// MONDAY 9a Sahara TurboKick Michelle/Janet
MONDAY 9a Ann Zumba Michele
MONDAY Noon Agassi Lift Wendy
MONDAY 5.30 Sahara Zumba Pam
TUESDAY 9a TurboKick Kathy
TUESDAY 10a Pilates Rachel
TUESDAY 6.30p TurboKick Donalin
WEDNESDAY 8a Cycle Dallas
WEDNESDAY 10a Zumba Michelle
WEDNESDAY 6.30 Craig Zumba Donalin
THURSDAY 9a Agassi TurboKick Rachel
THURSDAY 10.30 Craig Zumba Connie
THURSDAY Noon Lift Rachel
FRIDAY 9a Agassi Zumba Michelle
FRIDAY Noon Agassi Cycle Eliza
FRIDAY 6p Craig Zumba Donalin
SATURDAY 9a Agassi Lift Mai
SATURDAY 10a Agassi TurboKick Kelly
SUNDAY 9a Sahara Cycle Dallas
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Food logging shorthand explanations (i.e. what is a cheese wrap?)
Work in progress. Links lead to nutritional information.
Egg wrap - Egg Beaters egg whites and Flatout Bread Light.
Cheese wrap - 2 servings shredded cheese and Flatout Bread Light.
Protein drink - Special K protein drink.
Protein bar - Special K protein bar.
Chicken wrap - boneless skinless chicken tenderloins and Flatout Bread Light.
Egg wrap - Egg Beaters egg whites and Flatout Bread Light.
Cheese wrap - 2 servings shredded cheese and Flatout Bread Light.
Protein drink - Special K protein drink.
Protein bar - Special K protein bar.
Chicken wrap - boneless skinless chicken tenderloins and Flatout Bread Light.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Watch TV Shows Online
Well, since I spend so much time here on this blog, I figured I'd stick this here. Feel free to use it if you wish. I'll be updating it within the next week. This is just for me mostly so it'll just be the shows I want to watch.
Private Practice
Grey's Anatomy
House
Private Practice
Grey's Anatomy
House
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Monday, January 4th, 2010 to Sunday, January 10th, 2010
MONDAY 9.30a Craig TurboKick Donalin 58/592/35, 175/93, 149/79
MONDAY 10:30a Craig Cardio Dance Party (30 mins) Donalin 29/257/45, 155/82, 139/74
MONDAY Noon Agassi Lift Rachel 58/353/60, 149/79, 114/60
Today I start training for the triathlon. All the triathlon training info is here: http://fitdeb.blogspot.com/2010/01/aflac-iron-girl-may-15th-2010-sprint.html
I'll just stick to thoughts about the whole process in the weekly blogs but all the core training info will be there. After my 6p class I'll head over to the LVAC indoor track and run Week 1 Day 1 of the C25K program.
20 days, 2.5 lbs. 168 lbs now. This is getting old. 11 more days until I measure body fat % and inches again. I lost 47.5 lbs with the South Beach diet in 2004 (and no exercise) and gained it ALL back, to the pound. So half a lb more and I will have lost the same, but I think I'm much better off now nutritionally and physically. About to call the doctor to make an appointment to go see him for bloodwork and I'll compare if there's any progress, especially with triglycerides and cholesterol. I had the bloodwork done around the second week of September, right when I started going to Group X classes, and 2 months or so after I started exercising, so the bloodwork will show what if any impact the GX classes and diet improvements have done internally. I think with the bloodwork, body fat %, and inches I will have a better picture of what if any progress I'm making, because the scale is now useless (at least I'd like to think it's useless instead of a true representation of a lack of progress in 3 weeks).
I've been thinking about why I ate emotionally on the 1st. This time I wasn't sad, I was angry. And the problem had been solved, as I had a class to go to and had my workout for the day, so it wasn't even a problem that hadn't been solved yet. But I think I got a handle on sadness already having had a lot of practice these past few months. But really when you are sad what's the worst that could happen, that you'll go cry on someone? And when you're happy what are you going to do, laugh right in front of someone's face? But anger is different because it can cause someone to lose control and be destructive. That's the key difference with anger. And the last thing I ever want to do is hurt someone. So I guess anger scares me because I never ever want to lose control. So I guess I haven't really learned to deal with anger yet, and when I do, I'll be able to be angry without eating emotionally. The trick is going to let anger overtake every part of my body so that every last inch of my being is angry, and then not act on it. Be angry without do angry. Allowing myself to become angry and feel it.
This ties in into cheat days. What is a cheat day by most people's definitions? Eating "forbidden" foods, i.e. pizza, cake, cookies, burgers, etc. But what are you really doing when you have a cheat day? You are eating emotionally. I realized this when I had a whole pizza on a cheat day. Calorically I can work it into my week's intake, but I found that I can't turn on the emotional eating switch on and off, it's too draining to go back and forth between emotional eating and rational eating. You can still enjoy food with rational eating, but when you do rational eating, you deal and satisfy your emotions without food and live life in a way that you are able to feel all emotions constructively without having to act on them, and you enjoy a closer relationship to your food and its effects on your body without having to use food to nourish your emotions, which are being nourished somewhere else. It's about having a closeness with food and enjoying it and thinking of food as more than fuel, it's thinking of food as a friend that nourishes your body and soul.
Emotional eating is about using food to counter emotions; make you feel better when you're sad, calming you when you're anxious, giving you something to physically do when you're happy. It's about extinguishing or dealing with emotions through food and its effects on the body. It's about having unresolved emotions that are pacified by the chemical effects of food. But the emotion is never really dealt with, just pacified until the next time it spikes again.
So the reason I don't do cheat days is because I don't want to have that kind of relationship with food. I can't put my body through that roller coaster of emotional/rational eating.
I think I'm ready to try and write my book. Starting this weekend (Wednesday/Thursday for me).
New instructor today, Linda. Going because Erika is going. Met Erika at Kelly's class last Saturday, she just started at the gym. Reminds me of me. Whenever I see someone new at the gym I want them to have my experience, to arrive where I'm at, to go where I'm going. I hate "losing" people to whatever it is that derails people from making this change. I feel that it's my personal responsibility to offer whatever I can to give people what they need to keep on going. Do for others what Rachel, Kathy, Kelly, Donalin, and Dallas have done for me. Pass it on. After don't we all have a responsibility as human beings to be there for one another? Aren't we all in this together? We're really not that different, we're really all the same, irrational emotional beings with sporadic spasms of rational thought.
I've started to picture gym people telling me to do something when I'm trying to get the courage up to do it, which I guess is the first step. And it worked yesterday. I called on the Force of the Gym and it came through for me. If I can do 24 classes, why can't I do that? If I can go through an experience like this, is there really anywhere else to go but forward? Can't go backwards even if I wanted to. I think we're braver that we give ourselves credit for, and we let fear dictate our actions. I asked myself what I was scared of and once I answered that, it appeared to be something perfectly capable of scaring someone. So now I had my very rational answer. So that backfired (because sometimes what we're scared of is really ridiculous once we identify it). But I referred back to a quote from the movie "Under The Tuscan Sun" - "Life offers you a thousand chances. All you have to do is take one." And there was a chance in front of me. It's actually a chance I had back in 2003-2004 but I wasn't strong enough or brave enough back then to take it. But I had to do something I've never done before and which terrified me. Something I never thought I could do. But I pictured some of the people in that list above telling me to do it, that it'd be ok, and that I could do it. And after 15 minutes of that I got out of the car. And while I was in the middle of it they were right there holding my hand. That helped a lot. Isn't it amazing the changes you can help someone else do just by being yourself without even being present? Small actions have big ripples. So now here I am sitting down at home having done something beneficial that I never thought I'd be able to do. And you think, well, what kind of person am I now having done something I never thought myself capable of? Having conquered one of the most terrifying things in my life. What kind of person does that make me now? What kind of things are going to be possible now that I have that behind me? Because once you conquer mind-numbing fear, you can't really be the same person on the other end. I don't know yet what it means.
MONDAY 6p Agassi Zumba Linda 57/570/40, 164/87, 146/77
I tell myself that I won't take new people anymore and I break that promise. I blame Erika. Every time I take a new instructor part of me hopes the class sucks and I hate the instructor. But I never do. So now I have a new regular Monday class. Sigh.
TUESDAY 9a Cheyenne TurboKick Kathy 57/537/40, 167/88, 143/76
TUESDAY 10a Cheyenne Pilates Rachel 59/189/60, 115/61, 92/49
TUESDAY 6:30p TurboKick Donalin 50/476/40, 167/88, 143/76
Forgot to turn on monitor until after warm-up. What's funny is that I have the same max and average HR as Kathy this morning and the same fat %. Calories per minute were 9.4211 for Kathy and 9.52 for Donalin.
I'm back to the front of the class. I want somebody fat in the front. Classes are starting to fill up already with a bunch of new people. Met a mother and young daughter today, and she will be back tomorrow for Wednesday night Zumba. There's still some small classes so I'm enjoying having some large classes. I like both the small intimate setting and the huge all-out party. Maybe when I'm skinny I'll go to the back, or maybe I'll feel like the back next week. But for now it's the front, mostly because I have to do SOMEthing to help keep people coming and maybe I can shatter the misperceptions of what a fat person can or cannot do. I keep wanting to do something to help others and maybe I can use my body to that end. Went up half a lb today so on 12/18 I was at 170.5 and now I'm at 168.5. I've pretty much given up on that for now and will reassess on 1/15 with inches and body fat %. Wonder how much the BodyBugg will help (get to order it Friday).
One week a month I wish I were a man. This is that week for January. Going to the gym sucks. Counting down the days.
Didn't bike the 2K today but I estimate I do at least 4K in a spinning class, giving me this week and next week to find out how long the trail is at the park next to the house and the bike in working order.
WEDNESDAY morning: I am sooooo -not- looking forward to spin this morning (see above reference to wanting to be a man). I so want to skip it. At least I can get that and then Zumba out of the way and then be free until Zumba tonight. I hate taking classes like this but I can't take a week off a month. I'm not doing Yoga tomorrow, want to stay upright as much as possible.
WEDNESDAY 8a Ann Cycle Dallas 56/526/40, 166/88, 144/76
WEDNESDAY 10a Sahara Zumba Michelle 57/478/50, 153/81, 132/70
I'm off today, lower numbers. My energy's zapped and during that monthly week you are sluggish, tired, and just zapped. Shows in the numbers. Last month I even skipped a workout. Not skipping any workouts this month. But I'm disappointed in the 478. I hate this. Hopefully it'll be gone by Saturday or Sunday. Spin was fun, but I really don't enjoy going to the gym like this because I don't move as freely as the other weeks.
WEDNESDAY 6.30p Craig Zumba Donalin 57/500/50, 153/81, 136/72
THURSDAY 8a Ann SET Beth 55/431/50, 155/82, 130/69
THURSDAY 9a Agassi TurboKick Rachel 36/335/45, 162/86, 142/75 (got there late to be able to take Beth's class)
THURSDAY Noon Cheyenne Lift Rachel 60/346/60, 136/72, 111/59
As the days pass, my calories are slowly going back up to normal. I give it two more days tops (hopefully). Had to skip swimming this week. Day 2 of running is tonight after Donalin's class. Had one spinning class already, having another one Sunday. Sunday I will also fix up my bike and get spinning shoes.
Going to become TurboKick, Hip Hop Hustle, and PiYo certified in late February, early March. And Schwinn certified within the next two months. Next up sometime in the near future: Zumba. I want to get as many certifications as possible. Then maybe start teaching locally to get some experience. And I want two of the main personal training cerfitications. Linda's teaching the PiYo one and Michelle Olsen is teaching the other two. She seems like a really fun energetic person, I'm psyched.
Body fat went down about 1.5% since December 30th, weight's pretty much the same. If I can keep the same weight and drop body fat for now, I'll be happy. Sooner or later I will hit goal body fat and start losing weight again.
Tried Beth today, against my better judgment (see Linda above). Thanks to Rachel's class moving up an hour on Thursdays, I now have a new Thursday class. I'm scared to try Ginger. I don't think I can take any more classes. Since I have Michelle on Wednesdays, thinking of alternating Michelle and Beth on Fridays, Zumba/TurboKick.
THURSDAY 7p Sahara Zumba Donalin 54/587/35, 167/88, 153/81
Slowly coming back as the week progresses. Tomorrow I get to order the BodyBugg.
I really don't exercise well by myself. If it wasn't for the GX classes, I don't think I would have stuck with this. I'm into my seventh month. So the running is a different experience because I'm by myself at the LVAC track. Get a lot of time to think. I'm really enjoying running. The C25K program is nothing short of amazing. I feel like I fly when I run and it's really a rush. But there's nothing in between me and completing a triathlon but me. How bad do I want this? Bad. I have to draw into my inner strength to achieve something on my own without any extra outside help or support when it comes to running (and biking and swimming) so it's a new experience. You're running towards something (completing a triathlon in m case) and there's nothing but a big open space in front of you, and nothing that can stop you except yourself.
Had to skip swimming this week, will pick it up at 4 laps next week, and will transition from spin class to spin class plus real bike.
FRIDAY 9a Agassi Zumba Michelle 54.509/45, 162/86, 142/75
FRIDAY 6p Craig Zumba Donalin 56/564/40, 164/87, 147/78
SATURDAY 9a Agassi Lift Mai 55/238/60, 135/71, 101/53
SATURDAY 10a Agassi TurboKick Kelly ~1 hour ~500 calories
I am soooo ticked off that I forgot to turn off the monitor for about 40 minutes after class. I had fasted for 13 hours so far when I took the class and I remember looking at it and it being high 500s, but don't know how high. Calling it 500. I wish I had the stats for this one. No food or water for 13 hour and high TKB numbers after Lift. Taking 40 minutes and 228 calories off the weekly total to account for the extra time.
So I had my fasting bloodwork done, total of 17 hours and 45 minutes fast (a combination of an early-ish dinner (ended around 9p), then work, then gym (2 classes), then finding lost paperwork, then about 2 hours waiting at the lab to go in, then going home and preparing the meal). Had an awesome 620 calorie meal == 6 oz raspberries, cheese wrap, fruit juice with fruit pieces, and pistacchios. Going to have a couple of protein drinks and protein bars tonight (740 for all four of them). That still leaves me 340 calories. I think I'm just going to be short today. Goal was 1700. Maybe I'll even just have one of each. Too many missed calories until 2:45p to make up. Tomorrow is a 1600 day.
On my 1900 day I used up 600 calories in protein drinks, I think I can get the same protein in 400.
I'm ready to write. My dream has always been to be a writer. But I guess out of everything, being a writer is what defines me. It's how I define myself. I may not have anything else, but I have my writing. I can't dance, I can't sing, I can't draw, I can't act, and I don't know if I can write, but of anything I do, I do writing the best. So I define myself as a writer, as who I am inside. So what happens if I write something and it sucks, it never sells, and it turns I can't even write? What do I have left if I lose the one thing that I've always relied on to be there for me, to BE me? But I'm strong enough now that I can lose the one piece that I have always used to identify myself and be ok at the other end. I am ready to write because I'm ready to fail at it. I'm ready to lose being a Writer. As a result of the past four months, of course.
It's amazing that I've only gone to GX classes just over four months. My life is changing in other areas that I don't write about (and don't plan to; I've mentioned before that this blog is the censored version and I plan to keep it that way). It's a work in progress. But I don't think you can embark in a journey to better yourself physically without bettering yourself emotionally, mentally, and spiritually at the same time. It all comes bundled together. So you pretty much embark on a mission to make yourself the best you you can be.
I am still terrified of teaching. But part of me "knows" I will be a GX instructor one day. I want to do all this to someone else. I want to pass it on. It's more of a duty, something I have to do. I was given this, now I have to give it to somebody else. So I'm going to have to get over my fear of making mistakes and my shyness being the center of attention in a crowd. It's almost as if you're just a vessel for the mission to propagate. But there's no way to keep this gift all to yourself. It has to be passed on.
I'm starting to hear inspirational more and more, from more and more people. I've never thought of myself as an inspiration, even now. You know who the inspiration are? The GX instructors. They are the ones that should be getting ALL of the credit, not me. I would have quit a long ago if it wasn't for them. I don't take classes, I take people. It's funny because for the triathlon running now I have to rely on myself, and it's hard. It's hard for me to exercise by myself and I don't enjoy it that much. I do enjoy running, which makes it easier. But it's funny that I exercised by myself for two months in order to be ready to exercise with people and then I exercised with people for four months in order to be ready to exercise by myself. Full circle.
SUNDAY 9.30a Agassi Cycle Eliza 66/601/45, 159/84, 139/74
// Dallas out of town, saw Eliza Saturday on the way to Lift and wanted to try her. I better not like her. Sunday is Dallas time. Who am I kidding. I'll figure out how to fit Eliza in on Monday.
Loved Eliza. Forgot to turn off the monitor but not by much, the class passed the one hour mark so at most if was six minutes. VERY close to 600. Let's compare the heart rate's with Dallas' Wednesday class:
166/88, 144/76
Very close. Dallas still gave me higher. But I found Eliza tough, which is good. Dallas is just too much fun to be tough. I'm going to figure out how I can fit Eliza and Leanna in while keeping 2 Dallases.
So I have 2 resolutions for 2010.
#1 is to go to at least one GX class every day of the year. So far, so good. I will have to go to LVAC when 24HF closes like Christmas Day. There are two main things I need to do to insure I can do this: #1: Not get sick, and #2: Not get injured. So I have to eat right and start sleeping more and once I get the test results back, see how the iron is and start taking vitamin supplements. I'm going to have to get over my psychological aversion to Yoga, as it will keep me stretched and elongate the muscles, further strengthening them.
#2 is to do 1 pullup. I found this awesome assisted pullup machine at LVAC. No bells or whistles but does exactly what I need. The one thing I wish it had was weight increments of 5 lbs instead of every 15 lbs (or maybe it does and I haven't figured it out yet). So I'm able to do it with an assist of 100 lbs but not 85 lbs, and I weight 166 lbs. So I can pull 66 lbs but not 81 lbs. If I get down to 110 lbs this year that means I have to be able to lift 44 more lbs to get from 66 to 110. So lose about another 56 lbs (49 lbs lost so far, almost halfway) and gain 44 lbs more of muscle-pulling ability.
My motto is "One-ten in twenty-ten."
Plan to post updates twice a month, starting with the 31st of this month.
I'm close enough to 165 lbs that I'm going for 1650 average cals consumed a day (I calculate my basal metabolism as weight * 10). Down from a current 1700. Zig-zag for next week:
1525
1625
1725
1825
1725
1625
1525
total 11575, average 1652/day. 75 less calories a day per 5 or so lbs lost.
Just for fun, this would be goal (110 lbs, 1100 cals a day).
1000
1100
1200
1300
1200
1100
1000
Total 7900/week, 1128 + whatever I burn to maintain
1000 may seem low, but here's what a 1000 day looks like:
Cheese wrap (250), 50 cherries (200), 2 egg wraps (405), apple (95), peach (70), 1045 calories
That's 6 "meals" a day. Taking away 6 hours sleep, that's something to eat every 3 hours at least. And this week for example I burned 6606 calories, that's an extra 943 calories a day to maintain, or almost double. If I just take one class a day that's at least an extra 300 calories or pistacchios and a banana. And those are just my low calorie days. And I plan to put on quite a bit of muscle, which will allow me to eat more at rest (without taking into account physical activity).
_________________________________
FOOD
1600 1700 1800 1900 1800 1700 1600
Monday: 2 cheese wraps (500), 2 egg wraps (400), 2 Pistacchios (340), 22 cherries (88), protein bar (180), pear (95), total 1603
Tuesday: Pear (95), 17 strawberries (153), cheese wrap X 2 (500), pistacchios (170), 3 egg wraps (605), raspberries (90), 1 peach (70), total 1683
Wednesday: 3 peaches (210), turkey footlong (560), cheese wrap X 2 (500), pistacchios (170), salmon (150), 2 chunky fruit juices (240), total 1830
Thursday: Cheese wrap (250), pistacchios (170), protein drink (300), protein drink (300), 6 oz raspberries (83), Albertson's Multi-grain pasta X 4 (888), total 1991 (goal 1900)
Friday: Cheese wrap (250), pistacchios (170), raspberries (82), pasta (220), fruit drink (110), partial total 832. For dinner has 2 bowls of soup (nothing in it), three pieces of chicken (no skin), four chicken patties, and fruit. Calling it 1000 calories and calling it 1832 for the day.
