Things just got a little rough for Jer & I. His contract got cut short, and now he’s unemployed and looking for a job. Not something either of us are particularly happy about, but it’s not the first time he’s faced unemployment. This time though I have decided to take a stand for my health. I decided even with the information that we were now short half of our income I was still going to sign up for another 3 months of Farrell’s Extreme Bodyshaping.
1. I feel guilty if I don’t go, and this is motivation for me to go (sad but true)
2. The people are great, I mean it they are really fun people
3. I like the workouts, I feel like I’ve done everything I could do in 45 minutes after every session
4. I get strength training in
5. I feel better
6. I am more likely to go because it’s close to work and I have to drive by it to even get home
Normally when the budget takes a slashing all of “my” stuff gets cut immediately because it’s a bit expensive & I always count it as auxiliary. I don’t “neeed” a gym membership, I can work out at home or at work for free. This time I looked at what has happened every time I try to use the work gym or work out at home. Total failure is the easiest way to put it. I decided that even though it hurts me to spend $200 for 3 months more of Farrell’s (the 3 extra months doesn’t start until June) that it was worth every single penny. A gym membership would cost about half of that, which is far easier to swallow, but it’s not as motivating to me, and I am less likely to go. I don’t regret my decision to spend the money on my Farrell’s membership.
I think in some ways I need to make sure my health is a huge priority in my life, regardless of and maybe even in spite of the stresses going on in my life. I don’t always do that, in fact history shows that my health is the first to suffer in times of high stress or financial distress (though usually they also go hand in hand). I stop exercising, I do nothing but stress out, my eat habits go to hell, and I gain weight because I stop taking care of myself.
I didn’t gain weight last time Jer was unemployed, but I did stop exercising beyond the bare minimum. I tried to work out at work, but it slowly just fizzled to a stop instead of gaining momentum. Strength training was completely forgotten, and well overall and even then while I maintained calorie counting there was a lot of fast food $ menu items in my diet. Cheap fast, I knew about how many calories it was, and I was still losing weight. SO it was working, why change what isn’t broken? Maybe because I know better, I know it’s not healthy, and being lazy is just not a good excuse.
This time I KNOW to some extent things will have to change a bit with my diet, but it won’t be back to the fast food lane. It’ll be to stop purchasing the $6/lb organic/free range chicken. I can by 6 lbs of Tyson chicken breasts on sale at Wal-Mart for like $12. They taste just fine, and are a good source of lean protein. The turkey burgers I can buy at wal-mart instead of other places (different brand) and save $. I can cook my brown rice at home ahead of time instead of getting the Birds Eye microwavable packs, etc.
So this time I’m taking a very firm stance. … and hoping Jer has a job before 3 months is up because seriously I’m not sure how things will go if we get to a 3 month period with no job. BUT I’m going to remain confident he can find a job in a relatively short amount of time, and that my health is worth the $200 for 3 months and that it’s worth keeping a healthier lifestyle.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
5 Week testing for Farrell’s
5 Week testing for Farrell’s
So I have made it through 5 weeks and completed 5 week testing for Farrell’s Extreme Bodyshaping.
I am “mostly” happy with the results
Test Name | Week 1 | Week 5 |
Body Fat: | 44.7% | 44.0 |
Weight | 259 | 260 |
Sit & reach | 18” | 20” |
Sit-ups | 0 | 15 |
Push Ups (from knees) | 21 | 40 |
Mile Run | 15:32 | 15:13 |
· No measurements were taken, no picture was taken. That is all reserved for week 10.
· So I was irritated by the body fat loss because I have the same machine at home and it showed a 2% loss the evening before. BUUUT it’s still a loss I guess and I’ll take it.
· I gained a lb… which I was also not happy with, but at least I’m getting closer to ground zero considering at the end of week 2 I’d ended up gaining 8 lbs.
· The sit & reach I’m happy with, but I’ll be honest I don’t really have an opinion on it to start with.
· The sit-ups I was darn happy with. I don’t know that I could have done more than 15 because that last one I really struggled with and failed twice before finally hauling my top half up into the sitting position, plus it’s WAY better than 0.
· The pushups I was really happy with. I was hoping to at least do the 21 I’d originally done, but I managed to almost double my pushup count. I still can’t do full from the toe pushups. BUT I can do a few plank ups.
· The mile run I wasn’t as pleased about. I mean YES it was a 19 second difference, but I had really been hoping for a minute. I re-affirmed something too. I REALLY hate running outside. Shin splints, weather, concrete, all equate out to an unhappy me. I don’t (oddly) mind jogging on a treadmill, but if the weather is nice enough I’d rather walk outside for my daily stroll than hang out on a treadmill.
