthy substitutes for things.  By healthy, I mean lower my salt intake, try to lower calories, cook using less fatty ingredients (I am so guilty of slathering everything in sour cream, cream cheese, normal cheese, ranch dressing, and butter.) and cut down on sugars and carbohydrates.

- Be transparent about my exercise and eating habits.

So here was my shopping trip to that end.
- Baby Powder (So that my thighs don’t rub when I work out.  Gross.  I know.  But necessary.)
- A good water bottle with ounce and milliliter measurement markings.  Bonus: Also has a compartment for a credit card or a key or something.
- A pedometer.  I really want to try to gamify my general movements.  Like try to beat my previous best every day.  Also, I have no idea how much I am walking right now.
- Handweights.  (3 lbs each) to enhance my workouts.

Healthy Food
- Mrs. Dash Seasoning.  My sister recommended this.  She cooks using a salt free diet because of her kidney failure a few years ago.  Even now, after transplant, she still cooks low sodium.
- Agave Nectar.  To replace sugar.  I also use honey.
- Applesauce, no sugar added.  Because it is yummy and isn’t shitty to my body)
- Tuna.  High protein, low cost, I could eat it by the gallon, except… portion control.
- Whole Grain Pasta.  Because I love carbs so hard, I just don’t think removing pasta from my diet is feasible.  So I’m gonna at least try to make it somewhat healthier.
- Popcorn.  As snacks go, not awful.
- Green Tea with Blueberry.  Hopefully the blueberry will make it taste less nastissimo.  If not… HONEY!… or agave?
- Quinoa.  I’m cautiously optimistic.  We’ll see how the quinoa thing goes.
- Feta cheese.  Adds lots of flavor with very little.  And I love it.

So my cabinet is looking like a person with some health consciousness lives here.  Still can’t bring myself to throw out my fatty food.  But I have a non-dieting fiance for that!

Goals for tomorrow:

-Get the gym membership that has been evading me all week.
-Drink my 5 refills of water.
-Get a baseline reading on my pedometer so I know what goals to set.

The Before Photo

Day 1
Date:  Wednesday August 7, 2013
Weigh in:  Don’t know yet.
Exercise Report:  Pathetic.  15 Hilarious Jumping Jacks, 15 Poorly formed situps, 15 sec leg plank thing, 15 sec back plank thing, 15 sec wall sit.
Pounds lost: 0
Healthy food decisions: Supper:  Teriyaki Salmon with Asparagus
Not so healthy food decisions:  My secret peanut butter pop tart at 9:45 this morning.

So this is where it all starts.  Actually, to be fair, it has been rolling for a few days now, but today it actually feels real.  Because I took a before photo.

We’ve all seen them:  Those sad looking people on the left side of a before and after.  Mine is no exception.  Here’s what they don’t tell you about taking the before photo:

- Finding wardrobe is difficult.  I don’t usually wear things that reveal my body.  In fact, I make a point to dress to make my body look better.  I noticed most of these were in a sports bra and shorts.  I don’t own a sports bra, so I settled on a tank top that I folded halfway up.  And shorts… I wasn’t sure I owned any until I found the pair I wear as pajamas.

-The before photo might just be the biggest motivator for the process.  Not because I look at it and think “Wow!  I’m ugly!” but because I think of all the people who have taken before pictures and never lost enough weight to justify an after picture.  Then you just have  some photos of yourself… standing around being fat…  So that’s awkward.  But here it is.  My before photo.  I can only call it that if I have an after photo.

-I was pretty horrified.  I obviously was aware I was fat.  I know what I look like.  But to see my body without any strategically placed clothing…. well it was a shock.

So… it’s time.  

And my workout story for today:  Well, not much of one.  I was THWARTED.  I have chosen Anytime Fitness, not because I think they are super amazing, but because my BFF goes there, and working out is going to be something we do together.  ANYWAY.  So even though the fitness is anytime, the hours when there are staff there to sign you up appear to be few and far between.  I figured I would be totally fine going to the one near my work 40 minutes before work.  But there was a sign on the door stating “Be right back!” and the hands on the little paper clock said 2:30.  This was at 12:20, so I thought perhaps the employee had forgotten to change the hour hand, because surely you can’t just take a freaking 2 hour break in the middle of the day.  So I waited until 12:45… and they weren’t coming.   So no fitness pass yet, but that wasn’t an excuse not to exercise.

Today was the first time I attempted (note the usage of the word) to exercise in a very long time… and it didn’t go well.  I started off by doing 15 jumping jacks, feeling like an absolute fool the whole time.  Who just does jumping jacks in their house?  Anyway, my boobs did not like said exercise.  They slapped me around a bit.

Then there were 15 situps… I guess you can call them that in the sense that I lay on the floor and sat up 15 times because I was too much of a pussy to do the real situps.

Then I thought about these exercises we used to do in volleyball where you hover your legs a few inches over the ground for a few seconds.  So I did that for 15 and then the same with my back off the ground for 15 seconds.

Finally I did a wall sit.  My legs were shaking so badly, I wondered if I had gone epileptic.

People talk about humble beginnings.  If by humble, you mean shitty but passable, then this is about as humble as it gets.  Hopefully after awhile I will just look at this post and laugh and say “OMG!  Could I really not do those few simple exercises?”

So you have to start somewhere, and I sure as fuck did better than I did yesterday.  So even though my exercise can be summed up as “Two humiliating minutes,”  I’m gonna call it a win.  Because I got up and did it.  Which is a start.

BTW!  Check out my Pinterest board on my weight loss inspirations.  It has everything from reasons I want to lose weight, to inspiring quotes, to funny weight loss related stuff, to clothes I want to be able to wear someday.  I hope to refer to it on those upcoming tough days when I “don’t want to” or want to quit.  No quitting.

 http://pinterest.com/thatonemezzo/weight-loss-inspirations/