Saturday: (goal 1700) 2 X protein drink (280), 2 protein bar (360), cheese wrap (250), 6 oz raspberries (80), pistacchios (170), 2 X fruit juice with fruit pieces (220), total 1360 (had blood drawn for 4-month bloodwork results, fasted until 2:45p (out of work at 8a, gym 9a to 11a, back home to find missing paperwork, 2 hours wait time at the lab, getting back home and preparing food)).
Sunday: 23 strawberries (207 calories), 77 cherries (308 calories), protein drink (190), protein bar (180), cheese wrap (250), chips (200), pistacchios (170), 4 sugar-free Jello (40), total 1545 (goal 1525)
_________________________
1603, 1683, 1830, 1991, 1832, 1360, 1545, total for the week estimated 11844, average 1695/day
2014 cals burned at rest a day (based on 166 lbs), 14098 a week
Weekly totals: 19 classes, 8818 gross cals - 228 (forgot to turn off monitor), 1065 minutes - 40 (forgot to turn off monitor) = 8590 gross cals, 1025 minutes, 7103 net cals
14098 - 11844 + 7103 = 9357 caloric deficit, goal 7000
Another week come and gone. Bring on the next week.
MONDAY 10:30a Craig Cardio Dance Party (30 mins) Donalin 29/257/45, 155/82, 139/74
MONDAY Noon Agassi Lift Rachel 58/353/60, 149/79, 114/60
Today I start training for the triathlon. All the triathlon training info is here: http://fitdeb.blogspot.com/2010/01/aflac-iron-girl-may-15th-2010-sprint.html
I'll just stick to thoughts about the whole process in the weekly blogs but all the core training info will be there. After my 6p class I'll head over to the LVAC indoor track and run Week 1 Day 1 of the C25K program.
20 days, 2.5 lbs. 168 lbs now. This is getting old. 11 more days until I measure body fat % and inches again. I lost 47.5 lbs with the South Beach diet in 2004 (and no exercise) and gained it ALL back, to the pound. So half a lb more and I will have lost the same, but I think I'm much better off now nutritionally and physically. About to call the doctor to make an appointment to go see him for bloodwork and I'll compare if there's any progress, especially with triglycerides and cholesterol. I had the bloodwork done around the second week of September, right when I started going to Group X classes, and 2 months or so after I started exercising, so the bloodwork will show what if any impact the GX classes and diet improvements have done internally. I think with the bloodwork, body fat %, and inches I will have a better picture of what if any progress I'm making, because the scale is now useless (at least I'd like to think it's useless instead of a true representation of a lack of progress in 3 weeks).
I've been thinking about why I ate emotionally on the 1st. This time I wasn't sad, I was angry. And the problem had been solved, as I had a class to go to and had my workout for the day, so it wasn't even a problem that hadn't been solved yet. But I think I got a handle on sadness already having had a lot of practice these past few months. But really when you are sad what's the worst that could happen, that you'll go cry on someone? And when you're happy what are you going to do, laugh right in front of someone's face? But anger is different because it can cause someone to lose control and be destructive. That's the key difference with anger. And the last thing I ever want to do is hurt someone. So I guess anger scares me because I never ever want to lose control. So I guess I haven't really learned to deal with anger yet, and when I do, I'll be able to be angry without eating emotionally. The trick is going to let anger overtake every part of my body so that every last inch of my being is angry, and then not act on it. Be angry without do angry. Allowing myself to become angry and feel it.
This ties in into cheat days. What is a cheat day by most people's definitions? Eating "forbidden" foods, i.e. pizza, cake, cookies, burgers, etc. But what are you really doing when you have a cheat day? You are eating emotionally. I realized this when I had a whole pizza on a cheat day. Calorically I can work it into my week's intake, but I found that I can't turn on the emotional eating switch on and off, it's too draining to go back and forth between emotional eating and rational eating. You can still enjoy food with rational eating, but when you do rational eating, you deal and satisfy your emotions without food and live life in a way that you are able to feel all emotions constructively without having to act on them, and you enjoy a closer relationship to your food and its effects on your body without having to use food to nourish your emotions, which are being nourished somewhere else. It's about having a closeness with food and enjoying it and thinking of food as more than fuel, it's thinking of food as a friend that nourishes your body and soul.
Emotional eating is about using food to counter emotions; make you feel better when you're sad, calming you when you're anxious, giving you something to physically do when you're happy. It's about extinguishing or dealing with emotions through food and its effects on the body. It's about having unresolved emotions that are pacified by the chemical effects of food. But the emotion is never really dealt with, just pacified until the next time it spikes again.
So the reason I don't do cheat days is because I don't want to have that kind of relationship with food. I can't put my body through that roller coaster of emotional/rational eating.
I think I'm ready to try and write my book. Starting this weekend (Wednesday/Thursday for me).
New instructor today, Linda. Going because Erika is going. Met Erika at Kelly's class last Saturday, she just started at the gym. Reminds me of me. Whenever I see someone new at the gym I want them to have my experience, to arrive where I'm at, to go where I'm going. I hate "losing" people to whatever it is that derails people from making this change. I feel that it's my personal responsibility to offer whatever I can to give people what they need to keep on going. Do for others what Rachel, Kathy, Kelly, Donalin, and Dallas have done for me. Pass it on. After don't we all have a responsibility as human beings to be there for one another? Aren't we all in this together? We're really not that different, we're really all the same, irrational emotional beings with sporadic spasms of rational thought.
I've started to picture gym people telling me to do something when I'm trying to get the courage up to do it, which I guess is the first step. And it worked yesterday. I called on the Force of the Gym and it came through for me. If I can do 24 classes, why can't I do that? If I can go through an experience like this, is there really anywhere else to go but forward? Can't go backwards even if I wanted to. I think we're braver that we give ourselves credit for, and we let fear dictate our actions. I asked myself what I was scared of and once I answered that, it appeared to be something perfectly capable of scaring someone. So now I had my very rational answer. So that backfired (because sometimes what we're scared of is really ridiculous once we identify it). But I referred back to a quote from the movie "Under The Tuscan Sun" - "Life offers you a thousand chances. All you have to do is take one." And there was a chance in front of me. It's actually a chance I had back in 2003-2004 but I wasn't strong enough or brave enough back then to take it. But I had to do something I've never done before and which terrified me. Something I never thought I could do. But I pictured some of the people in that list above telling me to do it, that it'd be ok, and that I could do it. And after 15 minutes of that I got out of the car. And while I was in the middle of it they were right there holding my hand. That helped a lot. Isn't it amazing the changes you can help someone else do just by being yourself without even being present? Small actions have big ripples. So now here I am sitting down at home having done something beneficial that I never thought I'd be able to do. And you think, well, what kind of person am I now having done something I never thought myself capable of? Having conquered one of the most terrifying things in my life. What kind of person does that make me now? What kind of things are going to be possible now that I have that behind me? Because once you conquer mind-numbing fear, you can't really be the same person on the other end. I don't know yet what it means.
MONDAY 6p Agassi Zumba Linda 57/570/40, 164/87, 146/77
I tell myself that I won't take new people anymore and I break that promise. I blame Erika. Every time I take a new instructor part of me hopes the class sucks and I hate the instructor. But I never do. So now I have a new regular Monday class. Sigh.
TUESDAY 9a Cheyenne TurboKick Kathy 57/537/40, 167/88, 143/76
TUESDAY 10a Cheyenne Pilates Rachel 59/189/60, 115/61, 92/49
TUESDAY 6:30p TurboKick Donalin 50/476/40, 167/88, 143/76
Forgot to turn on monitor until after warm-up. What's funny is that I have the same max and average HR as Kathy this morning and the same fat %. Calories per minute were 9.4211 for Kathy and 9.52 for Donalin.
I'm back to the front of the class. I want somebody fat in the front. Classes are starting to fill up already with a bunch of new people. Met a mother and young daughter today, and she will be back tomorrow for Wednesday night Zumba. There's still some small classes so I'm enjoying having some large classes. I like both the small intimate setting and the huge all-out party. Maybe when I'm skinny I'll go to the back, or maybe I'll feel like the back next week. But for now it's the front, mostly because I have to do SOMEthing to help keep people coming and maybe I can shatter the misperceptions of what a fat person can or cannot do. I keep wanting to do something to help others and maybe I can use my body to that end. Went up half a lb today so on 12/18 I was at 170.5 and now I'm at 168.5. I've pretty much given up on that for now and will reassess on 1/15 with inches and body fat %. Wonder how much the BodyBugg will help (get to order it Friday).
One week a month I wish I were a man. This is that week for January. Going to the gym sucks. Counting down the days.
Didn't bike the 2K today but I estimate I do at least 4K in a spinning class, giving me this week and next week to find out how long the trail is at the park next to the house and the bike in working order.
WEDNESDAY morning: I am sooooo -not- looking forward to spin this morning (see above reference to wanting to be a man). I so want to skip it. At least I can get that and then Zumba out of the way and then be free until Zumba tonight. I hate taking classes like this but I can't take a week off a month. I'm not doing Yoga tomorrow, want to stay upright as much as possible.
WEDNESDAY 8a Ann Cycle Dallas 56/526/40, 166/88, 144/76
WEDNESDAY 10a Sahara Zumba Michelle 57/478/50, 153/81, 132/70
I'm off today, lower numbers. My energy's zapped and during that monthly week you are sluggish, tired, and just zapped. Shows in the numbers. Last month I even skipped a workout. Not skipping any workouts this month. But I'm disappointed in the 478. I hate this. Hopefully it'll be gone by Saturday or Sunday. Spin was fun, but I really don't enjoy going to the gym like this because I don't move as freely as the other weeks.
WEDNESDAY 6.30p Craig Zumba Donalin 57/500/50, 153/81, 136/72
THURSDAY 8a Ann SET Beth 55/431/50, 155/82, 130/69
THURSDAY 9a Agassi TurboKick Rachel 36/335/45, 162/86, 142/75 (got there late to be able to take Beth's class)
THURSDAY Noon Cheyenne Lift Rachel 60/346/60, 136/72, 111/59
As the days pass, my calories are slowly going back up to normal. I give it two more days tops (hopefully). Had to skip swimming this week. Day 2 of running is tonight after Donalin's class. Had one spinning class already, having another one Sunday. Sunday I will also fix up my bike and get spinning shoes.
Going to become TurboKick, Hip Hop Hustle, and PiYo certified in late February, early March. And Schwinn certified within the next two months. Next up sometime in the near future: Zumba. I want to get as many certifications as possible. Then maybe start teaching locally to get some experience. And I want two of the main personal training cerfitications. Linda's teaching the PiYo one and Michelle Olsen is teaching the other two. She seems like a really fun energetic person, I'm psyched.
Body fat went down about 1.5% since December 30th, weight's pretty much the same. If I can keep the same weight and drop body fat for now, I'll be happy. Sooner or later I will hit goal body fat and start losing weight again.
Tried Beth today, against my better judgment (see Linda above). Thanks to Rachel's class moving up an hour on Thursdays, I now have a new Thursday class. I'm scared to try Ginger. I don't think I can take any more classes. Since I have Michelle on Wednesdays, thinking of alternating Michelle and Beth on Fridays, Zumba/TurboKick.
THURSDAY 7p Sahara Zumba Donalin 54/587/35, 167/88, 153/81
Slowly coming back as the week progresses. Tomorrow I get to order the BodyBugg.
I really don't exercise well by myself. If it wasn't for the GX classes, I don't think I would have stuck with this. I'm into my seventh month. So the running is a different experience because I'm by myself at the LVAC track. Get a lot of time to think. I'm really enjoying running. The C25K program is nothing short of amazing. I feel like I fly when I run and it's really a rush. But there's nothing in between me and completing a triathlon but me. How bad do I want this? Bad. I have to draw into my inner strength to achieve something on my own without any extra outside help or support when it comes to running (and biking and swimming) so it's a new experience. You're running towards something (completing a triathlon in m case) and there's nothing but a big open space in front of you, and nothing that can stop you except yourself.
Had to skip swimming this week, will pick it up at 4 laps next week, and will transition from spin class to spin class plus real bike.
FRIDAY 9a Agassi Zumba Michelle 54.509/45, 162/86, 142/75
FRIDAY 6p Craig Zumba Donalin 56/564/40, 164/87, 147/78
SATURDAY 9a Agassi Lift Mai 55/238/60, 135/71, 101/53
SATURDAY 10a Agassi TurboKick Kelly ~1 hour ~500 calories
I am soooo ticked off that I forgot to turn off the monitor for about 40 minutes after class. I had fasted for 13 hours so far when I took the class and I remember looking at it and it being high 500s, but don't know how high. Calling it 500. I wish I had the stats for this one. No food or water for 13 hour and high TKB numbers after Lift. Taking 40 minutes and 228 calories off the weekly total to account for the extra time.
So I had my fasting bloodwork done, total of 17 hours and 45 minutes fast (a combination of an early-ish dinner (ended around 9p), then work, then gym (2 classes), then finding lost paperwork, then about 2 hours waiting at the lab to go in, then going home and preparing the meal). Had an awesome 620 calorie meal == 6 oz raspberries, cheese wrap, fruit juice with fruit pieces, and pistacchios. Going to have a couple of protein drinks and protein bars tonight (740 for all four of them). That still leaves me 340 calories. I think I'm just going to be short today. Goal was 1700. Maybe I'll even just have one of each. Too many missed calories until 2:45p to make up. Tomorrow is a 1600 day.
On my 1900 day I used up 600 calories in protein drinks, I think I can get the same protein in 400.
I'm ready to write. My dream has always been to be a writer. But I guess out of everything, being a writer is what defines me. It's how I define myself. I may not have anything else, but I have my writing. I can't dance, I can't sing, I can't draw, I can't act, and I don't know if I can write, but of anything I do, I do writing the best. So I define myself as a writer, as who I am inside. So what happens if I write something and it sucks, it never sells, and it turns I can't even write? What do I have left if I lose the one thing that I've always relied on to be there for me, to BE me? But I'm strong enough now that I can lose the one piece that I have always used to identify myself and be ok at the other end. I am ready to write because I'm ready to fail at it. I'm ready to lose being a Writer. As a result of the past four months, of course.
It's amazing that I've only gone to GX classes just over four months. My life is changing in other areas that I don't write about (and don't plan to; I've mentioned before that this blog is the censored version and I plan to keep it that way). It's a work in progress. But I don't think you can embark in a journey to better yourself physically without bettering yourself emotionally, mentally, and spiritually at the same time. It all comes bundled together. So you pretty much embark on a mission to make yourself the best you you can be.
I am still terrified of teaching. But part of me "knows" I will be a GX instructor one day. I want to do all this to someone else. I want to pass it on. It's more of a duty, something I have to do. I was given this, now I have to give it to somebody else. So I'm going to have to get over my fear of making mistakes and my shyness being the center of attention in a crowd. It's almost as if you're just a vessel for the mission to propagate. But there's no way to keep this gift all to yourself. It has to be passed on.
I'm starting to hear inspirational more and more, from more and more people. I've never thought of myself as an inspiration, even now. You know who the inspiration are? The GX instructors. They are the ones that should be getting ALL of the credit, not me. I would have quit a long ago if it wasn't for them. I don't take classes, I take people. It's funny because for the triathlon running now I have to rely on myself, and it's hard. It's hard for me to exercise by myself and I don't enjoy it that much. I do enjoy running, which makes it easier. But it's funny that I exercised by myself for two months in order to be ready to exercise with people and then I exercised with people for four months in order to be ready to exercise by myself. Full circle.
SUNDAY 9.30a Agassi Cycle Eliza 66/601/45, 159/84, 139/74
// Dallas out of town, saw Eliza Saturday on the way to Lift and wanted to try her. I better not like her. Sunday is Dallas time. Who am I kidding. I'll figure out how to fit Eliza in on Monday.
Loved Eliza. Forgot to turn off the monitor but not by much, the class passed the one hour mark so at most if was six minutes. VERY close to 600. Let's compare the heart rate's with Dallas' Wednesday class:
166/88, 144/76
Very close. Dallas still gave me higher. But I found Eliza tough, which is good. Dallas is just too much fun to be tough. I'm going to figure out how I can fit Eliza and Leanna in while keeping 2 Dallases.
So I have 2 resolutions for 2010.
#1 is to go to at least one GX class every day of the year. So far, so good. I will have to go to LVAC when 24HF closes like Christmas Day. There are two main things I need to do to insure I can do this: #1: Not get sick, and #2: Not get injured. So I have to eat right and start sleeping more and once I get the test results back, see how the iron is and start taking vitamin supplements. I'm going to have to get over my psychological aversion to Yoga, as it will keep me stretched and elongate the muscles, further strengthening them.
#2 is to do 1 pullup. I found this awesome assisted pullup machine at LVAC. No bells or whistles but does exactly what I need. The one thing I wish it had was weight increments of 5 lbs instead of every 15 lbs (or maybe it does and I haven't figured it out yet). So I'm able to do it with an assist of 100 lbs but not 85 lbs, and I weight 166 lbs. So I can pull 66 lbs but not 81 lbs. If I get down to 110 lbs this year that means I have to be able to lift 44 more lbs to get from 66 to 110. So lose about another 56 lbs (49 lbs lost so far, almost halfway) and gain 44 lbs more of muscle-pulling ability.
My motto is "One-ten in twenty-ten."
Plan to post updates twice a month, starting with the 31st of this month.
I'm close enough to 165 lbs that I'm going for 1650 average cals consumed a day (I calculate my basal metabolism as weight * 10). Down from a current 1700. Zig-zag for next week:
1525
1625
1725
1825
1725
1625
1525
total 11575, average 1652/day. 75 less calories a day per 5 or so lbs lost.
Just for fun, this would be goal (110 lbs, 1100 cals a day).
1000
1100
1200
1300
1200
1100
1000
Total 7900/week, 1128 + whatever I burn to maintain
1000 may seem low, but here's what a 1000 day looks like:
Cheese wrap (250), 50 cherries (200), 2 egg wraps (405), apple (95), peach (70), 1045 calories
That's 6 "meals" a day. Taking away 6 hours sleep, that's something to eat every 3 hours at least. And this week for example I burned 6606 calories, that's an extra 943 calories a day to maintain, or almost double. If I just take one class a day that's at least an extra 300 calories or pistacchios and a banana. And those are just my low calorie days. And I plan to put on quite a bit of muscle, which will allow me to eat more at rest (without taking into account physical activity).
_________________________________
FOOD
1600 1700 1800 1900 1800 1700 1600
Monday: 2 cheese wraps (500), 2 egg wraps (400), 2 Pistacchios (340), 22 cherries (88), protein bar (180), pear (95), total 1603
Tuesday: Pear (95), 17 strawberries (153), cheese wrap X 2 (500), pistacchios (170), 3 egg wraps (605), raspberries (90), 1 peach (70), total 1683
Wednesday: 3 peaches (210), turkey footlong (560), cheese wrap X 2 (500), pistacchios (170), salmon (150), 2 chunky fruit juices (240), total 1830
Thursday: Cheese wrap (250), pistacchios (170), protein drink (300), protein drink (300), 6 oz raspberries (83), Albertson's Multi-grain pasta X 4 (888), total 1991 (goal 1900)
Friday: Cheese wrap (250), pistacchios (170), raspberries (82), pasta (220), fruit drink (110), partial total 832. For dinner has 2 bowls of soup (nothing in it), three pieces of chicken (no skin), four chicken patties, and fruit. Calling it 1000 calories and calling it 1832 for the day.
Saturday: (goal 1700) 2 X protein drink (280), 2 protein bar (360), cheese wrap (250), 6 oz raspberries (80), pistacchios (170), 2 X fruit juice with fruit pieces (220), total 1360 (had blood drawn for 4-month bloodwork results, fasted until 2:45p (out of work at 8a, gym 9a to 11a, back home to find missing paperwork, 2 hours wait time at the lab, getting back home and preparing food)).
Sunday: 23 strawberries (207 calories), 77 cherries (308 calories), protein drink (190), protein bar (180), cheese wrap (250), chips (200), pistacchios (170), 4 sugar-free Jello (40), total 1545 (goal 1525)
_________________________
1603, 1683, 1830, 1991, 1832, 1360, 1545, total for the week estimated 11844, average 1695/day
2014 cals burned at rest a day (based on 166 lbs), 14098 a week
Weekly totals: 19 classes, 8818 gross cals - 228 (forgot to turn off monitor), 1065 minutes - 40 (forgot to turn off monitor) = 8590 gross cals, 1025 minutes, 7103 net cals
14098 - 11844 + 7103 = 9357 caloric deficit, goal 7000
Another week come and gone. Bring on the next week.