I admit I really wasn’t happy with my mile performance, but I was even less happy with what happened afterward. I joined the strength training class that had just started & very close to passed out. I had done all yellow bands, even though I’ve been doing green for many of the workouts, and it felt like I was using purple ( the hardest color). It was the first l class I had to drop out of. It was go sit down or fall down. I couldn’t catch my breath, etc.
Today I have a doctor’s appointment after class. For about the last week and a half I have felt like I can’t breathe properly. I’m stupidly tired after workouts (more so than usual), and even when the workout got easier (Monday) I felt like it was 30 x harder. I want to make sure there isn’t something wrong. The breathing thing is really kind of freaking me out. I frequently feel like I can’t get quite enough air, and when I lose my breath during a workout it takes forever to recover. I’m not sure if my body is telling me it’s just tired, or if there’s something else going on.
What I’ve learned though is as long as I don’t feel like I’m dying I really like the workouts. I love the people, and I really do intend to stick with this. I think it’s the best fit out of everything else I’ve found. I am considering when Jer gets permanent employment also re-upping my gym membership at 24 hour fitness too for the pool & hot tub along with a variety of exercise equipment that sometimes I want to use, but currently can’t without going to work on my off days (generally never going to happen)… mostly though I miss the pool. I may be able to get a membership for “one” gym for $19.99/mo which isn’t much at all. I’m going to have to check though that will wait until I know what’s going to happen with Jer & his current work situation. His contract with ConAgra ends at the end of May. We both still kind of hope they’ll just hire him, but I’m not sure that’s even an option.
BUT if they hire him or he gets a job pretty quickly after his contract ends I may discuss the possibility of us getting another 24 hour fitness membership that we only plan on using a couple times a week. I REALLY love the pool. I miss it the most. I also liked their elliptical. Some days after Farrell’s (str days) I have tons of energy and want to go do something. Going from Farrell’s to 24 hour fitness by my house and banging it out on the elliptical or doing some laps sounds to me like a great plan. I think I may becoming somewhat masochistic lol. BUT in a good way for the most part. It’s just this last week that I’ve felt like the walking dead. I don’t feel sick, I just feel exceptionally drained.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Dr visit, farrell's update, changes
Sooo I just got out of a dr’s appt. She has me come in every couple of months for weight & blood pressure checks, and she politely chewed me out lol. My blood pressure is fine… with medication anyway. However, I mentioned before that I had gained weight the first couple of weeks of Farrell’s. I also just haven’t been real great this year on actually losing weight.
I told her about Farrell’s, and the nutrition program, and etc. She was happy about the whole less processed more whole grain & natural part, but she isn’t happy about the weight gain, my fun day, or the number of calories & carbs I’m consuming per meal. She says 43 is too high, and she’d rather see me cut that by a minimum of 10-15 per meal. She wants me to give up my fun day, annnnnd she more or less told me she would prefer I be on a 1200-1500 calorie diet, not an 1,800 – 2,100 calorie diet. She isn’t against carbs by any means; she just thinks I need a lower amount.
The real problem here is lat time I went in for weight & blood pressure checks I weighed 262. Which is all well and good, but I gained 2 lbs. She is very concerned about the effects of my obesity & etc on my heart.
I admit right now and up front last week was NOT my best week. I substituted Pizza one day for two meals (equated out to 3 pieces). I had jelly beans for one meal, & went out for tacos another day… and well I have had the raving munchies all week and did almost nothing but eat on Saturday. Well, okay we did a lot of running around too, but I ate waaay too much. It was weird it was like I couldn’t stop eating even when I was full. I just kept munching. It was completely stupid and I justified it by “I can” & “It’s my fun day”. Well that’s pretty stupid justification. Looking back on it even though I didn’t go completely mad on my calories at any point last week (excluding Saturday), I really didn’t deserve my “fun day”. I mean yessss I did maintain about a 1,000 calorie deficit every day… but I ate things I just shouldn’t have end of story. I also guestimated for the tacos soooo I could be off there.
I did get through week 3 of Farrell’s. I missed Monday because I was sick, but did attend all other 5 days. Wed & Friday’s cardio classes were just brutal. I’m not sure why, but they were. They are ramping up what we’re doing, and I leave wanting very little other than to crawl into bed or fall down.. whichever comes first. BUT I’m doing it, and so far I’m really glad I go every day. It’s pretty fun, and every time I accomplish something small it’s a total victory for me. I like victories!
So anyway back to the Dr thing. I’m not sure I’m supposed to actually haggle with my Dr, but I’m okay fighting for what I agree with and don’t agree with. I just don’t think I can manage to stick to 1,200 calories. End of story. SOOO we debated and agreed that I would stick to a 1,400 – 1,700 calorie diet all week, and that my “fun” day would not be a free for all pig out. She really would have preferred I limit my fun day to once a month & one bad meal & snack a week. At least she also acknowledges I’ll work with her if she compromises as opposed to completely ignoring her. She loaded me up on pamphlets and nutrition advice and told me to make another appointment in 2-3 months. She says I really need to work on my progress… which I agree with being as I’ve more or less had none this year, and she wants me to bring my BodyMedia reports next time. She already knows I have a hormone imbalance caused by PCOS and obesity (she says the obesity is a factor for the PCOS too). Sooo she wants to test my thyroid yet again and run another hormone panel if I haven’t had improvement.
Mostly though she just thinks I am eating too much. She thinks the Farrell’s thing is a good thing, but warned me to take good care of my joints. She knows I have issues with my knees. She thinks overall the kickboxing will be good and actually strengthen the muscles around my joints and help with some of my joint issues.
The interesting part is she’d really like me to get down to my goal weight, but she really wants me to get to 190 or less. She says the affect on many of my health issues and would really like to make sure I get out of the obese category. She more or less stated being simply overweight isn’t as detrimental to my health as being obese.
So yeah, she more or less politely smacked me over the head, and told me to kick in gear. I can’t say as I don’t agree with her, even if I do think I’ve kicked it into gear. I feel like I’m working my butt off darn it. BUT as usual food is a problem with me. I have denied being a food addict for well… a very long time. I’m starting to think if that’s self delusion though. OR if it’s more a combination of food addition and a desire not to change my lifestyle. I like to go out to eat. I like to eat things that aren’t good for me. I crave carbs & cheese on a pretty regular basis. Sugar less so, but still occurs. It’s like I get a food in my head and it won’t go away sometimes. Cheese dip & chips for example is a big one for me. Or should I say it’s one I crave pretty frequently & will go overboard on given half a chance.
I was watching Heavy this weekend. Some of the stuff those people were going through in their therapy sessions, or talked about kind of scared me because I could completely relate. It was sounding way too familiar for any type of comfort. I mean I wasn’t abused as a child, I didn’t have a son or parent die tragically, or well really anything traumatic. I can narrow down when I started to gain weight though. I started to gain weight after I got off Phenobarbital when I was 13. I then gained a ton more weight when I stopped being active / gave up horses. I started eating way more though after I got off Phenobarbital.
So maybe I do need to re-learn my relationship with food. It’s hard though when it’s something that I so ingrained in everything people do. I mean it’s not like I’m going to change my family traditions. Let’s face it those are what they are. The other part is I REALLLY need to get better at planning and not hating the kitchen. I’ve gotten better, but I’m not exactly Betty Crocker.
When I started off this lifestyle change I knew it would encompass a lot of things, but I wonder if I actually really realized just how many things have to change for success to occur long term.
I told her about Farrell’s, and the nutrition program, and etc. She was happy about the whole less processed more whole grain & natural part, but she isn’t happy about the weight gain, my fun day, or the number of calories & carbs I’m consuming per meal. She says 43 is too high, and she’d rather see me cut that by a minimum of 10-15 per meal. She wants me to give up my fun day, annnnnd she more or less told me she would prefer I be on a 1200-1500 calorie diet, not an 1,800 – 2,100 calorie diet. She isn’t against carbs by any means; she just thinks I need a lower amount.
The real problem here is lat time I went in for weight & blood pressure checks I weighed 262. Which is all well and good, but I gained 2 lbs. She is very concerned about the effects of my obesity & etc on my heart.
I admit right now and up front last week was NOT my best week. I substituted Pizza one day for two meals (equated out to 3 pieces). I had jelly beans for one meal, & went out for tacos another day… and well I have had the raving munchies all week and did almost nothing but eat on Saturday. Well, okay we did a lot of running around too, but I ate waaay too much. It was weird it was like I couldn’t stop eating even when I was full. I just kept munching. It was completely stupid and I justified it by “I can” & “It’s my fun day”. Well that’s pretty stupid justification. Looking back on it even though I didn’t go completely mad on my calories at any point last week (excluding Saturday), I really didn’t deserve my “fun day”. I mean yessss I did maintain about a 1,000 calorie deficit every day… but I ate things I just shouldn’t have end of story. I also guestimated for the tacos soooo I could be off there.
I did get through week 3 of Farrell’s. I missed Monday because I was sick, but did attend all other 5 days. Wed & Friday’s cardio classes were just brutal. I’m not sure why, but they were. They are ramping up what we’re doing, and I leave wanting very little other than to crawl into bed or fall down.. whichever comes first. BUT I’m doing it, and so far I’m really glad I go every day. It’s pretty fun, and every time I accomplish something small it’s a total victory for me. I like victories!