Monday, December 28th, 2009 - Sunday, January 3rd, 2010
MONDAY morning - I really like Mondays nowadays, favorite day of the week for me. It's a fresh new week, with a week's worth of classes to look forward to. By the time we get to the weekend, the week feels old and stale. Really happy about TKB yesterday, finally felt in tune with the class after about a week of feeling off. Still have cold symptoms (everyone it seems is sick with the flu... I wonder if I have a mild case of something for about 3 weeks now instead of something stronger because of all the exercising). I've been so hungry lately. I try to space my meals and I try not to be hungry, and the trick is making those of two things happen at the same time. Going to shoot for 1700 a day this week. I always feel like a meal behind, like if I added a 100 calorie something I would catch up. Maybe I'll have to try going one day to 1800 and the rest at 1700. Heavy day today, with TK and SET in the morning, then an hour rest until Lift, then six hours rest until another TK and SET. New combo - Michelle and SET. I think TK is edging out Zumba as favorite class right now, and SET is giving Lift a run for its money. I'm going to try Core Central with Kathy this Wednesday and it seems the class has weights, which I didn't know. So now I have four weights classes, Lift, SET, PowerSculpt, and Core Central, although it seems I just add to Lift days instead of replacing. Never done three weights in one day, so this is a bit of an experiment. Depending on how I feel at the end I'll decide whether to repeat it or not. 24T going on on Thursday, right before mom comes back from an extended trip overseas. She hasn't seen me since the day before I started going to the gym, about 44 lbs ago.
This past couple of weeks I've stopped losing. I'm not worried yet as I added Spin and heavy weights. I'm keeping a close eye on it. If it's just muscle I'm building, it will peter out eventually and then all that extra muscle will burn the rest of the fat off. So if you're going to try to add muscle while losing weight you're going to have to need the patience and the faith that you're not gaining fat and actually making progress while the scale doesn't move, so I lost the scale. Waist has same measurement. Haven't done arms and legs lately. I think I have more muscle in my legs. I wish there was an accurate way to measure muscle-building progress other than doing the "right" things (eating enough and right, going heavy) and hope it all works out in the end. I'm at a stage where the positive reinforcement (i.e. the scale going down) stops and you just go to the gym just because you go. But that's enough for me, nowadays I'm either at the gym or writing on Facebook how I miss the gym. I feel great when I go and love pushing myself harder and harder each time. I can't wait until I'm 110 lbs and can start doing what I want in class instead of what I can.
I start preparing for the triathlon in a week. Running is going to be the hardest, but I'm up for the challenge. I have to conquer running once and for all. I can take 3 classes back to back but I get winded after one minute of running; it's the darndest thing. I just can't run. So I'm going to do the Couch25K program (and the running portion of the triathlon is conveniently 5K) which takes you from no running to running 5K, and my training window is 18 weeks, conveniently twice the length of the program, so I can do it once. That program is about 30 minutes three times a week. It's also 30K bike ride. Have to ask Dallas on Wednesday about how many kilometers we bike in a class to get an idea. Got a bike pump and a helmet so I can get the bike ready and start training on the park next to the house three times a week. Thinking of starting with 2K and adding 2K a week, so I'll be doing 36K by the end of the training period. It's 32 laps swimming, so I plan to start with 2 laps and add 2 a week, making it 36 laps at the end of the training period. Plan to do that three times a week also. Plan to do them on the same day but not necessarily together. At the end of 4 weeks I will try a quarter of the whole thing together, at the end of another 4 weeks half of the whole thing together, and the end of week 12 three quarters of the whole thing together, at the end of 16 weeks the whole thing together, and then three weeks rest until the triathlon. Wasn't planning to do a triathlon this soon but why the heck not. Thinking of renting a pro bike for the day if it's not too expensive ($60 or less or so for the day).
MONDAY 9a Sahara Michelle TurboKick 57/526/45, 163/86, 140/74
MONDAY 10a Sahara Michelle SET 53/349/55, 148/78, 118/62
MONDAY 6.30p Ann TurboKick Kathy 59/552/45, 165/87, 142/75
MONDAY 7.30p Ann SET Kathy 45/298/60, 149/79, 118/62 (monitor stopped working towards end of class)
TUESDAY morning - Had scheduled a Lift at noon but after that TurboKick/SET combo, I couldn't. I don't think I'm going to do combos with SET anymore, right now that's really a standalone class for me. That class really wears me out. Cardio/Lift or Cardio/Sculpt works. And TKB/Zumba. But the specific combination of TKB/SET is too much for me right now, especially twice in one day. Maybe if I haven't gotten a good workout that week and I want to go all out, but I'm going to try to stay away from it. The thing of pushing myself like in TKB/SET is that SET really suffers -and- so does the next class, usually. I don't perform well -and- further wear myself out. Better to rest and just go all out in the next class.
I decided to start using the handheld Omron bodyfat measuring device. 12/28 5:30p 34.5 % Body Fat, indicated at High. I'm almost positive I was at Very High when I was at around 205 lbs. I GAINED 3.5 pounds in the last ten days as of yesterday, from a lowest of 170.5 to 174 lbs yesterday. Curious to see what it's like this morning. I won't do BF again until two weeks from yesterday. Even if the reading itself isn't accurate, it should be as inaccurate every reading, so I'll be able to see progress (or the lack thereof). It's important for me to have some numeric representation of how I'm doing so that I know if I need to adjust what I'm doing.
I'm having a hard time with the calories. Yesterday I ate over 1900. So I don't know if to go for 1900 a day, missing the 7k weekly caloric deficit, and suffer from no hunger, or go a little hungry and hit 1700 and the 7k deficit. Still mulling that out. Today I did something different in that I brought no food to work on purpose and after five hours, I'm not hungry at all. I think I'm going to stop eating at work and just have all my calories at home, with a meal right before work and a meal right when I get home. If I go straight to the gym I'll just take a protein drink with me.
Mom comes back in two days. She hasn't since me since BG (Before Gym). Numerically I'm 41 lbs lighter counting the 3.5 lbs I gained back. She has seen pictures on Facebook but I don't think it's the same. That will be interesting. My family gets together and eats, that's what it does. Hispanic Jews. My family loves food. As do I, I just like a different kind of food.
I've been reading about fasting and I want to start reading more about it, I haven't found any site that talks about it being negative, it's just praise after praise. I could write a bunch about it but your body basically first releases gunked up toxins into the blood for energy, and eventually burns it off or just expels it next time you eat, so it's great in order to get rid of toxins. Then it uses up all glycogen in the bloodstream, THEN it goes a bit for muscle and also a lot for fat. So if you have a good workout and weighlifting regimen you shouldn't worry about muscle loss (after all, muscle is being broken down -all- the time). Also just ordered The Warrior Diet on Amazon about eating light throughout the day and heavy at night, worth a read.
So right now I'm kind of in a holding position for the next couple of weeks, and wondering if I eat to a caloric deficit or to a point of no hunger.
TUESDAY 9a TurboKick Kathy 56/541/40,170/90, 145/77
TUESDAY 10a Pilates Rachel 60/299/60, 126/67, 106/56
TUESDAY 6.30p TurboKick Donalin 57/509/45, 164/87, 139/74
What is keeping you right now from being the perfect version of yourself? Neat and tidy house, even temper, no procrastination, etc. What keeps us from making choices that are good for us, what keeps us stuck in situations we want to get out of? Change seems so simple. You want to be tidier, or neater, or a better dancer, or go hiking, or a better parent, or a better listener, or lose weight, or gain muscle, or make new friends, or achieve a particular goal. And the step or steps are really so simple and so within your reach. But for whatever reason it never gets done. Fear? What is it that we are so scared of? Failing? Is it better to have a dream that you -could- change if you wanted to than to try and fail? And what happens if we really are never good enough?
I thought of something in the car on the way back from the gym. Let's say you come across the chance to do something that will change your life. Something that terrifies you. You are on the cusp of finally breaking free if you could reach out and do it. And you don't. And you freeze. Next time, repeat after me: You have two seconds to figure out what's scaring you and two seconds to get over it. Go. Isn't it really that simple? And yet why don't we? Simple vs. easy. Most things in life really are simple, few are easy. What is that invisible wall that is always seeming to keep us from what it is that we want to do to become the people we want to be doing the things we really want to do?
WEDNESDAY 8a Cycle Dallas 57/572/40 163/86 146/77
WEDNESDAY 10a Ann Zumba Donalin 55/504/45 171/90 140/74
Ok, so one of two things is happening. I either hit my first plateau or I'm gaining muscle because of the heavy weights and spinning. I measured my body fst % on Monday and will measure again in two week's time. Today I'm starting what's called a zig-zag diet, which is just varying the amount of calories you consume in a day to keep your body from plateauing.
For the past two weeks or so I've been at 170.5-174, with a current of 173.
The good thing about all this is what if something's not working, you just change, even from one day to the next. I have to figure out how to break plateaus (and even if I'm in one) and how to measure muscle mass progress, and I've started both, now it's just a matter of waiting a week and a half to see what the results were'
I'm using an Omron body fat monitor. Even if the number itself is not accurate, it should be as innacurate every single time, making it easy to track progress. I have a little rant about insurance companies. They should cover the cost of at least one DEXA scan per year (measures body fat and muscle mass accurately). Aren't I saving them uncountable money in future medical bills? So I got the body fat taken care of. Here's the caloric breakdown for the rest of the week:
W: 1600
Th: 1700
F: 1500
Sa: 1800
Su: 1600
WEDNESDAY 5.30p Craig Core Central Kathy 61/282/60, 138/73, 103/55
WEDNESDAY 6.30 Craig Zumba Donalin 55/489/50, 195/103, 137/72
FINALLY went down. FINALLY. New lowest weight, 168.5. Went down some inches throughout my body. Extremely pleased. Day 2 of Zig-zagging, 1700 calories today. Slept 8 glorious hours. My New Year's Resolution is to sleep more.
THURSDAY 9a Agassi TurboKick Rachel 66/590/45, 160/85, 139/74
FRIDAY 12:30p LVAC/Sahara Zumba Olga 64/574/45, 173/92, 138/73
I was going to do Spin with Leanna but all the bikes were taken, so I was turned away. 24HF had no classes after 11a, so I was out of luck for the day. I was a bit pissed. I really wanted to take the spin class. So I drive home and since LVAC is on the way I drop by to see if there's any classes. There isn't (the last ones were already over their halfway mark and I don't do Yoga at noon), but there's a 12:30p Zumba at another location. Who was teaching it? Olga!! Taking her class again made me realize how much I missed it. I'm going to restart going to LVAC and taking her mostly. Only thinking 3 LVAC classes or so a week. So 24 HF turned be away and right into LVAC's open arms. No worries, I still like 24HF better. I'm so glad I got my workout in.
I ate emotionally today. I was waiting to go to class at the other location and I was pissed at not being able to take the spin class so I ate a 16oz cup of plain yogurt with real fruit pieces and assorted nuts. I enjoyed the hell out of it. But I'm even more pissed because I let myself eat emotionally, I hadn't done that in a long time, and it depresses me that I'm not stronger than my emotions and that I have to turn to food to make myself feel better. It's not what I ate, I'll live eating yogurt, fruit, and nuts, it's eating to make myself feel better that's pissing me off. And on the first day of the new year, too. Great start to twenty-ten (sarcasm). Still keeping to around 1500 calories for the day, I'm overestimating the calories on that yogurt to 400. But I had Olga again and realized how much I missed her class and met another spunky instructor, Lola. Haven't taken her class but I like her already. So now my LVAC favorite instructors are up to 3. I really like outgoing personalities, the ones that don't mind putting on a show. That's why I like going to shows so much, also. I'm not like that and I don't get like that around people like that, but I like being around that. Poster child of that type of personality is Dallas. It just brings up the energy in the room tremendously.
So I woke up to 169 lbs, missed a workout, ate emotionally, made up the workout, still pissed and depressed. I'm off to bed (I do work tonight so that's an excuse to sleep ..............). Doing English only at work tonight (got stuck with it, I normally do Spanish/English, mostly Spanish... they're giving me a temp login for the occasion). So Jan first wasn't that great of a day, let's see what Jan 2nd brings.
This is the first year that I really looked forward to the new year. All other years I was indifferent, it was just a new year. I can finally stop saying "My dad died this year." It's a little thing, but it's a big difference. I can leave that horrible year behind. And I do think that time helps. I don't think time heals all wounds, but I do think it numbs them. Something broke when my dad died that can never be put back together again, but maybe it can be mended with glue so it's almost the same. So many things have changed and I have changed so much in ways that make it impossible to go back to the way things were. So, for the first time in my life, I looked forward to a new year. And the first day sucked.
Going to try to sleep more this year. Debbie out.
SATURDAY 9a Agassi Lift Mai 55/265/60, 127/67, 104/55
SATURDAY 10a Agassi TurboKick Kelly 54/538/35, 172/91, 149/79
The thinner I get, the fatter I think I look and feel. I guess what fat is left is more noticeable in a smaller package. Stuck at 169lbs with a lowest of 168.5. 17 days, 2 lbs lost. Fat % seems to remain the same. Lost some inches. I measured myself on the 30th, plan to do it again mid-month and end-of month from now on. Plan to record weight, inches, and fat %. Hoping SOMEthing starts moving soon.
I realized I will need plastic surgery. It's not a question of vanity but necessity. Skin's not retracting. I never thought I was the kind of person who would get plastic surgery. I'm not against people who do, it's a personal choice, it just wasn't a personal for me until now. It just saddens and ticks me off at the same time that I caused permanent physical damage to my body by allowing myself to go to 230 lbs.
Time to recommit. Time to go harder from now on that I've gone before. I'm watching the food and eating tons of fruit so that can stay the same.
SUNDAY 9a Sahara Cycle Dallas 58/615/35, 172/91, 153/81
FINALLY broke 1600 on the bike. But now I know what I need to do to break 1600 (go faster than I thought I could). Getting some spin shows Tuesday before the next spinning class. It felt awesome, and felt like I was going to pass out a few times in the class. I'm actually surprised I only went to 91, I thought this was going to be my highest peak. It's my highest average but not my much, Kelly's average was very close.
SUNDAY NIGHT - I find that this whole working out thing is spilling over into other parts of my life and I find myself doing things I've never done before. This is going to be one of those general, not-in-detail things, but today was good. The impact that 24HF has had in my life is just barely showing itself. I may have found my most favorite corporation in the world. And I certainly want to do something to help other people change; trainer, instructor, motivational speaker, etc. SOMEthing.
Week over. Start over tomorrow. Still holding around 169 lbs, not losing weight, going to write final weight in about 3 hours. Have my body fat % and inches measured so that I can do it again on the 15th.
Total so far: 16 classes, 7503 gross cals, 904 mins, 6183 net cals.
_____________________
FOOD
Monday: 15 strawberries (135), 2 bananas (210), 2 shakes (380), protein bar (180), cheese wrap (250), 3 egg wraps (610), Pistacchios (170), total 1935
Tuesday: Shake (190), cheese wrap (250), Pistacchios (170), 2 Turkey Breast Footlongs (1120), protein bar (180), 19 strawberries (171), total 2081
Wednesday: 2 apples (190), 2 protein bars (360), 3 cheese wraps (750), 2 serving Pistacchios (340), total 1640
Thursday: 1 serving Pistacchios (170), cheese wrap (250), 6 oz blueberries (100), 2 egg wraps (420), 4 chips (20), Apex Brownie Delight (230), total so far 1190, goal 1700 for the day. Had tilapia, some meat, and some turkey, one crab leg, and 2 oysters for dinner. Calling it 1700 for the day.
Friday: 1 serving Pistacchios (170), cheese wrap (250), egg wrap (200), yogurt with nuts and fruit (calling it 400), 25 cherries (100), 2 egg wraps (410), total 1530
Saturday: 51 cherries 204, 16 strawberries 144, cheese wrap 250, protein bar 180, pistacchios (170), banana (105), peach 70, 2 egg wraps 410, total 1533
Sunday: 3 peaches (210), banana (105), egg wrap (200), cheese wrap (250), Pistacchios (170), protein bar (180), 40 grapes (80), apple (95), banana (105), total 1395. I couldn't make myself eat more.
1935, 2081, 1640, 1700, 1530, 1533, 1395, total 11814
Lowest weight of the week: 168.5 lbs. 2030 calories burned a day (based on 168 lbs), 14210 a week.
14210 - 11814 + 6183 = 8579 caloric deficit
This past couple of weeks I've stopped losing. I'm not worried yet as I added Spin and heavy weights. I'm keeping a close eye on it. If it's just muscle I'm building, it will peter out eventually and then all that extra muscle will burn the rest of the fat off. So if you're going to try to add muscle while losing weight you're going to have to need the patience and the faith that you're not gaining fat and actually making progress while the scale doesn't move, so I lost the scale. Waist has same measurement. Haven't done arms and legs lately. I think I have more muscle in my legs. I wish there was an accurate way to measure muscle-building progress other than doing the "right" things (eating enough and right, going heavy) and hope it all works out in the end. I'm at a stage where the positive reinforcement (i.e. the scale going down) stops and you just go to the gym just because you go. But that's enough for me, nowadays I'm either at the gym or writing on Facebook how I miss the gym. I feel great when I go and love pushing myself harder and harder each time. I can't wait until I'm 110 lbs and can start doing what I want in class instead of what I can.
I start preparing for the triathlon in a week. Running is going to be the hardest, but I'm up for the challenge. I have to conquer running once and for all. I can take 3 classes back to back but I get winded after one minute of running; it's the darndest thing. I just can't run. So I'm going to do the Couch25K program (and the running portion of the triathlon is conveniently 5K) which takes you from no running to running 5K, and my training window is 18 weeks, conveniently twice the length of the program, so I can do it once. That program is about 30 minutes three times a week. It's also 30K bike ride. Have to ask Dallas on Wednesday about how many kilometers we bike in a class to get an idea. Got a bike pump and a helmet so I can get the bike ready and start training on the park next to the house three times a week. Thinking of starting with 2K and adding 2K a week, so I'll be doing 36K by the end of the training period. It's 32 laps swimming, so I plan to start with 2 laps and add 2 a week, making it 36 laps at the end of the training period. Plan to do that three times a week also. Plan to do them on the same day but not necessarily together. At the end of 4 weeks I will try a quarter of the whole thing together, at the end of another 4 weeks half of the whole thing together, and the end of week 12 three quarters of the whole thing together, at the end of 16 weeks the whole thing together, and then three weeks rest until the triathlon. Wasn't planning to do a triathlon this soon but why the heck not. Thinking of renting a pro bike for the day if it's not too expensive ($60 or less or so for the day).
MONDAY 9a Sahara Michelle TurboKick 57/526/45, 163/86, 140/74
MONDAY 10a Sahara Michelle SET 53/349/55, 148/78, 118/62
MONDAY 6.30p Ann TurboKick Kathy 59/552/45, 165/87, 142/75
MONDAY 7.30p Ann SET Kathy 45/298/60, 149/79, 118/62 (monitor stopped working towards end of class)
TUESDAY morning - Had scheduled a Lift at noon but after that TurboKick/SET combo, I couldn't. I don't think I'm going to do combos with SET anymore, right now that's really a standalone class for me. That class really wears me out. Cardio/Lift or Cardio/Sculpt works. And TKB/Zumba. But the specific combination of TKB/SET is too much for me right now, especially twice in one day. Maybe if I haven't gotten a good workout that week and I want to go all out, but I'm going to try to stay away from it. The thing of pushing myself like in TKB/SET is that SET really suffers -and- so does the next class, usually. I don't perform well -and- further wear myself out. Better to rest and just go all out in the next class.
I decided to start using the handheld Omron bodyfat measuring device. 12/28 5:30p 34.5 % Body Fat, indicated at High. I'm almost positive I was at Very High when I was at around 205 lbs. I GAINED 3.5 pounds in the last ten days as of yesterday, from a lowest of 170.5 to 174 lbs yesterday. Curious to see what it's like this morning. I won't do BF again until two weeks from yesterday. Even if the reading itself isn't accurate, it should be as inaccurate every reading, so I'll be able to see progress (or the lack thereof). It's important for me to have some numeric representation of how I'm doing so that I know if I need to adjust what I'm doing.
I'm having a hard time with the calories. Yesterday I ate over 1900. So I don't know if to go for 1900 a day, missing the 7k weekly caloric deficit, and suffer from no hunger, or go a little hungry and hit 1700 and the 7k deficit. Still mulling that out. Today I did something different in that I brought no food to work on purpose and after five hours, I'm not hungry at all. I think I'm going to stop eating at work and just have all my calories at home, with a meal right before work and a meal right when I get home. If I go straight to the gym I'll just take a protein drink with me.
Mom comes back in two days. She hasn't since me since BG (Before Gym). Numerically I'm 41 lbs lighter counting the 3.5 lbs I gained back. She has seen pictures on Facebook but I don't think it's the same. That will be interesting. My family gets together and eats, that's what it does. Hispanic Jews. My family loves food. As do I, I just like a different kind of food.
I've been reading about fasting and I want to start reading more about it, I haven't found any site that talks about it being negative, it's just praise after praise. I could write a bunch about it but your body basically first releases gunked up toxins into the blood for energy, and eventually burns it off or just expels it next time you eat, so it's great in order to get rid of toxins. Then it uses up all glycogen in the bloodstream, THEN it goes a bit for muscle and also a lot for fat. So if you have a good workout and weighlifting regimen you shouldn't worry about muscle loss (after all, muscle is being broken down -all- the time). Also just ordered The Warrior Diet on Amazon about eating light throughout the day and heavy at night, worth a read.
So right now I'm kind of in a holding position for the next couple of weeks, and wondering if I eat to a caloric deficit or to a point of no hunger.
TUESDAY 9a TurboKick Kathy 56/541/40,170/90, 145/77
TUESDAY 10a Pilates Rachel 60/299/60, 126/67, 106/56
TUESDAY 6.30p TurboKick Donalin 57/509/45, 164/87, 139/74
What is keeping you right now from being the perfect version of yourself? Neat and tidy house, even temper, no procrastination, etc. What keeps us from making choices that are good for us, what keeps us stuck in situations we want to get out of? Change seems so simple. You want to be tidier, or neater, or a better dancer, or go hiking, or a better parent, or a better listener, or lose weight, or gain muscle, or make new friends, or achieve a particular goal. And the step or steps are really so simple and so within your reach. But for whatever reason it never gets done. Fear? What is it that we are so scared of? Failing? Is it better to have a dream that you -could- change if you wanted to than to try and fail? And what happens if we really are never good enough?
I thought of something in the car on the way back from the gym. Let's say you come across the chance to do something that will change your life. Something that terrifies you. You are on the cusp of finally breaking free if you could reach out and do it. And you don't. And you freeze. Next time, repeat after me: You have two seconds to figure out what's scaring you and two seconds to get over it. Go. Isn't it really that simple? And yet why don't we? Simple vs. easy. Most things in life really are simple, few are easy. What is that invisible wall that is always seeming to keep us from what it is that we want to do to become the people we want to be doing the things we really want to do?
WEDNESDAY 8a Cycle Dallas 57/572/40 163/86 146/77
WEDNESDAY 10a Ann Zumba Donalin 55/504/45 171/90 140/74
Ok, so one of two things is happening. I either hit my first plateau or I'm gaining muscle because of the heavy weights and spinning. I measured my body fst % on Monday and will measure again in two week's time. Today I'm starting what's called a zig-zag diet, which is just varying the amount of calories you consume in a day to keep your body from plateauing.
For the past two weeks or so I've been at 170.5-174, with a current of 173.
The good thing about all this is what if something's not working, you just change, even from one day to the next. I have to figure out how to break plateaus (and even if I'm in one) and how to measure muscle mass progress, and I've started both, now it's just a matter of waiting a week and a half to see what the results were'
I'm using an Omron body fat monitor. Even if the number itself is not accurate, it should be as innacurate every single time, making it easy to track progress. I have a little rant about insurance companies. They should cover the cost of at least one DEXA scan per year (measures body fat and muscle mass accurately). Aren't I saving them uncountable money in future medical bills? So I got the body fat taken care of. Here's the caloric breakdown for the rest of the week:
W: 1600
Th: 1700
F: 1500
Sa: 1800
Su: 1600
WEDNESDAY 5.30p Craig Core Central Kathy 61/282/60, 138/73, 103/55
WEDNESDAY 6.30 Craig Zumba Donalin 55/489/50, 195/103, 137/72
FINALLY went down. FINALLY. New lowest weight, 168.5. Went down some inches throughout my body. Extremely pleased. Day 2 of Zig-zagging, 1700 calories today. Slept 8 glorious hours. My New Year's Resolution is to sleep more.
THURSDAY 9a Agassi TurboKick Rachel 66/590/45, 160/85, 139/74
FRIDAY 12:30p LVAC/Sahara Zumba Olga 64/574/45, 173/92, 138/73
I was going to do Spin with Leanna but all the bikes were taken, so I was turned away. 24HF had no classes after 11a, so I was out of luck for the day. I was a bit pissed. I really wanted to take the spin class. So I drive home and since LVAC is on the way I drop by to see if there's any classes. There isn't (the last ones were already over their halfway mark and I don't do Yoga at noon), but there's a 12:30p Zumba at another location. Who was teaching it? Olga!! Taking her class again made me realize how much I missed it. I'm going to restart going to LVAC and taking her mostly. Only thinking 3 LVAC classes or so a week. So 24 HF turned be away and right into LVAC's open arms. No worries, I still like 24HF better. I'm so glad I got my workout in.
I ate emotionally today. I was waiting to go to class at the other location and I was pissed at not being able to take the spin class so I ate a 16oz cup of plain yogurt with real fruit pieces and assorted nuts. I enjoyed the hell out of it. But I'm even more pissed because I let myself eat emotionally, I hadn't done that in a long time, and it depresses me that I'm not stronger than my emotions and that I have to turn to food to make myself feel better. It's not what I ate, I'll live eating yogurt, fruit, and nuts, it's eating to make myself feel better that's pissing me off. And on the first day of the new year, too. Great start to twenty-ten (sarcasm). Still keeping to around 1500 calories for the day, I'm overestimating the calories on that yogurt to 400. But I had Olga again and realized how much I missed her class and met another spunky instructor, Lola. Haven't taken her class but I like her already. So now my LVAC favorite instructors are up to 3. I really like outgoing personalities, the ones that don't mind putting on a show. That's why I like going to shows so much, also. I'm not like that and I don't get like that around people like that, but I like being around that. Poster child of that type of personality is Dallas. It just brings up the energy in the room tremendously.
So I woke up to 169 lbs, missed a workout, ate emotionally, made up the workout, still pissed and depressed. I'm off to bed (I do work tonight so that's an excuse to sleep ..............). Doing English only at work tonight (got stuck with it, I normally do Spanish/English, mostly Spanish... they're giving me a temp login for the occasion). So Jan first wasn't that great of a day, let's see what Jan 2nd brings.
This is the first year that I really looked forward to the new year. All other years I was indifferent, it was just a new year. I can finally stop saying "My dad died this year." It's a little thing, but it's a big difference. I can leave that horrible year behind. And I do think that time helps. I don't think time heals all wounds, but I do think it numbs them. Something broke when my dad died that can never be put back together again, but maybe it can be mended with glue so it's almost the same. So many things have changed and I have changed so much in ways that make it impossible to go back to the way things were. So, for the first time in my life, I looked forward to a new year. And the first day sucked.
Going to try to sleep more this year. Debbie out.
SATURDAY 9a Agassi Lift Mai 55/265/60, 127/67, 104/55
SATURDAY 10a Agassi TurboKick Kelly 54/538/35, 172/91, 149/79
The thinner I get, the fatter I think I look and feel. I guess what fat is left is more noticeable in a smaller package. Stuck at 169lbs with a lowest of 168.5. 17 days, 2 lbs lost. Fat % seems to remain the same. Lost some inches. I measured myself on the 30th, plan to do it again mid-month and end-of month from now on. Plan to record weight, inches, and fat %. Hoping SOMEthing starts moving soon.
I realized I will need plastic surgery. It's not a question of vanity but necessity. Skin's not retracting. I never thought I was the kind of person who would get plastic surgery. I'm not against people who do, it's a personal choice, it just wasn't a personal for me until now. It just saddens and ticks me off at the same time that I caused permanent physical damage to my body by allowing myself to go to 230 lbs.
Time to recommit. Time to go harder from now on that I've gone before. I'm watching the food and eating tons of fruit so that can stay the same.
SUNDAY 9a Sahara Cycle Dallas 58/615/35, 172/91, 153/81
FINALLY broke 1600 on the bike. But now I know what I need to do to break 1600 (go faster than I thought I could). Getting some spin shows Tuesday before the next spinning class. It felt awesome, and felt like I was going to pass out a few times in the class. I'm actually surprised I only went to 91, I thought this was going to be my highest peak. It's my highest average but not my much, Kelly's average was very close.
SUNDAY NIGHT - I find that this whole working out thing is spilling over into other parts of my life and I find myself doing things I've never done before. This is going to be one of those general, not-in-detail things, but today was good. The impact that 24HF has had in my life is just barely showing itself. I may have found my most favorite corporation in the world. And I certainly want to do something to help other people change; trainer, instructor, motivational speaker, etc. SOMEthing.
Week over. Start over tomorrow. Still holding around 169 lbs, not losing weight, going to write final weight in about 3 hours. Have my body fat % and inches measured so that I can do it again on the 15th.
Total so far: 16 classes, 7503 gross cals, 904 mins, 6183 net cals.
_____________________
FOOD
Monday: 15 strawberries (135), 2 bananas (210), 2 shakes (380), protein bar (180), cheese wrap (250), 3 egg wraps (610), Pistacchios (170), total 1935
Tuesday: Shake (190), cheese wrap (250), Pistacchios (170), 2 Turkey Breast Footlongs (1120), protein bar (180), 19 strawberries (171), total 2081
Wednesday: 2 apples (190), 2 protein bars (360), 3 cheese wraps (750), 2 serving Pistacchios (340), total 1640
Thursday: 1 serving Pistacchios (170), cheese wrap (250), 6 oz blueberries (100), 2 egg wraps (420), 4 chips (20), Apex Brownie Delight (230), total so far 1190, goal 1700 for the day. Had tilapia, some meat, and some turkey, one crab leg, and 2 oysters for dinner. Calling it 1700 for the day.
Friday: 1 serving Pistacchios (170), cheese wrap (250), egg wrap (200), yogurt with nuts and fruit (calling it 400), 25 cherries (100), 2 egg wraps (410), total 1530
Saturday: 51 cherries 204, 16 strawberries 144, cheese wrap 250, protein bar 180, pistacchios (170), banana (105), peach 70, 2 egg wraps 410, total 1533
Sunday: 3 peaches (210), banana (105), egg wrap (200), cheese wrap (250), Pistacchios (170), protein bar (180), 40 grapes (80), apple (95), banana (105), total 1395. I couldn't make myself eat more.
1935, 2081, 1640, 1700, 1530, 1533, 1395, total 11814
Lowest weight of the week: 168.5 lbs. 2030 calories burned a day (based on 168 lbs), 14210 a week.
14210 - 11814 + 6183 = 8579 caloric deficit
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Introduction - notes on the blog posts.
At first I just put some info here and then more detailed stats but it wasn't until the 24 classes post that I started really blogging and I liked it so much that I kept doing it the next week (this week) and plan to continue it. I like to have a snapshot of the changes inside as well as the changes outside. I don't think I missed much because I think while the changes were preparing to happen, most of them started actually happening last week, so I got it all on record.
Here's my mantra: Safety first. Know your body, know your limits, live your body. Don't do what you should do, do what you can do.
Keep that in mind as you read what I write. I am not about to land myself in a hospital. If you're going to push your body hard, you have to build it up with food, rest, and care. Food is my friend. Helps me to manipulate my body.
I refer a lot to things that happen in the past so you may be a bit lost sometimes if you start reading from the middle of what I write. It's a continuous running commentary.
One important thing is that the one thing I believe in is to be constantly changing, evolving, learning, researching. I started eating just about 1100 calories a day because that's about how much filled me up, then upped it to 1300 in preparation for heavy weights, then 1500, then 1600, now 1700-1800. I was a firm believer of 40-40-20 protein/carbs/fat, but now I lean more towards 25-55-20 protein/carbs/fat. Just because I write something it doesn't mean I'm taking that belief to the grave. I like to listen and learn from people (and books and the web and magazines, etc.), and I will change my mind if the evidence warrants it. The one certain thing is that things are always changing. So just because I say something on one blog entry doesn't mean I won't be espousing the opposite view in the next one.
I log what I eat just to have a record, not to show people what to eat. I didn't set out to eat as healthy as possible, I set out to eat as healthy as I could. For one thing I've never eaten vegetables in my life. This blog is not about telling you what to do, this blog is about chronicling a life-changing journey and inviting you to share in it.
Have fun, do what you can do, and take care of your body so that your body can take of you.
Here's my mantra: Safety first. Know your body, know your limits, live your body. Don't do what you should do, do what you can do.
Keep that in mind as you read what I write. I am not about to land myself in a hospital. If you're going to push your body hard, you have to build it up with food, rest, and care. Food is my friend. Helps me to manipulate my body.
I refer a lot to things that happen in the past so you may be a bit lost sometimes if you start reading from the middle of what I write. It's a continuous running commentary.
One important thing is that the one thing I believe in is to be constantly changing, evolving, learning, researching. I started eating just about 1100 calories a day because that's about how much filled me up, then upped it to 1300 in preparation for heavy weights, then 1500, then 1600, now 1700-1800. I was a firm believer of 40-40-20 protein/carbs/fat, but now I lean more towards 25-55-20 protein/carbs/fat. Just because I write something it doesn't mean I'm taking that belief to the grave. I like to listen and learn from people (and books and the web and magazines, etc.), and I will change my mind if the evidence warrants it. The one certain thing is that things are always changing. So just because I say something on one blog entry doesn't mean I won't be espousing the opposite view in the next one.
I log what I eat just to have a record, not to show people what to eat. I didn't set out to eat as healthy as possible, I set out to eat as healthy as I could. For one thing I've never eaten vegetables in my life. This blog is not about telling you what to do, this blog is about chronicling a life-changing journey and inviting you to share in it.
Have fun, do what you can do, and take care of your body so that your body can take of you.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Monday, December 21st, 2009 - Sunday, December 27th, 2009
Light week. They closed the gym on me on Christmas (Jewish here for anyone who's about to throw a humbug, and the gym was opened on Hannukah). And the day before is light.
MONDAY morning before classes: I'm reading the book Ultrametabolism and I think I'm a convert. It's not the amount we eat and not even the macros (carbs/protein/fat percentages), but where the calories come from; slow-absorbing or fast-absorbing. Just getting into the book so I'll be writing a lot about it. I had decided a couple of days ago to go from 1600 calories to 1700-1800 calories and the book suggests that your basal metabolic rate is weight with a zero at the end. That means don't go below that. And right now I'm 170.5-173, so 1700-1800 was actually perfect.
The topic of the day is mistakes. I've been thinking about mistakes a lot lately. And this is what I decided about the topic: None of us want to make mistakes. We have a decision to make and sometimes it's the wrong one. Or maybe we weren't brave enough to do something. But do we really ever want to fail? Do you wake up in the morning and go, "Gee, I want to screw up my life today." (and if you did, e-mail me or call 911!) No, we don't. We don't want to make mistakes, but sometimes we do. And sometimes we fail to act. I want to address both of those separately.
Making mistakes - since you didn't set out to make a mistake, why would you beat yourself up about it? Are you a bad person because you made a mistake? I don't think so. Sometimes we just make the wrong choice, but we don't want to make the wrong choice, it just works out that way. So why beat yourself up over something that you didn't mean to happen or at least happen in that way or for something you didn't mean to do? Learn from it, regroup, move on. Accept where you are at that point in time.
That last sentence ties into failing to act. Sometimes we wish we could do something but we don't. Maybe we're scared or anxious or think we can't do it. Don't beat yourself up over that either. I had a chance to do something back in 2006 and I didn't. And I wish I had. And I try not to beat myself up about it because I recognize that I wasn't ready and I didn't have the necessary experiences to take action. Sometimes we just can't. And that's ok. Allow yourself to Can't sometimes. Maybe it's something you'll never be able to do. In that case, are there alternatives? Maybe it's something you just can't do right now but may be able to do later. I have another chance now to do what I didn't back in 2006. And it's terrifying. But by now so many things have happened in the last six months and a half or so that really leave no alternative but to brave up and do it (and it's a good thing to do). Sometimes you just go through so many experiences and events that make you realize you can never go back to who you were back then. Not even because you don't want to, but because that person is not there any longer. Sometimes events change you irreversible (and depending on the changes this may be a good thing).
So allow yourself mistakes and indecisiveness. Sometimes it's just who you are and what you have and where you are at the time. And sometimes it changes and sometimes it doesn't. But if you didn't specifically set out to do the wrong thing, there's really no point in dwelling on it after learning as much as you can from it.
MONDAY 9a Sahara TurboKick Janet (first time) 54/641/30, 181/96, 161/85 (Six Turbos, good start for the week)
MONDAY Noon Agassi Lift Janine (spelling?) 54/357/60, 139/74, 118/62
Lift was TOUGH. Hardest class of any format I have taken at 24 Hour Fitness so far, even counting my first one. 90% of the exercises I had never done in Lift before and every other exercise involved upper AND lower body. And for some reason TurboKick wiped me out more than usual. I normally only have 200-250 calories between classes and this time I had 440 calories, and it took me 180 more after Lift to finally feel full. 4:23p and I've had about 1250 calories out of my allotted 1800. Egg wrap, 2 bananas, and an apple to go for today.
I just noticed yesterday that a health issue that, while not life-threatening, was annoying, is completely gone after pretty much a decade of existence. Multiple doctors provided no explanation of solution. Just poof, gone. Who knew it could be health-related? Quality Of Life + 10.
MONDAY 6.30p Craig SET Donalin 53/510/45, 165/87, 143/76
Great end to the day. Awesome Monday. I was really hungry today and really ate throughout the day. One banana and apple to go today and it's almost 9p. 1862 calories today. First day of seeing how 1800 calories works. Going to really study the glycemic index at work tonight. I think I figured out the key to nutrition. 1. Never eat below your weight * 10 (in my case 1700-1800) and eat foods that have slow-absorbing calories instead of fast-absorbing calories (and I think this correlates with the glycemic index (GI) in that those foods with a low GI number are absorbed slower (better). So eat at least your weight with a zero at the end end eat foods low in GI. Easy peasy. Now to see if it works.
I want to talk a bit about the non-aesthetic changes that losing weight brings. A huge one was the health condition disappearing, something that has taken time, money, and peace of mind away from me for about a decade. Poof, just like that, gone one day. That is a quality of life issue. There's length of life and there's quality of life, and my quality of life just increased by leaps and bounds. I had no idea losing weight would help me with that.
And then there's all the little changes. Being able to cross my legs at the knees. Having an easier time crossing my arms. Folding my legs into myself while laying down in bed. And just moving. I can move better. And I am so grateful that I can move better that sometimes I have to keep myself from crying during class. And it sounds corny but it is such a wonderful feeling to feel yourself moving in ways you haven't felt before.
I'm also just full of energy now, all the time. I'm barely tired anymore, and I work an overnight shift. Before I used to be tired all the time no matter how much I slept, and now I have energy to spare. Then there's just the general well-being. It's like I was city air before, and now I'm mountain air. I'm cleaner, purer, fresher, better.
There are so many many many benefits that have come from losing weight that I wasn't counting on, that they overshadow a small waist. And it's all interconnected, i.e. the small waist is part of what brings on the other changes, but your mindset changes in that looking good is suddenly not that important at all when you compare it with everything else.
Oh, and all the inside changes I've been blogging about also.
Just for the record I have been shedding more hair than usual lately but I have such thick hair it's not noticeable and I researched it and when you exercise your testosterone goes up (yes, even for women) and a side effect is hair loss. Just for the record.
So even though I can't really tell the physical changes (i.e. because I see myself all the time and because I always go all out in class so that I don't notice if I'm getting better), I can certainly see these other changes. And all of a sudden you start looking around at your entire life and realize you are in a very good place.