So anyway back to the Dr thing. I’m not sure I’m supposed to actually haggle with my Dr, but I’m okay fighting for what I agree with and don’t agree with. I just don’t think I can manage to stick to 1,200 calories. End of story. SOOO we debated and agreed that I would stick to a 1,400 – 1,700 calorie diet all week, and that my “fun” day would not be a free for all pig out. She really would have preferred I limit my fun day to once a month & one bad meal & snack a week. At least she also acknowledges I’ll work with her if she compromises as opposed to completely ignoring her. She loaded me up on pamphlets and nutrition advice and told me to make another appointment in 2-3 months. She says I really need to work on my progress… which I agree with being as I’ve more or less had none this year, and she wants me to bring my BodyMedia reports next time. She already knows I have a hormone imbalance caused by PCOS and obesity (she says the obesity is a factor for the PCOS too). Sooo she wants to test my thyroid yet again and run another hormone panel if I haven’t had improvement.
Mostly though she just thinks I am eating too much. She thinks the Farrell’s thing is a good thing, but warned me to take good care of my joints. She knows I have issues with my knees. She thinks overall the kickboxing will be good and actually strengthen the muscles around my joints and help with some of my joint issues.
The interesting part is she’d really like me to get down to my goal weight, but she really wants me to get to 190 or less. She says the affect on many of my health issues and would really like to make sure I get out of the obese category. She more or less stated being simply overweight isn’t as detrimental to my health as being obese.
So yeah, she more or less politely smacked me over the head, and told me to kick in gear. I can’t say as I don’t agree with her, even if I do think I’ve kicked it into gear. I feel like I’m working my butt off darn it. BUT as usual food is a problem with me. I have denied being a food addict for well… a very long time. I’m starting to think if that’s self delusion though. OR if it’s more a combination of food addition and a desire not to change my lifestyle. I like to go out to eat. I like to eat things that aren’t good for me. I crave carbs & cheese on a pretty regular basis. Sugar less so, but still occurs. It’s like I get a food in my head and it won’t go away sometimes. Cheese dip & chips for example is a big one for me. Or should I say it’s one I crave pretty frequently & will go overboard on given half a chance.
I was watching Heavy this weekend. Some of the stuff those people were going through in their therapy sessions, or talked about kind of scared me because I could completely relate. It was sounding way too familiar for any type of comfort. I mean I wasn’t abused as a child, I didn’t have a son or parent die tragically, or well really anything traumatic. I can narrow down when I started to gain weight though. I started to gain weight after I got off Phenobarbital when I was 13. I then gained a ton more weight when I stopped being active / gave up horses. I started eating way more though after I got off Phenobarbital.
So maybe I do need to re-learn my relationship with food. It’s hard though when it’s something that I so ingrained in everything people do. I mean it’s not like I’m going to change my family traditions. Let’s face it those are what they are. The other part is I REALLLY need to get better at planning and not hating the kitchen. I’ve gotten better, but I’m not exactly Betty Crocker.
When I started off this lifestyle change I knew it would encompass a lot of things, but I wonder if I actually really realized just how many things have to change for success to occur long term.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Just when I think it may get easier….
So this week has been pretty interesting as far as my workouts go. I missed Monday because my stomach was rebelling, and well I’m just not going to try squats and kicking, and bouncing up and down with a stomach that requires frequent and immediate trips to the bathroom. I think it must have just been something I ate though, because it passed quickly.
I was back at it on Tuesday, and upgraded on quite a few of my upper body moves to a green band (from yellow). I think I could probably actually move up to a red band for most of my back strength exercises, but my triceps, shoulders, and some of the chest moves can’t hardly finish properly on yellow. BUT I’m getting stronger. On a few of the moves I’m ready to move up to green, and I’m happy with that.
Yesterdays’ cardio workout was a killer. More so than usual. About the time I think I have the cardio figured out they throw in new moves, and more up and down stuff. I ran out of breath again yesterday, but I didn’t stop for any length of time other than a few seconds to catch my breath again. By the time class was over my entire shirt was soaked in sweat… as in more than normal. I never leave a class (strength or cardio) dry, but this was special even for me. They added in a lot of touchdowns. i.e. Front kick, touchdown (hand on floor), up, kick, touchdown, repeat until you want to pass out. LOL Then switch it up to punch, cross, hook, step OOR maybe even a punch, cross, hook, knee. Either way it was a ton of movement, a ton of up and down, and by the end it was an O M G MAKE IT STOP kind of moment.
The funny part is after my muscles collected themselves to feel more like normal and less like jelly I was still very glad I went. I thought about doing the workout they gave us the first day, which I thought was insanely hard, to the workout they gave us today and realize the progress is definitely there. I am getting stronger.