TUESDAY Morning: Lowest yet is 170.5 and right now at 173, which I'll take... a 2.5lbs fluctuation isn't bad. If I can stay the same weight and build muscle I'll be happy because sooner or later the muscle tops out and the weight starts going down again. Work food was bananas, morning food was pasta, in-between workouts is chocolate (protein barand drink), and apples and peaches at night. Wonder how the pasta will do as a pre-workout meal. Get to find out soon enough. It has 7g of protein per serving and I ate about 1.5 servings. 5g of fiber, 1.5 of fat, 20's carbs.
TUESDAY 9a TurboKick Kathy 59/661/30, 174/92, 157/83
TUESDAY 10a Pilates Stephanie 52/260/60, 125/66, 106/56
I wasn't hungry in-between classes but my energy was completely zapped, so I will try wheat pasta before class one more time but will take a protein drink for afterwards.
TUESDAY 5.30p Ann Lift Kathy 55/414/55, 146/77, 126/67
The word of the day is baby steps. I did something today I hadn't really done before. But I didn't go as much as I was wishing to do. But I'm going to try my hardest to allow myself baby steps on it. Maybe the small little bit was good enough, and there's always next time. Maybe it doesn't have to be all at once, and maybe it doesn't have to be perfect the first time around. Still wish it had been more, but going to work on being happy on the little that was.
Who are we, really? Are we set in a certain way or are we fluid? Can we be whoever we say we are? Lately I'm trying to get away from shoulds. Started at the gym and now I'm trying to port it over to other aspects of my life. Whenever I wonder whether to do something or not, I'm trying to shift from whether that's what should be done or not to am I the kind of person who does that or not. I.e. doesn't matter if anyone else would, would I? What kind of person do I want to be? Even if no one else did something, would I like to be the kind of person who does?
WEDNESDAY 8a Ann Cycle Dallas 59/590/40, 163/86, 148/78
WEDNESDAY 10a Sahara Zumba Michelle 58/583/40, 165/87, 147/78
Had good numbers this morning. I am very close to breaking 600 in cycle. Hopefully that means I'm getting better. And I'm starting to near 600 again in Zumba.
I had a Lift scheduled right before Donalin but I think I'm going to skip it. I had Lift on Monday and Tuesday. I want to rest up a bit and go hard in Zumba. Going to skip the half hour Zumba on Thursday also and leave this week at 13 classes, recuperate a bit.
Since I go all out on Wednesdays cycle, Wednesday morning Zumba is hard. But I'm not about to skip either of them, so I'll just have to keep trudging through the pain until I can take both properly.
Hungry Monday, hungry today also. All I have left are two egg wraps for today (just ate 3 servings of pasta and a cheese wrap in the last two hours). But I haven't slept yet. So one wrap before Zumba and one after, then bed. I upped the calories 100-200 and I'm now hungrier!! But I've been eating low glycemic (LG), I wonder if that has anything to do with it. I shudder to look at the scale. Will do so tomorrow after I wake up.
I've been feeling fat lately. For some reason the more weight I lose the more self-conscious I get over my weight. The more I notice it. Now I hate looking at myself at the gym mirrors. I seem huge. But I didn't notice it when I was 230 lbs. And it didn't really bother me when I started the group classes in September. Just this past week, it started. I go to new classes with people I don't take regularly (not the instructors, the other gym-goers) and it's almost like I have to prove that I'm not a hopeless fat person. At first I went mostly to the Cheyenne location, and eventually got to know people there who I took class with all the time. Then went a couple of times to other locations and hated it because I didn't know anybody and almost stopped going to other locations. But I wanted to take more instructors and specific instructors and so I hover between five different locations. But I much rather prefer when I know people in class than when I don't. I started eating 1800 calories a day and LG and I hope that wasn't a horrible idea. If tomorrow I'm anywhere less than 174 I'll be happy (lowest weight 170.5). What I hate about muscle-building is that it's not easily quantifiable. You THINK you are building muscle, but you don't really know. And I haven't found an accurate way to measure body fat. Last time I measured I was 173. So a week went by, and I gained 2.5 lbs. And it's easy to say it's water weight or muscle, but it could always be fat. Weight loss is not an exact science and I'm finding lately that there's a lot of faith involved in it. You do something because you think it will work but you don't really know if it will or not, and sometimes you go through periods of non-movement or even movement backwards and you just hope you're still in the right path.
I've found lately that the thinner I get the more self-conscious I get. I've never really had to worry about my body. When I started I was fat, out of shape, could barely move, and didn't know any of the moves, but I was front and center. I find it that the better I know the moves and the better I can do the moves and the better I move and look period, the more I want to go hide in the back. The shift back has started in one class where I like to just hide out in the sea of people. It's just kind of hard to move because if for almost four months you've been in the front, people notice you moving back. But I definitely noticed that, the better I get at knowing and doing the classes, the more I want to hide out. Maybe it goes hand and in hand with the thinner I get the more self-conscious I get.
At the risk of sounding conceited, I've been thinking that once I get to my goal weight of a muscular 110 lbs at 5'4", men could start looking. And I'm not sure how I feel about that. I don't think I like it. I've always been overweight/obese (mostly obese) so I haven't really have had to deal with that "problem" before. I'm not necessarily a shy person but I have shy moments. And I look at other people at the gym and think "they look GOOD" but I wouldn't want somebody to look at me and think the same thing, because that would necessitate them looking at me. I'm not sure I want to enter the meat market. And as I change sizes I wear comfortable-fitting clothes, so I don't think I'll be hiding behind oversized sweats (the sweater doesn't count). So all of this has been on my mind lately. And I want this blog to be a record of the journey, both the good and the bad, the positive and the negative. I want to show the progression in thoughts, feelings, and actions as someone goes from highly obese to Fit (the chunk below normal, athletes and such).
I have set a date for the 24 Turbos in a row. Sunday. That's getting its own blog post. Going to ask to borrow a TurboKick DVD. I pretty much know the routine already: Freezing alternating lunges, then swing arms with opposite leg, then double arms, repeat last two, then skate X 4, skate right, 2 airs, skate X 4, skate left, 2 airs, jumping squats, then I believe comes the double-jab/speed/jab/jack X 4 alternating, then skate X 4, jack around to the back, skate X 4, jack around to the front, then run up, then jack right, jack left, jack both, air, run up, jack right/left/both, air, then hee-haw X 4, throws X 4, then single knee slaps then single single double, then lunge up then down X 3, air X 2, lunge up then down X 3, air X 2. If I don't have it down as it is, at the most it'll be 1-2 tweaks. So I have the routine already, all I need is the music. And if I mess up I'll just keep on going through that Turbo as long as I just keep moving I'll count it as a Turbo, and just start fresh the next one. So this Sunday it happens. Me and the iPod Nano recording. Thinking it'll take an hour. So all I really need is the DVD to make sure I got the sequence right and then all I need is to just go and do it. Going to go to my home gym after Zumba tonight and ask to borrow the exercise room for a couple of hours on Sunday. It really is as simple as looping the music over and over again and just pressing record and doing it. No practicing. Just doing it (of course a bit of stretching beforehand). So on Monday you will be able to know and see the aftermath.
WEDNESDAY 6.30 Craig Zumba Donalin 55/563/40, 163/86, 148/78
Weighed myself before class. 171!! Half a pound over lowest weight, and into my third day of 1800+ calories a day. I am pleased. I THINK my pants may be getting a little looser. I don't look good in Medium anymore. I won't wear anything bigger than Small nowadays, I hate the baggy look.
I don't know what scares me more about the 24 Turbos... that I'll be able to do them or that I won't. I won't collapse over it and I won't push beyond my limit, but I have every intention to push to my limit. There's part of me that hopes that if I can do that, it'll show people what the human spirit is capable of and will maybe motivate people to do something they didn't think possible. I feel it's my duty to use this body I've been given and push it so that others can see what a person can do.
Someone narrated the following to me the other day: When foals are young, they are tied to a post and they fight against it but are not strong enough to break free. When they grow up they ARE strong enough to break free but after spending their whole childhood unable to break from the post, they don't think they can do it anymore, so they don't even try. They are defeated, they give up. What is your post called?
There's another story that when lions are young they are powerful and strong but have a weak roar because they haven't perfected it. Old lions are sickly and thin and weak but have a powerful roar based on a lifetime of practice. So they send the old sickly lion to stand in front of prey and growl and the prey turns around and runs... right into the rest of the lions. That which scares you the most may be the easiest thing to accomplish.
I think I sleep better nowadays.
THURSDAY 5:15a. Went to sleep around 9 and got a good 7.5 hours of sleep. I rarely did that before I started exercising. Went up a lb to 172 so a little deflated but still 1.5 lbs away from lowest weight. Just one class today.
THURSDAY 9a Agassi TurboKick Rachel 67/622/45, 165/87, 141/75
FRIDAY -- OFF!! May bike a little around home.
FRIDAY MORNING - Ever since I started eating Low Glycemic, I am hungry all the time. Not even 3a and I've already eaten 140 calories (2 tangerines).
What is LG? It's eating foods that have a low-glycemic index value. People equate that with low-carb but it isn't. I don't take a look at my carbs and I usually have a 50-30-20 carbs/protein/fat ratio, so about half my calories come from carbs. But I try to eat 4-5 things throughout the day that are LG. The whole concept behind LG is how energy enters your body. Something that is HG releases all its energy at once, and anything you don't use up right away gets converted into fat. Something that is LG releases its energy slowly over time, giving you more of a chance of using all up. That's the whole science behind LG. Insulin plays a role but I haven't found out what it is yet.
LG food effects carry over into meals. It's like a highway. If someone is going slow, others behind get bottlenecked. "Fast" foods get slowed down also and turned into kind of LG when they follow LG meals, and they recommend doing at least one LG item per meal. I think I may switch to full LG by the next couple of weeks. Anything below 55 is LG. Here are some fruit examples:
Cherries Low 22
Grapefruit Low 25
Apricots (dried) Low 31
Apples Low 38
Pears Low 38
Plums Low 39
Peaches Low 42
Oranges Low 44
Grapes Low 46
Kiwi fruit Low 53
Bananas Low 54
Nectarines in particular seem to stop the hunger.
There is no scienfic study of the glycemic index of nectarines. It is often assumed to be similar to peaches. Study results for peaches ranged between 28 to 56, with an average of 42.
FRIDAY later that morning.
560 calories and it's only 6a. Why am I so hungry? Trying to stick to 1700 calories a day. At least I'm finally full. Going to try to hit 850 calories by noon so I got an egg wrap and an apple to go in the next six hours, but I feel the rest of my good night's sleep coming. And I work tonight, so part of today will be spent sleeping.
SATURDAY did some weights on my own. About 25 minutes. The class is definitely the way to go.
SATURDAY 10a Agassi Cycle Daniela 62/578/45, 158/84, 143/76
SUNDAY morning. Someone asked me to give them my thoughts on food, and I wanted to write about it here also, so here's what I wrote her.
Here's the bottom line: Eat foods that are low in the Glycemic Index (nothing over 55). You can Google Glycemic Index and find it easily.
Here's the longish explanation:
There are foods that when you eat them, release all their energy at once, spiking your blood sugar. This has a two-fold result. First, if you have all that energy coming out at once, whatever you don't use, you store. If you have a food that releases the energy slower, there's more of a chance of using it all and not storing it (and guess what it's stored as... F A T).
The second result is that a spike in blood sugar promotes the creation of insulin. Insulin stops the body from using stored fat and converts over to glucose (which I believe is mostly carbs) for fuel. Diabetes is what happens when this mechanism doesn't work anymore. I'm still trying to figure out in more detail the whole deal about insulin but let's just say it's bad.
The lower the GI, the slower the energy is released, the less gets stored as fat. And I find that foods that are LG (low glycemic) fill me up more.
By the way, I think everybody should love food. Food is good. I've heard at the gym that some people train themselves to derive no pleasure from food and instead think of it as just fuel. I think that's depressing, and as disordered eating as emotional eating (both ends of the scale). Food lets you manipulate your body and do things with it you never thought possible. Food is your friend. I've learned just the tiniest bit about food so far and I'm already impressed (and overwhelmed).
Here's the equation to figure out what and how much of each of the foods to eat: There is none.
In my opinion here's the "secret" to losing weight which is not highly commercialized because it would make for a very short book: There is none. You should eat what your body needs. You should exercise what your body needs. Only YOU can decide how many calories YOU need for your GOALS. We could both be 100 lbs and eat the same exact thing and you could gain 5 lbs and I could lose 5 lbs and then go in reverse the following week. I can't tell you how much per day or cups or restrictions because there are none and it all depends on you.
Here's what I do. And this is not to tell you what you should do, but it illustrates the thought process that I go through.
I go to http://www.24hourfitness.com/resources/fitness_tools/ and use the last one, daily calorie calculator. My lowest weight has been 170.5 lbs (attained Friday the 18th) and now I'm at 171, so I "gained" half a lb in over a week and haven't lost (and trust me, I have to work as hard as anyone else not to freak out over something like that). I personally use the lowest attained weight because usually I don't fluctuate too much away from it. So if I plug in 170 5'4" 31-year-old female with the LOWEST amount of physical activity, I get that I burn 2044 calories a day, or 14308 a week. This has been one of my lightest weeks at the gym with 12 classes and I usually do around 18-20, so why put Light activity? Because I keep track of my exercise calories manually so I don't count them as part of this.
I used to strive for a 7k caloric deficit but I'm leaning away from caloric deficits and just paying attention to two things: What should I eat and how much. So I still do the equation but it's more for my records than anything else.
The equation is pretty much
caloric deficit = calories burned at rest + net calories exercised - food consumed
Let's say I burn 500 calories in a one-hour Zumba class. If I had stayed home and posted on Facebook, I would have still burned SOMEthing. So Zumba didn't really make me burn 500 calories. If you take 2044/24, that's about 85.17 calories burned an hour. So I really burned 414.83 BECAUSE of Zumba. That's net calories. If you use calories burned at rest, using net calories burned at exercise will help you not to double count those calories.
How much should you eat per day? Simple: What you need. I ate 1836 calories today (and trust me, I'm trying hard not to freak out about THAT). And I didn't particularly exercise too much, just one class and 25 minutes of weights on my own. I personally subscribe to weight+0. So at 170 I should be capping out at 1700 a day. At 110 I should be capping out at 1100 per day. Someone at 200 should be capping out at 2000 per day. Is this a hard and fast rule? Nope. Is this a guideline? Not even. That's just a shot in the dark. Try it, if it works, great, if it doesn't, change it!! A lot of times I'll start the week with one goal and end it with another, having changed it in the middle of the week (like this week, goal went from 1800 to 1700). 1710 or 1770? Doesn't really matter. Even 1650 might work one day.
Also adjust to what you are doing. If you're doing a Triathlon, you're going to eat. A lot. Eat enough to sustain what you're doing that day.
So if I eat 1700 a day that's 11900 a week.
14308 - 11900 = 2408. 7000 - 2408 = 4592 for exercise to "make up." I usually do more than that. And remember that's NET exercise calories. So at 12 classes this week, I needed 4592 + (11*85.17) calories if I were eating 1700 calories a day. But don't get hung up on caloric deficits. Three apples have the same calories as a slice of cheese pizza but their effect on your body is night and day. It matters WHAT you eat and WHEN you eat it and HOW MUCH you eat. WHEN you eat it is crucial. I'm still trying to optimize my before- and post-workout meals and still get confused in the whole carbs vs. protein before or after. For myself I've found I don't really like solid food before working out, so I drink protein shakes that are low in fat. Fills me up for a couple of hours and allows me to move during class. I eat/drink something before EVERY class and 99% of the time after the class, but 100% of the time after every weights class.
So how do you figure out how much to eat? Weight+0 for a few days. Going up, going down, the same? And for G-d's sake, if you're hungry, EAT!! There's nothing worse than going hungry. Love your food, communicate with it, listen to your body and what it needs, nourish it. Food should feel like a blessing, not a curse. I've been trying to give in to cravings. One day I was craving fat and nuts so I had TWO servings of nuts which for the day was almost twice the recommended daily value. I recorded it and moved on. Weight stayed the same. Today I craved turkey footlongs on wheat, so I had that. I eat what I crave. I want a carb-heavy day, I'll have a carb-heavy day. I try to do 20% fat (fat is like water in that it lubricates your insides (I think)). You NEED FAT. Fat is good for you. In the right amount. Then I try to do 50% carbs and 30% protein. Carbs are what fuel your brain and your workouts. You NEED carbs. The right amount of carbs. The same goes for protein.
The glycemic effect works in tandem. If you eat cherries for breakfast and something high-glycemic for lunch, the cherries are still on the highway and will bottleneck the HG food. That's why they recommend and I agree that one LG food per meal is optimal to have the fat-burning effect going on all the time.
You also have to take into consideration your goals. My goal is to lose fat AND gain muscle. Let's pretend you are 100 lbs and have found that eating 1000 calories a day maintains you. How much should eat beyond the 1000 calories? 1000+however many calories you want to turn into muscle and however many classes you take.
Start listening to your body. When do you get hungry? Why? What do you eat? Does it fit your goals? Did that apple make your body happy? How do you know when you're hungry? What does hunger feel like to you? Pick any random number between 1000 and 2000 and eat that many calories, and adjust daily until you find YOUR range.
A note on food planning. I use http://www.myapex.com (the BodyBugg site) which I pay $80 a year for, and gladly, because for me it's the easiest to use. You can even create your own items and meals. I plan what I will eat the following day the night before taking into account what, how much, and when I'll be at the gym. If I'm going to go ... See Morestraight from work to the gym not only do I have to take enough food to sustain me throughout the night, but I also have to take shakes*classes taken and a protein bar if I'm doing my weights. But most days I change what I eat throughout the day. I can pretty much tell calorie and nutrient-wise how I'm doing even while not at the front of the computer. Plan ahead so that you're equipped to deal with the day ahead.
So that's that for my thoughts on food right now.
I've been feeling out of sorts this week. I'm still burning about the same amount of calories in the classes but I don't feel it like I usually do. I've been sniffling so maybe I have a cold. I don't really feel a cold, though. I just don't feel like I'm exerting enough even though the numbers have not changed downward. Even the day off didn't change that. Hopefully taking just one class today and then the rest of the day helps me recuperate.
I'm always excited for Mondays because there's a whole new fresh week. By Sunday it feels like I already used up that week.
SUNDAY 9:00a Ann TurboKick Michelle 53/555/40, 169/89, 151/80
FINALLY felt like a good workout. Calories are pretty much the same but I felt it today after a week of feeling out of sorts. Maybe it's just a cold.
Food: (going to try to hit 1800 daily)
Monday: 61 cherries (244, work), 3 SK shakes (570), cheese wrap (250), SK bar (180, after lift), 2 bananas (210), 2 egg wraps (420, afternoon, before work), total 1874. Really hungry today. Burned around 1250 netcals through exercise.
Tuesday: 2 bananas (210), 2 SK shake (380), SK protein bar (180), Cheese wrap (250), Kroger Penne 1/2 box (630), 2 peaches (160), total 1810
Wednesday: 1.5 apples (142), 3 servings whole wheat pasta (630), 2 SK protein shakes (380), 2 egg rolls (420), cheese wrap (250), total 1822
***GOING DOWN TO 1700***
Thursday: I hate food today. Macros, indexes, calories, grams, healthy. Sometimes I like writing down what to eat because after a few minutes of planning in the morning, there's no more thinking about it the rest of the day, just eating. 4 nectarines (280), cheese wrap (250), 2 egg wraps (420), SK shake (190), footlong roast beef sandwich (580), total 1720
Friday: Apple (95), Cheese wrap (250), 26 cherries (104), 2 Nectarines (140), 2 servings Pistacchios (340), 2 Special K bars (360), 2 protein shakes (380), total 1669
Saturday: 2 protein shakes (380), protein bar (180), 22 cherries (88), 7 strawberries (49), 2 turkey breast footlongs (1120), 14 cherries (56), total 1892
Sunday: 18 cherries (72), 2 banana (210), cheese wrap (250), egg wrap (210), shake (190), 2 apples (190), 2 pistacchios (340), protein bar (190), 23 cherries (92), 1744
Sunday: Still have left 3 egg wraps
1874, 1810, 1822. 1720, 1669, 1892, 1744
Food intake: 12531
Taking a weight of 170lbs, that's 2044 calories burned a day, 14308 burned a week.
14307 - 12531 = 1776
This week: 12 classes, 6334 gross cals, 675 mins, 5348 net cals
5348 +1776 = 7124
MONDAY morning before classes: I'm reading the book Ultrametabolism and I think I'm a convert. It's not the amount we eat and not even the macros (carbs/protein/fat percentages), but where the calories come from; slow-absorbing or fast-absorbing. Just getting into the book so I'll be writing a lot about it. I had decided a couple of days ago to go from 1600 calories to 1700-1800 calories and the book suggests that your basal metabolic rate is weight with a zero at the end. That means don't go below that. And right now I'm 170.5-173, so 1700-1800 was actually perfect.
The topic of the day is mistakes. I've been thinking about mistakes a lot lately. And this is what I decided about the topic: None of us want to make mistakes. We have a decision to make and sometimes it's the wrong one. Or maybe we weren't brave enough to do something. But do we really ever want to fail? Do you wake up in the morning and go, "Gee, I want to screw up my life today." (and if you did, e-mail me or call 911!) No, we don't. We don't want to make mistakes, but sometimes we do. And sometimes we fail to act. I want to address both of those separately.
Making mistakes - since you didn't set out to make a mistake, why would you beat yourself up about it? Are you a bad person because you made a mistake? I don't think so. Sometimes we just make the wrong choice, but we don't want to make the wrong choice, it just works out that way. So why beat yourself up over something that you didn't mean to happen or at least happen in that way or for something you didn't mean to do? Learn from it, regroup, move on. Accept where you are at that point in time.
That last sentence ties into failing to act. Sometimes we wish we could do something but we don't. Maybe we're scared or anxious or think we can't do it. Don't beat yourself up over that either. I had a chance to do something back in 2006 and I didn't. And I wish I had. And I try not to beat myself up about it because I recognize that I wasn't ready and I didn't have the necessary experiences to take action. Sometimes we just can't. And that's ok. Allow yourself to Can't sometimes. Maybe it's something you'll never be able to do. In that case, are there alternatives? Maybe it's something you just can't do right now but may be able to do later. I have another chance now to do what I didn't back in 2006. And it's terrifying. But by now so many things have happened in the last six months and a half or so that really leave no alternative but to brave up and do it (and it's a good thing to do). Sometimes you just go through so many experiences and events that make you realize you can never go back to who you were back then. Not even because you don't want to, but because that person is not there any longer. Sometimes events change you irreversible (and depending on the changes this may be a good thing).
So allow yourself mistakes and indecisiveness. Sometimes it's just who you are and what you have and where you are at the time. And sometimes it changes and sometimes it doesn't. But if you didn't specifically set out to do the wrong thing, there's really no point in dwelling on it after learning as much as you can from it.
MONDAY 9a Sahara TurboKick Janet (first time) 54/641/30, 181/96, 161/85 (Six Turbos, good start for the week)
MONDAY Noon Agassi Lift Janine (spelling?) 54/357/60, 139/74, 118/62
Lift was TOUGH. Hardest class of any format I have taken at 24 Hour Fitness so far, even counting my first one. 90% of the exercises I had never done in Lift before and every other exercise involved upper AND lower body. And for some reason TurboKick wiped me out more than usual. I normally only have 200-250 calories between classes and this time I had 440 calories, and it took me 180 more after Lift to finally feel full. 4:23p and I've had about 1250 calories out of my allotted 1800. Egg wrap, 2 bananas, and an apple to go for today.
I just noticed yesterday that a health issue that, while not life-threatening, was annoying, is completely gone after pretty much a decade of existence. Multiple doctors provided no explanation of solution. Just poof, gone. Who knew it could be health-related? Quality Of Life + 10.
MONDAY 6.30p Craig SET Donalin 53/510/45, 165/87, 143/76
Great end to the day. Awesome Monday. I was really hungry today and really ate throughout the day. One banana and apple to go today and it's almost 9p. 1862 calories today. First day of seeing how 1800 calories works. Going to really study the glycemic index at work tonight. I think I figured out the key to nutrition. 1. Never eat below your weight * 10 (in my case 1700-1800) and eat foods that have slow-absorbing calories instead of fast-absorbing calories (and I think this correlates with the glycemic index (GI) in that those foods with a low GI number are absorbed slower (better). So eat at least your weight with a zero at the end end eat foods low in GI. Easy peasy. Now to see if it works.
I want to talk a bit about the non-aesthetic changes that losing weight brings. A huge one was the health condition disappearing, something that has taken time, money, and peace of mind away from me for about a decade. Poof, just like that, gone one day. That is a quality of life issue. There's length of life and there's quality of life, and my quality of life just increased by leaps and bounds. I had no idea losing weight would help me with that.
And then there's all the little changes. Being able to cross my legs at the knees. Having an easier time crossing my arms. Folding my legs into myself while laying down in bed. And just moving. I can move better. And I am so grateful that I can move better that sometimes I have to keep myself from crying during class. And it sounds corny but it is such a wonderful feeling to feel yourself moving in ways you haven't felt before.
I'm also just full of energy now, all the time. I'm barely tired anymore, and I work an overnight shift. Before I used to be tired all the time no matter how much I slept, and now I have energy to spare. Then there's just the general well-being. It's like I was city air before, and now I'm mountain air. I'm cleaner, purer, fresher, better.
There are so many many many benefits that have come from losing weight that I wasn't counting on, that they overshadow a small waist. And it's all interconnected, i.e. the small waist is part of what brings on the other changes, but your mindset changes in that looking good is suddenly not that important at all when you compare it with everything else.
Oh, and all the inside changes I've been blogging about also.
Just for the record I have been shedding more hair than usual lately but I have such thick hair it's not noticeable and I researched it and when you exercise your testosterone goes up (yes, even for women) and a side effect is hair loss. Just for the record.
So even though I can't really tell the physical changes (i.e. because I see myself all the time and because I always go all out in class so that I don't notice if I'm getting better), I can certainly see these other changes. And all of a sudden you start looking around at your entire life and realize you are in a very good place.
TUESDAY Morning: Lowest yet is 170.5 and right now at 173, which I'll take... a 2.5lbs fluctuation isn't bad. If I can stay the same weight and build muscle I'll be happy because sooner or later the muscle tops out and the weight starts going down again. Work food was bananas, morning food was pasta, in-between workouts is chocolate (protein barand drink), and apples and peaches at night. Wonder how the pasta will do as a pre-workout meal. Get to find out soon enough. It has 7g of protein per serving and I ate about 1.5 servings. 5g of fiber, 1.5 of fat, 20's carbs.
TUESDAY 9a TurboKick Kathy 59/661/30, 174/92, 157/83
TUESDAY 10a Pilates Stephanie 52/260/60, 125/66, 106/56
I wasn't hungry in-between classes but my energy was completely zapped, so I will try wheat pasta before class one more time but will take a protein drink for afterwards.
TUESDAY 5.30p Ann Lift Kathy 55/414/55, 146/77, 126/67
The word of the day is baby steps. I did something today I hadn't really done before. But I didn't go as much as I was wishing to do. But I'm going to try my hardest to allow myself baby steps on it. Maybe the small little bit was good enough, and there's always next time. Maybe it doesn't have to be all at once, and maybe it doesn't have to be perfect the first time around. Still wish it had been more, but going to work on being happy on the little that was.
Who are we, really? Are we set in a certain way or are we fluid? Can we be whoever we say we are? Lately I'm trying to get away from shoulds. Started at the gym and now I'm trying to port it over to other aspects of my life. Whenever I wonder whether to do something or not, I'm trying to shift from whether that's what should be done or not to am I the kind of person who does that or not. I.e. doesn't matter if anyone else would, would I? What kind of person do I want to be? Even if no one else did something, would I like to be the kind of person who does?
WEDNESDAY 8a Ann Cycle Dallas 59/590/40, 163/86, 148/78
WEDNESDAY 10a Sahara Zumba Michelle 58/583/40, 165/87, 147/78
Had good numbers this morning. I am very close to breaking 600 in cycle. Hopefully that means I'm getting better. And I'm starting to near 600 again in Zumba.
I had a Lift scheduled right before Donalin but I think I'm going to skip it. I had Lift on Monday and Tuesday. I want to rest up a bit and go hard in Zumba. Going to skip the half hour Zumba on Thursday also and leave this week at 13 classes, recuperate a bit.
Since I go all out on Wednesdays cycle, Wednesday morning Zumba is hard. But I'm not about to skip either of them, so I'll just have to keep trudging through the pain until I can take both properly.
Hungry Monday, hungry today also. All I have left are two egg wraps for today (just ate 3 servings of pasta and a cheese wrap in the last two hours). But I haven't slept yet. So one wrap before Zumba and one after, then bed. I upped the calories 100-200 and I'm now hungrier!! But I've been eating low glycemic (LG), I wonder if that has anything to do with it. I shudder to look at the scale. Will do so tomorrow after I wake up.
I've been feeling fat lately. For some reason the more weight I lose the more self-conscious I get over my weight. The more I notice it. Now I hate looking at myself at the gym mirrors. I seem huge. But I didn't notice it when I was 230 lbs. And it didn't really bother me when I started the group classes in September. Just this past week, it started. I go to new classes with people I don't take regularly (not the instructors, the other gym-goers) and it's almost like I have to prove that I'm not a hopeless fat person. At first I went mostly to the Cheyenne location, and eventually got to know people there who I took class with all the time. Then went a couple of times to other locations and hated it because I didn't know anybody and almost stopped going to other locations. But I wanted to take more instructors and specific instructors and so I hover between five different locations. But I much rather prefer when I know people in class than when I don't. I started eating 1800 calories a day and LG and I hope that wasn't a horrible idea. If tomorrow I'm anywhere less than 174 I'll be happy (lowest weight 170.5). What I hate about muscle-building is that it's not easily quantifiable. You THINK you are building muscle, but you don't really know. And I haven't found an accurate way to measure body fat. Last time I measured I was 173. So a week went by, and I gained 2.5 lbs. And it's easy to say it's water weight or muscle, but it could always be fat. Weight loss is not an exact science and I'm finding lately that there's a lot of faith involved in it. You do something because you think it will work but you don't really know if it will or not, and sometimes you go through periods of non-movement or even movement backwards and you just hope you're still in the right path.
I've found lately that the thinner I get the more self-conscious I get. I've never really had to worry about my body. When I started I was fat, out of shape, could barely move, and didn't know any of the moves, but I was front and center. I find it that the better I know the moves and the better I can do the moves and the better I move and look period, the more I want to go hide in the back. The shift back has started in one class where I like to just hide out in the sea of people. It's just kind of hard to move because if for almost four months you've been in the front, people notice you moving back. But I definitely noticed that, the better I get at knowing and doing the classes, the more I want to hide out. Maybe it goes hand and in hand with the thinner I get the more self-conscious I get.
At the risk of sounding conceited, I've been thinking that once I get to my goal weight of a muscular 110 lbs at 5'4", men could start looking. And I'm not sure how I feel about that. I don't think I like it. I've always been overweight/obese (mostly obese) so I haven't really have had to deal with that "problem" before. I'm not necessarily a shy person but I have shy moments. And I look at other people at the gym and think "they look GOOD" but I wouldn't want somebody to look at me and think the same thing, because that would necessitate them looking at me. I'm not sure I want to enter the meat market. And as I change sizes I wear comfortable-fitting clothes, so I don't think I'll be hiding behind oversized sweats (the sweater doesn't count). So all of this has been on my mind lately. And I want this blog to be a record of the journey, both the good and the bad, the positive and the negative. I want to show the progression in thoughts, feelings, and actions as someone goes from highly obese to Fit (the chunk below normal, athletes and such).
I have set a date for the 24 Turbos in a row. Sunday. That's getting its own blog post. Going to ask to borrow a TurboKick DVD. I pretty much know the routine already: Freezing alternating lunges, then swing arms with opposite leg, then double arms, repeat last two, then skate X 4, skate right, 2 airs, skate X 4, skate left, 2 airs, jumping squats, then I believe comes the double-jab/speed/jab/jack X 4 alternating, then skate X 4, jack around to the back, skate X 4, jack around to the front, then run up, then jack right, jack left, jack both, air, run up, jack right/left/both, air, then hee-haw X 4, throws X 4, then single knee slaps then single single double, then lunge up then down X 3, air X 2, lunge up then down X 3, air X 2. If I don't have it down as it is, at the most it'll be 1-2 tweaks. So I have the routine already, all I need is the music. And if I mess up I'll just keep on going through that Turbo as long as I just keep moving I'll count it as a Turbo, and just start fresh the next one. So this Sunday it happens. Me and the iPod Nano recording. Thinking it'll take an hour. So all I really need is the DVD to make sure I got the sequence right and then all I need is to just go and do it. Going to go to my home gym after Zumba tonight and ask to borrow the exercise room for a couple of hours on Sunday. It really is as simple as looping the music over and over again and just pressing record and doing it. No practicing. Just doing it (of course a bit of stretching beforehand). So on Monday you will be able to know and see the aftermath.
WEDNESDAY 6.30 Craig Zumba Donalin 55/563/40, 163/86, 148/78
Weighed myself before class. 171!! Half a pound over lowest weight, and into my third day of 1800+ calories a day. I am pleased. I THINK my pants may be getting a little looser. I don't look good in Medium anymore. I won't wear anything bigger than Small nowadays, I hate the baggy look.
I don't know what scares me more about the 24 Turbos... that I'll be able to do them or that I won't. I won't collapse over it and I won't push beyond my limit, but I have every intention to push to my limit. There's part of me that hopes that if I can do that, it'll show people what the human spirit is capable of and will maybe motivate people to do something they didn't think possible. I feel it's my duty to use this body I've been given and push it so that others can see what a person can do.
Someone narrated the following to me the other day: When foals are young, they are tied to a post and they fight against it but are not strong enough to break free. When they grow up they ARE strong enough to break free but after spending their whole childhood unable to break from the post, they don't think they can do it anymore, so they don't even try. They are defeated, they give up. What is your post called?
There's another story that when lions are young they are powerful and strong but have a weak roar because they haven't perfected it. Old lions are sickly and thin and weak but have a powerful roar based on a lifetime of practice. So they send the old sickly lion to stand in front of prey and growl and the prey turns around and runs... right into the rest of the lions. That which scares you the most may be the easiest thing to accomplish.
I think I sleep better nowadays.
THURSDAY 5:15a. Went to sleep around 9 and got a good 7.5 hours of sleep. I rarely did that before I started exercising. Went up a lb to 172 so a little deflated but still 1.5 lbs away from lowest weight. Just one class today.
THURSDAY 9a Agassi TurboKick Rachel 67/622/45, 165/87, 141/75
FRIDAY -- OFF!! May bike a little around home.
FRIDAY MORNING - Ever since I started eating Low Glycemic, I am hungry all the time. Not even 3a and I've already eaten 140 calories (2 tangerines).
What is LG? It's eating foods that have a low-glycemic index value. People equate that with low-carb but it isn't. I don't take a look at my carbs and I usually have a 50-30-20 carbs/protein/fat ratio, so about half my calories come from carbs. But I try to eat 4-5 things throughout the day that are LG. The whole concept behind LG is how energy enters your body. Something that is HG releases all its energy at once, and anything you don't use up right away gets converted into fat. Something that is LG releases its energy slowly over time, giving you more of a chance of using all up. That's the whole science behind LG. Insulin plays a role but I haven't found out what it is yet.
LG food effects carry over into meals. It's like a highway. If someone is going slow, others behind get bottlenecked. "Fast" foods get slowed down also and turned into kind of LG when they follow LG meals, and they recommend doing at least one LG item per meal. I think I may switch to full LG by the next couple of weeks. Anything below 55 is LG. Here are some fruit examples:
Cherries Low 22
Grapefruit Low 25
Apricots (dried) Low 31
Apples Low 38
Pears Low 38
Plums Low 39
Peaches Low 42
Oranges Low 44
Grapes Low 46
Kiwi fruit Low 53
Bananas Low 54
Nectarines in particular seem to stop the hunger.
There is no scienfic study of the glycemic index of nectarines. It is often assumed to be similar to peaches. Study results for peaches ranged between 28 to 56, with an average of 42.
FRIDAY later that morning.
560 calories and it's only 6a. Why am I so hungry? Trying to stick to 1700 calories a day. At least I'm finally full. Going to try to hit 850 calories by noon so I got an egg wrap and an apple to go in the next six hours, but I feel the rest of my good night's sleep coming. And I work tonight, so part of today will be spent sleeping.
SATURDAY did some weights on my own. About 25 minutes. The class is definitely the way to go.
SATURDAY 10a Agassi Cycle Daniela 62/578/45, 158/84, 143/76
SUNDAY morning. Someone asked me to give them my thoughts on food, and I wanted to write about it here also, so here's what I wrote her.
Here's the bottom line: Eat foods that are low in the Glycemic Index (nothing over 55). You can Google Glycemic Index and find it easily.
Here's the longish explanation:
There are foods that when you eat them, release all their energy at once, spiking your blood sugar. This has a two-fold result. First, if you have all that energy coming out at once, whatever you don't use, you store. If you have a food that releases the energy slower, there's more of a chance of using it all and not storing it (and guess what it's stored as... F A T).
The second result is that a spike in blood sugar promotes the creation of insulin. Insulin stops the body from using stored fat and converts over to glucose (which I believe is mostly carbs) for fuel. Diabetes is what happens when this mechanism doesn't work anymore. I'm still trying to figure out in more detail the whole deal about insulin but let's just say it's bad.
The lower the GI, the slower the energy is released, the less gets stored as fat. And I find that foods that are LG (low glycemic) fill me up more.
By the way, I think everybody should love food. Food is good. I've heard at the gym that some people train themselves to derive no pleasure from food and instead think of it as just fuel. I think that's depressing, and as disordered eating as emotional eating (both ends of the scale). Food lets you manipulate your body and do things with it you never thought possible. Food is your friend. I've learned just the tiniest bit about food so far and I'm already impressed (and overwhelmed).
Here's the equation to figure out what and how much of each of the foods to eat: There is none.
In my opinion here's the "secret" to losing weight which is not highly commercialized because it would make for a very short book: There is none. You should eat what your body needs. You should exercise what your body needs. Only YOU can decide how many calories YOU need for your GOALS. We could both be 100 lbs and eat the same exact thing and you could gain 5 lbs and I could lose 5 lbs and then go in reverse the following week. I can't tell you how much per day or cups or restrictions because there are none and it all depends on you.
Here's what I do. And this is not to tell you what you should do, but it illustrates the thought process that I go through.
I go to http://www.24hourfitness.com/resources/fitness_tools/ and use the last one, daily calorie calculator. My lowest weight has been 170.5 lbs (attained Friday the 18th) and now I'm at 171, so I "gained" half a lb in over a week and haven't lost (and trust me, I have to work as hard as anyone else not to freak out over something like that). I personally use the lowest attained weight because usually I don't fluctuate too much away from it. So if I plug in 170 5'4" 31-year-old female with the LOWEST amount of physical activity, I get that I burn 2044 calories a day, or 14308 a week. This has been one of my lightest weeks at the gym with 12 classes and I usually do around 18-20, so why put Light activity? Because I keep track of my exercise calories manually so I don't count them as part of this.
I used to strive for a 7k caloric deficit but I'm leaning away from caloric deficits and just paying attention to two things: What should I eat and how much. So I still do the equation but it's more for my records than anything else.
The equation is pretty much
caloric deficit = calories burned at rest + net calories exercised - food consumed
Let's say I burn 500 calories in a one-hour Zumba class. If I had stayed home and posted on Facebook, I would have still burned SOMEthing. So Zumba didn't really make me burn 500 calories. If you take 2044/24, that's about 85.17 calories burned an hour. So I really burned 414.83 BECAUSE of Zumba. That's net calories. If you use calories burned at rest, using net calories burned at exercise will help you not to double count those calories.
How much should you eat per day? Simple: What you need. I ate 1836 calories today (and trust me, I'm trying hard not to freak out about THAT). And I didn't particularly exercise too much, just one class and 25 minutes of weights on my own. I personally subscribe to weight+0. So at 170 I should be capping out at 1700 a day. At 110 I should be capping out at 1100 per day. Someone at 200 should be capping out at 2000 per day. Is this a hard and fast rule? Nope. Is this a guideline? Not even. That's just a shot in the dark. Try it, if it works, great, if it doesn't, change it!! A lot of times I'll start the week with one goal and end it with another, having changed it in the middle of the week (like this week, goal went from 1800 to 1700). 1710 or 1770? Doesn't really matter. Even 1650 might work one day.