For example let’s compare last Friday with Day 1. I see progress! I see progress yesterday too, but watching the end of my workout when I’m starting to not be able to breathe what my lvl 10 is alters somewhat drastically.
I’ve been continuing to burn between 3,000- 3,500 calories on average per day with the exception of Sunday which is very much an off day.
Calories Burned / Consumed / Exercise / Note
3/28 – 3,550 calories burned – 1,890 consumed - Cardio
3/29 – 3,285 calories burned – 2,076 consumed - Strength
3/30 – 3,192 calories burned – 1,874 consumed - Cardio – note: Stopped wearing my BodyMedia after class.
3/31 – 3,303 calories burned – 2,121 consumed - Strength
4/01 – 3,079 calories burned – 1,994 consumed - Cardio
4/02 – 3,261 calories burned – Strength & cardio - strength & techniques class back to back –also this is my Fun/cheat day.
4/03 – 2,111 calories burned – 1,959 consumed - nada, I didn’t even wear the band, so this is what I burn doing nothing.
4/04 – 3,051 calories burned – 1,785 consumed - Cardio
4/05 – 3,258 calories burned – 1,987 consumed - Strength
4/06 – 3,392 calories burned -2,072 consumed - Cardio
4/07 – 2,940 calories burned – 1,898 consumed - Strength – also I didn’t take an hour walk like I normally do
4/08 – 3,409 calories burned – 1,916 consumed - Cardio & abs after class
4/09 – 3,233 calories burned –fun day - Strength & zoo wandering
4/10 – 2,199 calories burned – 1,552 consumed - day off… I did very little other than play video games and watch tv.
4/11 – 2,171 calories burned – 1,636 consumed - sick – so almost nothing done this day
4/12 – 3,378 calories burned – 2,079 consumed - Strength
4/13 – 3,241 calories burned – 2,222 consumed - Cardio – (I made a good choice at red lobster but still underestimated some of the calories in items so consumed a bit more than expected.
So at any rate I’ve been eating very well considering. I work to hit my carb & protein requirements, though I’m often a bit under on carbs and over on protein. I’m okay with that though.
I think I’ve been busting it out at any rate. :D
I was back at it on Tuesday, and upgraded on quite a few of my upper body moves to a green band (from yellow). I think I could probably actually move up to a red band for most of my back strength exercises, but my triceps, shoulders, and some of the chest moves can’t hardly finish properly on yellow. BUT I’m getting stronger. On a few of the moves I’m ready to move up to green, and I’m happy with that.
Yesterdays’ cardio workout was a killer. More so than usual. About the time I think I have the cardio figured out they throw in new moves, and more up and down stuff. I ran out of breath again yesterday, but I didn’t stop for any length of time other than a few seconds to catch my breath again. By the time class was over my entire shirt was soaked in sweat… as in more than normal. I never leave a class (strength or cardio) dry, but this was special even for me. They added in a lot of touchdowns. i.e. Front kick, touchdown (hand on floor), up, kick, touchdown, repeat until you want to pass out. LOL Then switch it up to punch, cross, hook, step OOR maybe even a punch, cross, hook, knee. Either way it was a ton of movement, a ton of up and down, and by the end it was an O M G MAKE IT STOP kind of moment.
The funny part is after my muscles collected themselves to feel more like normal and less like jelly I was still very glad I went. I thought about doing the workout they gave us the first day, which I thought was insanely hard, to the workout they gave us today and realize the progress is definitely there. I am getting stronger.
For example let’s compare last Friday with Day 1. I see progress! I see progress yesterday too, but watching the end of my workout when I’m starting to not be able to breathe what my lvl 10 is alters somewhat drastically.
I’ve been continuing to burn between 3,000- 3,500 calories on average per day with the exception of Sunday which is very much an off day.
Calories Burned / Consumed / Exercise / Note
3/28 – 3,550 calories burned – 1,890 consumed - Cardio
3/29 – 3,285 calories burned – 2,076 consumed - Strength
3/30 – 3,192 calories burned – 1,874 consumed - Cardio – note: Stopped wearing my BodyMedia after class.
3/31 – 3,303 calories burned – 2,121 consumed - Strength
4/01 – 3,079 calories burned – 1,994 consumed - Cardio
4/02 – 3,261 calories burned – Strength & cardio - strength & techniques class back to back –also this is my Fun/cheat day.
4/03 – 2,111 calories burned – 1,959 consumed - nada, I didn’t even wear the band, so this is what I burn doing nothing.
4/04 – 3,051 calories burned – 1,785 consumed - Cardio
4/05 – 3,258 calories burned – 1,987 consumed - Strength
4/06 – 3,392 calories burned -2,072 consumed - Cardio
4/07 – 2,940 calories burned – 1,898 consumed - Strength – also I didn’t take an hour walk like I normally do
4/08 – 3,409 calories burned – 1,916 consumed - Cardio & abs after class
4/09 – 3,233 calories burned –fun day - Strength & zoo wandering
4/10 – 2,199 calories burned – 1,552 consumed - day off… I did very little other than play video games and watch tv.
4/11 – 2,171 calories burned – 1,636 consumed - sick – so almost nothing done this day
4/12 – 3,378 calories burned – 2,079 consumed - Strength
4/13 – 3,241 calories burned – 2,222 consumed - Cardio – (I made a good choice at red lobster but still underestimated some of the calories in items so consumed a bit more than expected.
So at any rate I’ve been eating very well considering. I work to hit my carb & protein requirements, though I’m often a bit under on carbs and over on protein. I’m okay with that though.
I think I’ve been busting it out at any rate. :D
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
weigh in
Okay,
So I posted my weigh in on Sunday on YouTube, but just wasn’t ready to make my blog post yet.
SO here it goes.
I gained another 3 lbs. On Sunday I was up to 265. I considered throwing the scale through the window, and later decided that “perhaps” that wasn’t the best of plans. I mean they are new windows, and I might actually want the scale later.
So I crawled back into bed, woke up Jer, and complained for about 15 minutes. I mean I’m eating better than I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. We’re talking only whole grains, no super processed foods, a lot of raw veg, fruit, only lean meats (mostly grilled chicken, turkey, or fish), no soda (not even a sip on my “fun day”, etc. EVERYTHING (outside of my fun day) has been measured either via the standard cup/teaspoon/etc or via the food scale (meat & some veg). There was no going off plan. I DID have my fun day. I felt I totally deserved it, and I stayed on track to the N’th degree all week. Not to mention I was so sick of tilapia and chicken I could scream. Frankly this eating 6 times a day thing is kind of a pita. BUT I have done it.
Jer swears he sees a difference. To me my clothing fits the same, the scale is pissing me off, and the only thing I can currently fall back on is the fact that I can do SO MUCH more than I could 2 weeks ago. I never would have thought the difference in 2 weeks would be that much. I can do full sit-ups.. and only a few days ago I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to do one by the end of the 10 weeks. I can make it through an entire cardio class without sitting down for a few min to catch my breath. I “feel” stronger.
Now, seriously the scale needs to start going in the proper direction. The only thing I can think of is that I had no muscles to start with, and I’m starting to grow a few, and my body is in so much shock that it’s screaming for mercy and holding onto everything because it’s pretty sure the end is nigh. Every other time I’ve done exactly what I needed to do I’ve seen results. I mean it’s not like I’m on my last 10 lbs. No, I still have 100 lbs to go… now 110 lbs to reach goal.
So what am I going to do about this? I am going to keep on keeping on. I’m going to keep eating 6 times a day. I’m going to continue to make good choices, I’m going to continue to avoid soda for the full 10 weeks (at least). I am going to remain convinced that my body will HAVE to eventually drop something. Even if it’s just clothing sizes I can deal with that. I just need some type of acknowledgement from my body that it’s cooperating in some way. … though I guess the fact that I can do more without feeling like I’m going to die is acknowledgement.. I just want a different type of acknowledgement too. LOL inches or lbs ppl inches or pounds.
At the end of the week my body is screaming for mercy. So far by Friday of each week I have been sore everywhere, incredibly tired, and yet insanely glad I went each day. After class on Saturday I was so tired I considered just going back to bed for a few hours. Instead, we decided to go to the zoo. We spent from 8 am – 9 am working out & from 11:30 am – 2:30 pm wandering around the zoo. MAN was I done. The zoo was PACKED, it was 85 degrees and it was so humid in some of the buildings that the exhibits were fogged over. Half the aquarium had water just sweating down the glass. I still had fun, but when Sunday ended up being 65 I almost wished I would have waited and gone on Sunday instead. BUT I was still glad I went. I did nothing on Sunday, and I was totally okay with that.
TOM showed up and as of this morning I’m down to 263. It’s the last time this week until weigh in (Saturday) though that I’ll hop on a scale.
Work changed my hours to 7am – 4 pm starting tomorrow. That will be a shock. I detest mornings. So I will either be going to the 4:30 pm class or if Jer wants to go to the same class I’m going to move to the 6am class. GOD that’s early.
Whatever the case I hope I have some good news to provide in my next weigh in. I’m tired of reporting gains.
So I posted my weigh in on Sunday on YouTube, but just wasn’t ready to make my blog post yet.
SO here it goes.