Also adjust to what you are doing. If you're doing a Triathlon, you're going to eat. A lot. Eat enough to sustain what you're doing that day.
So if I eat 1700 a day that's 11900 a week.
14308 - 11900 = 2408. 7000 - 2408 = 4592 for exercise to "make up." I usually do more than that. And remember that's NET exercise calories. So at 12 classes this week, I needed 4592 + (11*85.17) calories if I were eating 1700 calories a day. But don't get hung up on caloric deficits. Three apples have the same calories as a slice of cheese pizza but their effect on your body is night and day. It matters WHAT you eat and WHEN you eat it and HOW MUCH you eat. WHEN you eat it is crucial. I'm still trying to optimize my before- and post-workout meals and still get confused in the whole carbs vs. protein before or after. For myself I've found I don't really like solid food before working out, so I drink protein shakes that are low in fat. Fills me up for a couple of hours and allows me to move during class. I eat/drink something before EVERY class and 99% of the time after the class, but 100% of the time after every weights class.
So how do you figure out how much to eat? Weight+0 for a few days. Going up, going down, the same? And for G-d's sake, if you're hungry, EAT!! There's nothing worse than going hungry. Love your food, communicate with it, listen to your body and what it needs, nourish it. Food should feel like a blessing, not a curse. I've been trying to give in to cravings. One day I was craving fat and nuts so I had TWO servings of nuts which for the day was almost twice the recommended daily value. I recorded it and moved on. Weight stayed the same. Today I craved turkey footlongs on wheat, so I had that. I eat what I crave. I want a carb-heavy day, I'll have a carb-heavy day. I try to do 20% fat (fat is like water in that it lubricates your insides (I think)). You NEED FAT. Fat is good for you. In the right amount. Then I try to do 50% carbs and 30% protein. Carbs are what fuel your brain and your workouts. You NEED carbs. The right amount of carbs. The same goes for protein.
The glycemic effect works in tandem. If you eat cherries for breakfast and something high-glycemic for lunch, the cherries are still on the highway and will bottleneck the HG food. That's why they recommend and I agree that one LG food per meal is optimal to have the fat-burning effect going on all the time.
You also have to take into consideration your goals. My goal is to lose fat AND gain muscle. Let's pretend you are 100 lbs and have found that eating 1000 calories a day maintains you. How much should eat beyond the 1000 calories? 1000+however many calories you want to turn into muscle and however many classes you take.
Start listening to your body. When do you get hungry? Why? What do you eat? Does it fit your goals? Did that apple make your body happy? How do you know when you're hungry? What does hunger feel like to you? Pick any random number between 1000 and 2000 and eat that many calories, and adjust daily until you find YOUR range.
A note on food planning. I use http://www.myapex.com (the BodyBugg site) which I pay $80 a year for, and gladly, because for me it's the easiest to use. You can even create your own items and meals. I plan what I will eat the following day the night before taking into account what, how much, and when I'll be at the gym. If I'm going to go ... See Morestraight from work to the gym not only do I have to take enough food to sustain me throughout the night, but I also have to take shakes*classes taken and a protein bar if I'm doing my weights. But most days I change what I eat throughout the day. I can pretty much tell calorie and nutrient-wise how I'm doing even while not at the front of the computer. Plan ahead so that you're equipped to deal with the day ahead.
So that's that for my thoughts on food right now.
I've been feeling out of sorts this week. I'm still burning about the same amount of calories in the classes but I don't feel it like I usually do. I've been sniffling so maybe I have a cold. I don't really feel a cold, though. I just don't feel like I'm exerting enough even though the numbers have not changed downward. Even the day off didn't change that. Hopefully taking just one class today and then the rest of the day helps me recuperate.
I'm always excited for Mondays because there's a whole new fresh week. By Sunday it feels like I already used up that week.
SUNDAY 9:00a Ann TurboKick Michelle 53/555/40, 169/89, 151/80
FINALLY felt like a good workout. Calories are pretty much the same but I felt it today after a week of feeling out of sorts. Maybe it's just a cold.
Food: (going to try to hit 1800 daily)
Monday: 61 cherries (244, work), 3 SK shakes (570), cheese wrap (250), SK bar (180, after lift), 2 bananas (210), 2 egg wraps (420, afternoon, before work), total 1874. Really hungry today. Burned around 1250 netcals through exercise.
Tuesday: 2 bananas (210), 2 SK shake (380), SK protein bar (180), Cheese wrap (250), Kroger Penne 1/2 box (630), 2 peaches (160), total 1810
Wednesday: 1.5 apples (142), 3 servings whole wheat pasta (630), 2 SK protein shakes (380), 2 egg rolls (420), cheese wrap (250), total 1822
***GOING DOWN TO 1700***
Thursday: I hate food today. Macros, indexes, calories, grams, healthy. Sometimes I like writing down what to eat because after a few minutes of planning in the morning, there's no more thinking about it the rest of the day, just eating. 4 nectarines (280), cheese wrap (250), 2 egg wraps (420), SK shake (190), footlong roast beef sandwich (580), total 1720
Friday: Apple (95), Cheese wrap (250), 26 cherries (104), 2 Nectarines (140), 2 servings Pistacchios (340), 2 Special K bars (360), 2 protein shakes (380), total 1669
Saturday: 2 protein shakes (380), protein bar (180), 22 cherries (88), 7 strawberries (49), 2 turkey breast footlongs (1120), 14 cherries (56), total 1892
Sunday: 18 cherries (72), 2 banana (210), cheese wrap (250), egg wrap (210), shake (190), 2 apples (190), 2 pistacchios (340), protein bar (190), 23 cherries (92), 1744
Sunday: Still have left 3 egg wraps
1874, 1810, 1822. 1720, 1669, 1892, 1744
Food intake: 12531
Taking a weight of 170lbs, that's 2044 calories burned a day, 14308 burned a week.
14307 - 12531 = 1776
This week: 12 classes, 6334 gross cals, 675 mins, 5348 net cals
5348 +1776 = 7124
My first Zumba routine (post started 12/17/2009)
I'll chronicle here the makings of my first Zumba routine. My second Zumba routine's existence depends on how this first one turns out.
I have the song picked out: Evanescence's Bring Me To Life (which if you read the 24 classes post sounds very appropriate). It's kind of a dark song but it's catchy and people don't listen that closely to lyrics and I wanted to try something different.
I found out today there's all kind of rules to making a Zumba routine, and someone's going to let me borrow an instruction manual. First step is to learn the manual backwards and forwards.
12/20 update: Waiting for the handbook. This may be delayed a few weeks, but all systems are a go.
I have the song picked out: Evanescence's Bring Me To Life (which if you read the 24 classes post sounds very appropriate). It's kind of a dark song but it's catchy and people don't listen that closely to lyrics and I wanted to try something different.
I found out today there's all kind of rules to making a Zumba routine, and someone's going to let me borrow an instruction manual. First step is to learn the manual backwards and forwards.
12/20 update: Waiting for the handbook. This may be delayed a few weeks, but all systems are a go.
24 Turbos in a row at 24 Hour Fitness (Planning stages/idea: 12/17/09)
Not going into what a Turbo is, so this is mostly for 24HF folks who are familiar with the terminology or other people who want to Google.
Going to attempt to do 24 Turbos in a row. I don't know if I can do it. The plan is to learn the current round 38 Turbo, practice it until it's second nature, press play on the stereo, press record on the camcorder, and start with one. Then two. Then three. So on and so forth. I will keep going until I give out or until I do all 24.
If you read my posts in order you know my mantra by now. Safety first. Know your body, know your limits, live your body.
Going to ask to make a video of an instructor on Sunday doing the Turbo so that I can learn it the exact same way we do it at the gym and then see if I can borrow the music for this experiment. Going to ask the folks at my home location to borrow the Group X room for a couple of hours to do this (it should take about an hour for the Turbos plus some preparation and clean-up). So this is just the beginning/planning stages. Will keep updating this as I prepare for it. Will videotape it and put it on YouTube and link here and on Facebook.
Why? Because I can.
Going to attempt to do 24 Turbos in a row. I don't know if I can do it. The plan is to learn the current round 38 Turbo, practice it until it's second nature, press play on the stereo, press record on the camcorder, and start with one. Then two. Then three. So on and so forth. I will keep going until I give out or until I do all 24.
If you read my posts in order you know my mantra by now. Safety first. Know your body, know your limits, live your body.
Going to ask to make a video of an instructor on Sunday doing the Turbo so that I can learn it the exact same way we do it at the gym and then see if I can borrow the music for this experiment. Going to ask the folks at my home location to borrow the Group X room for a couple of hours to do this (it should take about an hour for the Turbos plus some preparation and clean-up). So this is just the beginning/planning stages. Will keep updating this as I prepare for it. Will videotape it and put it on YouTube and link here and on Facebook.
Why? Because I can.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
24 Classes In One Week at 24 Hour Fitness - just the workouts and the food.
Had at least 16oz of water per class.
#1 MONDAY 9a Ann Zumba Michele 58/594/40, 163/86, 149/79 (32 oz water)
#2 MONDAY Noon Agassi 24Lift Wendy 56/398/55, 142/75, 122/65 (16 oz water)
#3 MONDAY 5.30p Sahara Zumba Pam B. 39/386/40, 164/87, 147/78 (32 oz water)
#4 MONDAY 7p 24HF TurboKick Nicola 54/459/50, 152/80, 135/71 (16 oz water)
#5 TUESDAY 9a 24HF TurboKick Kathy T. 56/561/40, 166/88, 146/77 (32 oz water)
#6 TUESDAY 10a 24HF Pilates Rachel 55/273/60, 135/71, 106/56 (32 oz water)
#7 TUESDAY 6.30p Craig Turbokick Donalin 57/531/40, 166/88, 141/75 (16 oz water)
#8 TUESDAY 7.30p Craig Yoga Rabeeyah 56/187/60, 112/59, 94/50 (16 oz water)
#9 WEDNESDAY 8a Ann Cycle Dallas 56/491/45, 458/84, 136/72 (16oz water)
#10 WEDNESDAY 10a Sahara Zumba Michelle R. 54/538/40162/86, 145/77 (32 oz water)
#11 WEDNESDAY Noon 24HF Zumba Nicola 55/475/50, 149/79, 134/71 (16 oz water)
#12 WEDNESDAY 6.30p Craig Zumba Donalin 54/505/45, 158/84, 141/75 (32 oz water)
#13 THURSDAY 9a Agassi TurboKick Rachel 55/535/45, 161/85, 144/76
#14 THURSDAY 10:30a Craig Zumba Connie 44/411/45, 155/82, 141/75
#15 THURSDAY Noon 24HF 24Lift Rachel 59/377/60, 139/74, 116/61
#16 THURSDAY 4:30p 24HF Zumba Nicola 56/523/45, 153/81, 140/74
#17 THURSDAY 5.30p 24HF TurboKick Wendy 54/384/55, 142/75, 122/65
#18 FRIDAY 5.30 Ann 24Cycle Kerri 55/415/55, 148/78, 126/67 (16oz water)
#19 FRIDAY 8a Ann 24Cycle Dallas 58/511/45, 158/84, 138/73, 32 oz water
#20 FRIDAY 10a Agassi Zumba Pam B. 60/578/45, 162/86, 144/76
#21 FRIDAY 5:45p Craig Zumba Donalin - Argh, forgot my heart rate monitor strap. So no stats. But it was a good class, going to call it 500 calories. (32 oz water)
#22 SATURDAY 9a Sahara 24Cycle Kurt 57/410/55, 147/78, 125/66 (the monitor had trouble reading my heartbeat so I'm estimating 100 calories more than that burned but not counting it for the calculations, just the 410) (16 oz water)
#23 SATURDAY 10a Sahara TurboKick Pam B. 57/417/55 (16 oz water)
#24 SATURDAY 11a Sahara 24Lift Pam B. 47/247/60, 127/67, 107/57 (16 oz water)
Some final calculations:
Food recap:
Monday: 1120 2 footlongs, 700 4 protein bars, 240 2 Bananas, 2060 total
Tuesday: 1120 2 footlongs, 700 4 protein bars, 240 2 Bananas, 2060 total
Wednesday: 3 bananas, 2 cheese wraps, 5 protein bars 1760 total
Thursday: 2 subs 1120, 2 bananas 240, 3 protein bars 540, egg wrap 200, total 2100
Friday: 4 protein bars, 3 egg wraps, sub, 1880 total
Saturday: 5 protein bars (900), sub (560), egg wrap (200), 1650 total
Sunday: 4 egg wraps (800), 2 protein bars (360), 2 cheese wraps, 1660 total
Total consumption = 13170
Total burned = 24 classes, 1300 minutes, 10706 gross calories, 8808 net calories.
I forgot my monitor to one class, Zumba, so I put in 500 calories and 60 minutes for that one.
2066 calories burned a day at rest, 14462 per week.
Total caloric deficit for the week: 14662 + 8808 - 13170 = 10300
Sunday, December 6, 2009
24 Classes In One Week at 24 Hour Fitness - the running commentary,
The class info is throughout the commentary in bold and numbered, just scroll down until you see rows of numbers.
If you just want to take a look at the workouts I'll do another post with just the workout stats and without the commentary once the week is done. Or just skip the ramblings and go for the bolded lines in this post.
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Sunday, 12/06/09, 2:18p
I am going to write in this post as the classes and week go by. My biggest challenge is going to be sleeping, actually.
I have a bit of a cold but I researched a bit and they say it's fine to exercise if all your symptoms are from the neck up... i.e. congestion, coughing, sore throat (I know, I know, they start in the chest, but are mostly manifested from the neck up). Symptoms from the neck down (i.e. upset stomach) mean skip the gym. I only have symptoms from the neck up, and mild at that. I've been exercising this week and this cold started around Wednesday. Fever is an immediate stop.
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Before we get started (well, I'm actually writing this on Thursday, but let's pretend), here's an explanation of what the numbers mean.
#1 MONDAY 9a Ann Zumba Michele 58/594/40, 163/86, 149/79 (32 oz water)
I keep track of times, location, and instructor for a few reasons. One day I will have a bunch of data for a spreadsheet and will be able to see trends; who gives more calories per minute, do I burn more in the day or at night, did I burn more on a Zumba class because of a new instructor or location? (I find that sometimes just taking a new class will spike up the calories just from the excitement).
The numbers right after the instructor are minutes, calories, and % fat burned. So the class lasted 58 minutes, I burned 594 calories, and 40% of those calories were fat (the rest were carbs and protein). My max heart rate was 163, or 86%, and my average heart rate was 149, or 79%.
I've kept daily track of these numbers for months now. I use a Polar Heart Rate Monitor. Getting a BodyBugg on 1/8!!
Now something important to note is that I burned 594 calories during that class, but I would have burned SOMEthing if I just laid in bed. I burn around 1.46 calories per minute at rest (based on current weight), so in 58 minutes I burn around 85 calories. So I subtract that from the 594 (what I call gross cals) and that yields 509 net cals, or what I burned extra because of the exercise. Since I calculate what I burn at rest weekly, this helps insure I don't double count calories burned.
MONDAY
Going to simplify the food and not cook this week. This is going to be my daily consumption. The protein bars and bananas will be for work and in-between classes.
1120 2 footlongs
700 4 protein bars
240 2 Bananas
2060 calories a day
Estimating 500 calories burned per class (it's going to be more than that and I will increase my consumption accordingly to hit 10k caloric deficit this week), that's 12k gross calories.
Based on 173 lbs, 2066 cals burned a day, 1.44 cals burned a minute at rest, 87 cals burned an hour at rest, 87*24 = 2088 I would burn in 24 hours at rest, taken from 12k, that's 12000 - 2088 = 9912 estimated net calories burned in those 24 classes.
Based on 173 lbs, estimating 14462 cals burned a week - 14210 daily consumtion + 9912 net cals burned = 10164
I pretty much plan to eat what I burn at rest and rely on exercise alone for my caloric deficit this week, whatever that is. It's going to be 8000-10000.
Getting excited !! Got thermometer in hand and am monitoring my temperature regularly. Perfect so far. And the cold seems to be getting better.
By the way, I don't go halfsies on class. I give my all in each class. I'm not going to cheat and lazy my way through the classes, I'm going full force on each one.
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These are the people that are going to make the magic happen!!
(by the way, I work the regular 40-hours this week).
MONDAY
Protein bar at work CHECK
Protein bar right before Zumba CHECK
Right before Zumba - feeling awesome, temperature completely normal, all full of energy and ready to go to class 1 of 24. And it's ZUMBA, my favorite class. Awesome.
#1 MONDAY 9a Ann Zumba Michele 58/594/40, 163/86, 149/79 (32 oz water)
Some classes will give more than 500 and some less. But it should even out to 500 per class. Pilates, Yoga, 3 lifts, and 3 45-min classes should yield an average of 370 or so, and all the other classes should be over 500.
One down, 23 to go. I may just be able to pull this off. It's chipping away slowly as a stone slab and making something appear. 45 minutes until I have to leave for Lift. This Sunday I have to do something and can't take any classes so I'm squeezing them into six days.
Protein bar right before Lift CHECK
#2 MONDAY Noon Agassi 24Lift Wendy 56/398/55, 142/75, 122/65 (16 oz water)
Sub (CHECK)
Sleep 2-5p CHECK (more like just over 2 hours, but happy I got to sleep)
Banana CHECK
#3 MONDAY 5.30p Sahara Zumba Pam B. 39/386/40, 164/87, 147/78 (32 oz water)
Banana CHECK
#4 MONDAY 7p 24HF TurboKick Nicola 54/459/50, 152/80, 135/71 (16 oz water)
Sub CHECK
Protein bar CHECK
Right after Nicola. I am feeling it. I had such a good workout at 24Lift that my muscles are all achy. But a good achy. Definitely better to keep eating throughout the classes and I think the banana is a wonderful mid-classes meal. Tired but good. I may just get through this. The harder it gets the more I want to do it. Muscles only hurt when I move them, so that's good, I get my roller massager Wednesday, that should help.
I'm a bit under 500 calories per class but today was my only 45-minute class of the week and I had a Lift, which is always lower calorie. Two more lifts, a Pilates, and two Yogas are my low-calorie classes, and that leaves 15 high-intensity cardio classes to make it up. I think I will hit the 12k gross calories burned.
Brain functions better if I feed it in-between classes, especially carbs. And sleep is always good.
I usually do over 500 in TKB, so my performance did suffer a bit. But it all averages out.
MONDAY NIGHT - tomorrow should be fairly easy. Two classes, then a good 4 hours of sleep, then two more with an hour in-between. I should do around 1850 calories tomorrow since I have Pilates.
Slept about half an hour more on Monday night before going to work. It really does zap your energy. Now I know what the meaning of exhaustion is, but a level of exhaustion you can feel in your bones. Cold (the sniffles kind) is I think better. It's not worse, that's for sure.
Did well on my water, 96 oz for the day.
It was a miserable day. It rained and rained and rained. Wendy told me about Pam teaching Zumba Monday nights so I decided to make that a class. I've gone to that location a couple of times before but missed the gym because of the dark and the rain but finally got there after a U-turn and a kind driver-by. Took me 10 more minutes than usual (almost 40 minutes). Dark and wet, not like Las Vegas at all.
Planning food for tomorrow.
Throughout the night at work: It's weird how I can feel my body "healing" throughout the night. I had some neck pain a couple of weeks ago (I go to the gym an average of 10-12 hours a week and where do I hurt my neck? Sleeping) and could feel the pain slowly going away at work. Tonight I can feel my body slowly coming back to full force. Can't wait for TKB now to go all out. Both of them. But by Donalin's I'll probably be exhausted again so I'll have to make Kathy's count. On Wednesday I have to get to Sports Authority and get me a gel seat for the two cycle classes on Thursday. I took one spin class and I couldn't sit well for a week. I think I would enjoy it more and go more if I had a gel seat. Might as well pick up the barbell padding and wrist supports for 24Lift at the same time. I have a Mongoose bike I bought back in 1999 that has an excellent frame, before Mongoose went Huffy. New tires and good as new. Once I get in a bit better shape I want to do beginner bike trails. There's quite a few in Las Vegas.