I gained another 3 lbs. On Sunday I was up to 265. I considered throwing the scale through the window, and later decided that “perhaps” that wasn’t the best of plans. I mean they are new windows, and I might actually want the scale later.
So I crawled back into bed, woke up Jer, and complained for about 15 minutes. I mean I’m eating better than I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. We’re talking only whole grains, no super processed foods, a lot of raw veg, fruit, only lean meats (mostly grilled chicken, turkey, or fish), no soda (not even a sip on my “fun day”, etc. EVERYTHING (outside of my fun day) has been measured either via the standard cup/teaspoon/etc or via the food scale (meat & some veg). There was no going off plan. I DID have my fun day. I felt I totally deserved it, and I stayed on track to the N’th degree all week. Not to mention I was so sick of tilapia and chicken I could scream. Frankly this eating 6 times a day thing is kind of a pita. BUT I have done it.
Jer swears he sees a difference. To me my clothing fits the same, the scale is pissing me off, and the only thing I can currently fall back on is the fact that I can do SO MUCH more than I could 2 weeks ago. I never would have thought the difference in 2 weeks would be that much. I can do full sit-ups.. and only a few days ago I was concerned I wouldn’t be able to do one by the end of the 10 weeks. I can make it through an entire cardio class without sitting down for a few min to catch my breath. I “feel” stronger.
Now, seriously the scale needs to start going in the proper direction. The only thing I can think of is that I had no muscles to start with, and I’m starting to grow a few, and my body is in so much shock that it’s screaming for mercy and holding onto everything because it’s pretty sure the end is nigh. Every other time I’ve done exactly what I needed to do I’ve seen results. I mean it’s not like I’m on my last 10 lbs. No, I still have 100 lbs to go… now 110 lbs to reach goal.
So what am I going to do about this? I am going to keep on keeping on. I’m going to keep eating 6 times a day. I’m going to continue to make good choices, I’m going to continue to avoid soda for the full 10 weeks (at least). I am going to remain convinced that my body will HAVE to eventually drop something. Even if it’s just clothing sizes I can deal with that. I just need some type of acknowledgement from my body that it’s cooperating in some way. … though I guess the fact that I can do more without feeling like I’m going to die is acknowledgement.. I just want a different type of acknowledgement too. LOL inches or lbs ppl inches or pounds.
At the end of the week my body is screaming for mercy. So far by Friday of each week I have been sore everywhere, incredibly tired, and yet insanely glad I went each day. After class on Saturday I was so tired I considered just going back to bed for a few hours. Instead, we decided to go to the zoo. We spent from 8 am – 9 am working out & from 11:30 am – 2:30 pm wandering around the zoo. MAN was I done. The zoo was PACKED, it was 85 degrees and it was so humid in some of the buildings that the exhibits were fogged over. Half the aquarium had water just sweating down the glass. I still had fun, but when Sunday ended up being 65 I almost wished I would have waited and gone on Sunday instead. BUT I was still glad I went. I did nothing on Sunday, and I was totally okay with that.
TOM showed up and as of this morning I’m down to 263. It’s the last time this week until weigh in (Saturday) though that I’ll hop on a scale.
Work changed my hours to 7am – 4 pm starting tomorrow. That will be a shock. I detest mornings. So I will either be going to the 4:30 pm class or if Jer wants to go to the same class I’m going to move to the 6am class. GOD that’s early.
Whatever the case I hope I have some good news to provide in my next weigh in. I’m tired of reporting gains.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Heart Association Walk
So one thing that plagues my family is heart issues. It's really a matter of genetics and in some cases we don't do ourselves any favors by being poor eaters either. BUT the majority of my family lead healthy lifestyles of farmers (or similar), yet on both sides we've had heart problems.
SOOO needless to say I'm all for the American Heart Association. In some cases I think one of the biggest things they can offer to people is awareness & education.
As such I'm going to be participating for year 2nd of the Heart Walk they are having on May 21, 2011. I'm also hoping this year I won't want to keel over after the walk is complete. Jer is volunteering to go with me... though I don't think he knows that yet. :D OH but he will.
I know money is tight, but if you would like to donate the website they gave me is:
http://blba.us/i.asp?id=426002-206796256-2
SOOO needless to say I'm all for the American Heart Association. In some cases I think one of the biggest things they can offer to people is awareness & education.
As such I'm going to be participating for year 2nd of the Heart Walk they are having on May 21, 2011. I'm also hoping this year I won't want to keel over after the walk is complete. Jer is volunteering to go with me... though I don't think he knows that yet. :D OH but he will.
I know money is tight, but if you would like to donate the website they gave me is:
http://blba.us/i.asp?id=426002-206796256-2
Interesting - ther nerd has woken up and is posting. :D
So I’ve been doing my own research … mostly using myself as a guinea pig. I think perhaps I know why swimming is such a good workout… and I’m not just talking about the fact that it reduces strain on the joints and weight due to the water pressure.
So yesterday one of the guys that’s really into Farrell’s (long time Farrell’s member), who was also a wrestler replied to my comment of me standing by the door so it’s cooler in the building that he wanted it as hot as possible in the building so he sweats more and gets a better workout.
Well yesterday I did stand by the door I got my butt front and center on that door so I could get a breeze. My goal, to not overheat. It always seems that when I overheat I start falling apart. I can’t seem to get enough breath, yes I sweat even more than normal, and I start pooping out hard core. Well yesterday I didn’t over heat. I was doing everything to the max I felt I could do the workout. Staying a few degrease cooler REALLY seemed to help. I didn’t "do” more than normal yesterday. In fact once we got home and had dinner I was mostly stationary as we were playing (Jer was playing I was watching) Disgaea. BUT when I look at the lvls of effort put out in the workout I’m showing a spiky graph that is significantly above walking for nearly the full 45 minutes. Monday it wasn't above walking much. I'm pretty sure I was overheating based on the way I felt on Monday.
So back to my swimming thing. I think swimming is such a good workout because people use their whole bodies, and don’t overheat nearly as easily. I think being hot while you exercise so you sweat more really does absolutely nothing for you as far as calorie burn.
Now I am not an expert, and my test group is me, myself and I. So I could be way off base, but I will tell you per the body media if it is cooler out and I am busting my hump I can do so harder and for longer before I hit the point of mentally hitting the OMG MUST STOP point, or my body just telling me to piss off and it's done playing.
I admit I’d really like to strap a body media on Kasey (the guy that made the comment that he felt he got a better workout when it was warm) when it’s really hot, and again when it was cooler for the same workout and find out which one he burns more in… or if there is even a difference.
For me the answer is clear. Stay cool = can do more.
I still sweat like a maniac either way, but I don’t tend to overheat which means I can breathe enough to keep going. It also means I have enough steam left to get to the end of the workout. Because as I go on in this journey I should have to work harder and harder to obtain the same results… now granted that will probably be awhile since it takes my body awhile to “adjust” to something. BUT the nerd in me would really like to test the cool vs hot theory. In the end I could give a rats ass about losing water weight. I want to lose the fat and build the muscle. Being hot does drop more water weight, but then I just guzzle more water to replenish.
So yesterday one of the guys that’s really into Farrell’s (long time Farrell’s member), who was also a wrestler replied to my comment of me standing by the door so it’s cooler in the building that he wanted it as hot as possible in the building so he sweats more and gets a better workout.
Well yesterday I did stand by the door I got my butt front and center on that door so I could get a breeze. My goal, to not overheat. It always seems that when I overheat I start falling apart. I can’t seem to get enough breath, yes I sweat even more than normal, and I start pooping out hard core. Well yesterday I didn’t over heat. I was doing everything to the max I felt I could do the workout. Staying a few degrease cooler REALLY seemed to help. I didn’t "do” more than normal yesterday. In fact once we got home and had dinner I was mostly stationary as we were playing (Jer was playing I was watching) Disgaea. BUT when I look at the lvls of effort put out in the workout I’m showing a spiky graph that is significantly above walking for nearly the full 45 minutes. Monday it wasn't above walking much. I'm pretty sure I was overheating based on the way I felt on Monday.
So back to my swimming thing. I think swimming is such a good workout because people use their whole bodies, and don’t overheat nearly as easily. I think being hot while you exercise so you sweat more really does absolutely nothing for you as far as calorie burn.
Now I am not an expert, and my test group is me, myself and I. So I could be way off base, but I will tell you per the body media if it is cooler out and I am busting my hump I can do so harder and for longer before I hit the point of mentally hitting the OMG MUST STOP point, or my body just telling me to piss off and it's done playing.
I admit I’d really like to strap a body media on Kasey (the guy that made the comment that he felt he got a better workout when it was warm) when it’s really hot, and again when it was cooler for the same workout and find out which one he burns more in… or if there is even a difference.
For me the answer is clear. Stay cool = can do more.
I still sweat like a maniac either way, but I don’t tend to overheat which means I can breathe enough to keep going. It also means I have enough steam left to get to the end of the workout. Because as I go on in this journey I should have to work harder and harder to obtain the same results… now granted that will probably be awhile since it takes my body awhile to “adjust” to something. BUT the nerd in me would really like to test the cool vs hot theory. In the end I could give a rats ass about losing water weight. I want to lose the fat and build the muscle. Being hot does drop more water weight, but then I just guzzle more water to replenish.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)