Now I'm not worried that I can do this. Now I'm worried that I'm going to want to do it again. I won't be able to do it for a while because of other stuff I have to do like errands and such, but maybe once every couple of months. To switch it up next week I was planning on taking as many "new" instructors as I could. I reached the saturation mark - more instructors I like than classes I can comfortably take a week (just because of time constraints... 12 is about a good number I can take a week and have time for everything else). And I haven't tried everybody. So I'll start rotating people. But I want to try everybody at least once. I'm taking seven new people this week, which now that I count it is quite a lot.
I don't think I can emphasize enough what a journey of discovery this is. It's discovering your true self, basically. It's pushing yourself. It's different if you have been skinny before and got overweight. But if you're never been skinny, you're entering undiscovered territory. I've lost 42 lbs so far. In 2004 I lost 47.5 lbs doing the South Beach Diet - NO exercise. And gained it all back. So weight-loss-wise, I'm almost at the same point. But I started at 230 lbs then and went to 182.5 lbs. So I've never been at my current weight (well, maybe when I was ten). Physically I can do things I've -never- been able to do before. There's a huge difference between doing things you haven't been able to do in years and doing things you've never been able to do before. It's one thing if you're talking about visiting Europe, and another when it comes to how you're able to move and what you can physically do. I'm like a kid with a new toy. I want to use it, I want to see what it can do, I want to take it through all its functions. THAT'S the WHY in the why am I doing this. There's a bit of regret I didn't start this when I was 14 or so, but it's overshadowed by the world of possibilities that just opened up to me.
Am I overdoing it? Define overdoing it. I just think I'm doing it to the max. I'll be the first one to throw in the towel if I bite more than I can chew. If I push my body more than it can take, all it will do is break and THEN I'll be missing the gym for a while. So for me it's better to miss a day or two or four than be sidelined for weeks. I hurt my neck sleeping so I skipped a day at the gym. I hated it, but would have hated missing a week more. There are things you can do that will go a LONG WAY towards letting you push your body beyond what it regularly does. Sleeping, drinking lots of water, and feeding it a lot of good calories, especially in-between classes. And all these are changes I've done by doing it wrong the first time.
Do you get the feeling sometimes that you KNOW your life is changing, but you don't really have a grasp on the magnitude of the change and it's one of those things that will just become apparent years later?
Early Tuesday morning. Getting better and better. Ready to go full force on TK. Two protein bars so far, waiting until 8a or so for the third, and then the fourth and last protein bar in-between classes.
At work: PROTEIN BAR + PROTEIN BAR ///// CHECK and CHECK
PROTEIN BAR CHECK
#5 TUESDAY 9a 24HF TurboKick Kathy T. 56/561/40, 166/88, 146/77 (32 oz water)
BANANA CHECK
#6 TUESDAY 10a 24HF Pilates Rachel 55/273/60, 135/71, 106/56 (32 oz water)
1/2 SUB CHECK
1p to 4p - sleep
1/2 SUB
12:20p TUESDAY - Feeling pretty good, actually. I'm a quarter of the way done and will be a third of the way done by the end of the day. This is easier than I thought. Cold holding steady, no fever. A little fatigued. Area right above knees sore (lower part of quads) but I think that's all the way from Sunday. That's about the only soreness I have, and it's not too bad. I definitely will be doing this again. Constant feeding, watering, and sleeping definitely does help.
#7 TUESDAY 6.30p Craig Turbokick Donalin 57/531/40, 166/88, 141/75 (16 oz water)
#8 TUESDAY 7.30p Craig Yoga Rabeeyah 56/187/60, 112/59, 94/50 (16 oz water)
BANANA (CHECK)
SUB (CHECK)
TUESDAY NIGHT: A third of the way through. Feel good. Nothing particularly sore, legs back at full force, another day of rest before Lift on Thursday. Pleased with TK results today, second one was almost as high calorie-wise as first one, which is great.
Hate Yoga. Took it three years ago or so and hated it. Took it today and hated it. I just don't like Yoga. I'm going to try and see if I can get rid of the other two Yoga classes this week and shift things around, if I can't replace them to get 24 classes I may be stuck. I think I'm definitely going to switch one for Connie's Zumba and try to weasel out of the other one. I just really hate Yoga. Karen's highly recommended (not the instructor I had today) by more than one person so next week I will go to her class but if I still hate it, that's it for Yoga. Hate it hate it hate it hate it.
Stats so far: 8 classes, 7 hours 6 minutes, 3389 calories. I should have been at 4000 calories, so I will adjust the eating. That's 611 calories less than forecasted (thanks to a sub-200 Yoga and a low Lift and Pilates), times three it's 1833, divided by 5 it's about 367 less calories a day, 2060 - 367 = 1693 calories a day for the rest of the week. Will re-calculate after 8 more classes, and try to have the total caloric deficit right around 10k.
Zumba day tomorrow. Awesome. Can't wait!! Another 4-class day, no biggie. Off to see if I can replace the 8a Yoga. Did I mention I hate Yoga?
Edit Goodbye Yoga, Hello Cycle!!
Modified diet:
4 protein bars (720)
3 bananas (360)
3 egg wraps (600)
1680 calories. Will do tomorrow's eating schedule later today. (Edit: Done).
I drank 16 oz of water at work before midnight, so that's 7 16-oz water bottles or 112 oz, beating the 96 oz I had yesterday. So yesterday I drank 6 lbs of water and today I drank 7. I actually weighed a bottle of water a couple of months ago, 16 oz is 1 lb. I had reached a milestone, 173 lbs. Milestone because at 174lbs I went from Obese to Overweight. But since then I went up to 175.5lbs. They keep telling me it's because of all the water I started drinking (from 32-48 oz to 96-100+ oz) and because I started doing the weights. I did three things with the weights. 1. I separated them so I have one and two days in between and no days in a row. I increased my daily intake from 1100 (eating just when I was hungry) to 1600, and 3. I doubled the weights and have set it up so that I get exhausted before the timer runs out. So far I think I notice a difference after three lift days. I think this is going to be good.
I'll take a little detour and write some musings about the group fitness classes. As part of the New Member Rewards program to get a free Body Bugg, I wrote this about my first Group X class:
Submit Date: 2009-09-02
Date Attended: 2009-09-01 09:00:00
Class Type: Cardio
Class Name: Turbo Kick Box
Instructor's Name: The class schedule says Kelly, I didn't ask her name.
Attend Again?: Yes
Like to See: I was very impressed with my first class (I joined 24HF two months ago). I didn't know it was going to be this much fun. I plan to try out all the available classes and this first one is definitely going to be a keeper. I'd love to see just any other class, because the more the variety, the better it is. I love that's there's resistance training classes.
Tuesdays at 9a is now a regular slot for me with Kathy, so that means there was a sub that day. I've tried to lose weight before, and one of those times I went to a group class and was so out of shape I didn't go back and it was a horrible experience. This time around, I did some cardio and weights on my own and a DVD at home during July and August, and that built me up a bit. I don't know if it was that or the instructor or new classes or a combination of everything, but I've been hooked on Group X classes from day 1. From the first second. And I wonder if I had had a different instructor or had tried a different class first whether things might have been different. I think I found Kelly, at least I found A Kelly that has subbed at Cheyenne, she's going to check if it was her. That Kelly that taught that day and Group X classes in general may have saved my life, literally. I was just looking at picturs at my heaviest weight and I don't ever remember being that fat and pudgy and soft. How did I ever get that big? I looked fatter than I remember or felt. I don't like cardio or doing weights outside of GX classes and honestly I don't think I would have stuck with it. Group X classes are the one thing that have worked for me exercise wise. I look forward to going to the gym. I hate it when I have to skip a day. How powerful is that, that one person can change another person's life so dramatically for the better?
I thought about becoming a Group X instructor, but I don't think I'm going to do it for a multitude of reasons. First and foremost, while I don't freak out in public, I don't particular enjoy having a bunch of people looking at me at the same time. I don't mind being part of a crowd, but I don't want to be the center of attention of a crowd. I have horrible stage fright. And I guess I could get over that and get used to it, but I like to just go and have FUN and not have to worry about anything but follow the person in front of me. It's relaxing and I have a great time. I think that would change if I became an instructor. So I decided to just keep taking them.
I HAVE thought about becoming a personal trainer, and this I will be giving some more thought. Here are some of my thoughts on personal trainers. There are a lot of trainers who they themselves transformed their bodies, so they recommend that same program to other people. And people go to trainers to be given a program. I'm not like that. I studied and read and learned and researched and little by little started learning stuff (for example, did you know muscles retain water after being worked out? I had no idea... learned that yesterday and I've been working out for over five months). I came up with an exercise and nutrition regime. It seems to work for me. So when I go to a trainer, I want them to be a background player, not front and center. I want them to examine my exercise and nutrition logs and results and tweak to make it even better and make suggestions and assess my strengths and weaknesses and suggest ways to work on my weaknesses. I want them to ask why I resist some advice, what has worked for me in the past and now, and what hasn't. This time around the one thing I made sure I did was not repeat things that hadn't worked in the past. Taking group classes the first day, for example. And another thing that has hugely helped is that I modified exercises in class to adapt to whatever my current level was/is. In Lift I'd do alternate exercises that work out the same muscle group. Now that I'm in better shape I tend to take it up a notch sometimes from what the rest of the class is doing and no one seems to mind... i.e. adding jumps to the exercise. I like that I can tailor the workout. So a trainer should work for the client, not have the client just come and follow their program. It's funny because I still am fat so I think a lot of people dismiss what I have to say about exercise and health.
I do try not to be preachy. There's nothing that makes me better than anyone else, so I haven't and I would never come out and tell a person with some extra weight what to do. Even when I'm asked directly I just tell people to try different things and do what works for them. There is ONE thing that I WILL preach about. Whatever you do, do something that's FUN for you. Exercise SHOULD BE FUN. There are SO MANY ways to lose weight, don't do what "should" be done or the "right" way to lose weight. There IS no right way. Machines, running, sports, group classes. Do what works FOR YOU. And HAVE FUN. If you have fun, you will continue it, and you will lose the weight. Don't exercise in a way that's boring for you. That is the one rule I have about fitness.
I was at the bank today and there was a heavy woman dragging around a chair with her to the teller window. I wanted to know if she had health and medical issues, if she had any preexisting medical conditions, but mostly, I thought it was sad and I wanted to help. For someone with mobility issues water-based fitness would probably be a good start. Or just food manipulation at the beginning. I want everybody to be thin, but there's nothing separating me from them and I've been overweight 31 years, so I keep it to myself. But it's thoughts like these that make me think something fitness-related is in my future. There's a way to work around any obstacles and get the results wanted. I don't understand motivation. Why did I lose weight now? I don't know. I don't know why I stuck with it now. I don't know what motivated me. And since I don't know what motivated me I don't know how to bottle it and spread it around.
AT WORK: PROTEIN BAR X 3 CHECK
WEDNESDAY MORNING: All ready to go, no fatigue and no soreness. I'm going to forego the gel seat just because I don't have time to get one. I'm going to start going to cycle classes and hopefully I just get used to the seat.
PROTEIN BAR CHECK
#9 WEDNESDAY 8a Ann Cycle Dallas 56/491/45, 458/84, 136/72 (16oz water)
PROTEIN BAR CHECK
#10 WEDNESDAY 10a Sahara Zumba Michelle R. 54/538/40162/86, 145/77 (32 oz water)
BANANA CHECK
#11 WEDNESDAY Noon 24HF Zumba Nicola 55/475/50, 149/79, 134/71 (16 oz water)
2 CHEESE WRAPS CHECK
#12 WEDNESDAY 6.30p Craig Zumba Donalin 54/505/45, 158/84, 141/75 (32 oz water)
BANANA X 2 CHECK
Rest of the day and night - sleep
1760 calories.
Some calculations first and then on to the commentary. Monday+Tuesday 2060 calories and today 1760 calories. Total 5880.
2066 calories burned a day. That's 14462 for the week. If I eat 2000 the rest of the week, that's 8000+5880 or 13880. 582 caloric deficit. To hit 10k, that means I need 9418 more calories.
Numbers so far. 12 classes, 643 minutes, 5398 gross calories, 4459 net calories. 9418 - 4459 = 4959 more.
I have the following 13 classes left:
Zumba X 4
TurboKick X 3
Lift X 2
Cycle X 3
Assuming Lift gives me 350 calories and everything else gives me 500, that's 5850 - (1.46*(12*60)) = 4798
4959 - 4798 = 161 caloric surplus. Going to eat 2000 on Thursday-Sunday and adjust Sunday what I need to hit 10k, which shouldn't be more than 100-200 calories.
So this morning I did my second cycling class and it was absolutely wonderful and invigorating and gave me a great high. And I wasn't sore afterwards. There's two outcomes to working muscles. You're either sore after class and slowly get better or are not sore after class and then wake up in agony the next day. I'd rather be sore right away.
So I drove to the other gym for Zumba and I got there early, and the instructor came out and invited me in for the last 10 minutes of abs. As soon as I started working out my abs and legs, I felt it. A lot.
Zumba was good. Then drove over to the other gym for the second of three Zumbas for today. I wasn't able to hit 500. I was just beat. But I got close enough. I'm starting to feel fatigued. Just one more class today and then sleep A LOT tonight. I think in 4 hours I'll be rested enough for the class.
Cycling was just amazing and I plan to make it a regular class. It is a great workout and it was FUN and LOUD and INVIGORATING.
Doing good on water, 64 oz so far, 32 more with Donalin should put me at 96. If I drink 96 oz a day (6 lbs), at the end of the six workout days I would have drank 36 lbs of water. I shudder to look at my weight. I keep hoping I'm not getting fatter and it's just all water weight. I think I'm back to obese because of the extra water. Hopefully it stabilizes sooner or later.
Definitely feeling the fatigue now. But Monday and Tuesday were my barely sleep days, and the rest of the week are my sleep a lot days. That should help a lot. So far haven't broken any of my rules. Cold holding steady, no fever.
HALFWAY !!!!!!!!!!
12 classes, 643 minutes, 5398 gross calories, 4459 net calories.
I estimated 6000 gross calories but Yoga, Pilates, and Lift brought me down. Not by much, though. I thought Zumba and Kickbox would give me closer to 600 but they've been giving me around 500. Happy with that, though. Performance HAS to suffer as you add classes to it, but I'm happy with the numbers I'm left with.
5 classes, then 4, then 3, ten off Sunday. Tomorrow is the biggie. But one of them is Lift. I should be ok. It's three classes then two. Just noticed how it's TK Zumba Lift Zumba TK. I've taken five classes once before and had a major energy crash afterwards but I hadn't slept for 24 hours and didn't eat between classes. Changing that this time. Sleeping a lot tonight, then eating a good breakfast, taking some bananas with me to munch in-between classes, and drinking plenty of water. Friday and Saturday shouldn't been too hard. This has been a blast. The working out has been a piece of cake, it's the scheduling that's a nightmare.
Slept a couple of hours before tonight's Zumba and that helped a lot, got rid of the fatigue, so I'm thinking the fatigue from last time was just the lack of sleep. Was all refreshed for Zumba tonight (but still only pulled 500 which means energy only goes so far). Felt a lot better than at Nicola's Zumba, though, after that rest.
After this I ran out of ideas how to spice up the workouts. I guess next up will just be going harder on the classes. Still feeling the rush from cycling this morning. I'm going to take up mountain biking soon (beginner trails). My muscles are asking for some Lift. They're ready to rip it up tomorrow. Had a couple of days without weights and now they're antsy. I noticed that Zumba really uses the leg muscles, though. I can definitely feel them during Zumba.
I'm really happy with the difference in the cycle class. Everything has been so gradual that I'm sure I'm in better physical shape than when I started but taking two spin classes a couple of months apart really showed the physical progress.
THURSDAY MORNING - about to start my "hard" day. I've done Rachel/Connie/Rachel and Nicola/Wendy before, just not in the same day. And I've done five classes in a single day before. So nothing new. I did sleep about eight hours yesterday, so I'm all refreshed. Had some Egg Beaters and a Flatout Bread Light. Going to eat three protein bars and take one after each of the first three classes it and then do bananas for the other two, because I want a lot of protein for Lift.
Not too sore. We spent most of the bike time off the seat so that doesn't hurt a whole lot. I have some soreness right above my knees in the lower part of my quads. Do feel a little tired, but maybe it's just because I just woke up less than an hour ago.
I stopped doing Lift for 2-3 weeks because I wanted to do a split-muscle-groups weights routine at home but never got around to it so I re-introduced Lift last Thursday, and I doubled up on the weights. I also started drinking 96+ oz of water a day this week. So I had reached a low of 173lbs (and below the 174lbs threshold for Obese) and all of that ballooned me to 178 lbs. Finally going down again, 176.5 lbs now. So water CAN make you obese!! (wink)
Just waiting for the water to normalize and the scale to show the work I've put in this week. Although I increased the eating to keep it at the same caloric difference than other weeks because it's not about losing weight this week but just about doing the classes and building my body up enough to get through them without a problem.
Off to TurboKick!
Egg Beaters and Flatout Bread Light
#13 THURSDAY 9a Agassi TurboKick Rachel 55/535/45, 161/85, 144/76
PROTEIN BAR
#14 THURSDAY 10:30a Craig Zumba Connie 44/411/45, 155/82, 141/75
PROTEIN BAR
#15 THURSDAY Noon 24HF 24Lift Rachel 59/377/60, 139/74, 116/61
PROTEIN BAR
FOOTLONG SUB (turkey breast on wheat, same sub I've been having all week, 560 calories).
So far so good. Just two more classes. Got a nice little break right now. I noticed during TK and Zumba that my leg kind of gave up a little and I had to do a double step. Good to know, I'm going to have to watch it this afternoon. It underscores the difference between energy and physicality. You can be full of energy and still have problems moving.
Cold's still the same. But I haven't really felt it, so from now on if I have any neck-up colds, I'm going to work out through them. I barely feel the cold while working out.
15 down, 9 to go. I may very well do this. Body's holding up well. Other than the effects from the cycle class, nothing really hurts. I'm really enjoying Lift with the extra weight, and I feel great afterwards, I feel strong. I think I can see a difference after one week. Doing 30 for squats and 20 for everything else. When I started I was doing 5 total for everything. I think I feel my legs tightening up. I think I'm going to be stuck at the weight I'm on for a couple of weeks and once my body stops retaining water I'm going to lose like 8 lbs or so and show the results of the work I'm putting in now. Couple of hours rest before the next class.
Still waiting for weight to stabilize from the water. 5 lbs/80 oz so far today, and least 48 more oz to go.
#16 THURSDAY 4:30p 24HF Zumba Nicola 56/523/45, 153/81, 140/74
#17 THURSDAY 5.30p 24HF TurboKick Wendy 54/384/55, 142/75, 122/65
Can't remember how many oz of water but at least 16oz each, so let's call it 32oz water for both.
Rest of day and night - sleep
THURSDAY NIGHT - finally felt it during Wendy's. The back of my lower knee hurts when I extend it, hoping rest tonight will take care of it, so I dropped the kicks and left it at just knees. Hope my body holds out. I want to compare Wendy with my fifth class of the day last week.
Monday 7p 24HF TurboKick Nicola 56/442/55, 141/75, 126/67
7.89 calories a minute vs. 7.11 calories a minute. So I did worse this week. But let's compare the day's tally.
Last week: 251 minutes, 2401 calories. This week: 268 minutes, 1930 calories. Last week I had Zumba, BodyCombat, Everlast, Zumba, and TurboKick, and this week TurboKick, Zumba, Lift, Zumba, TurboKick. So the Lift will necessarily be lower. But I think the performance suffered even further because I'm 17 classes into the week as opposed to fresh out last week Monday. Still worse than I expected, 471 less calories. If you add 200 calories to the Lift, about 271 less calories if classes were about equal. So I guess this does take a toll on the body.
I felt better this time around, though. Last week on Monday my joints hurt, especially my ankles. Not so much this week, just the knee. I made sure to eat between classes and drink plenty of water and sleep and that helped a lot.
Four more tomorrow, three on Saturday, and that's it.
Food for today - 2 subs 1120, 2 bananas 240, 3 protein bars 540, egg wrap 200 = 2100.
So far for the week: 5880+2100 = 7980. Burned so far: 7628 gross calories in 909 minutes, or 6300 netcals. 2066 cals burned at rest.
2066 * 7 = 14462 + 6300 - 10000 (goal net caloric deficit) - 7980 = 2782 surplus. So in the next three days I can eat 2782 calories plus whatever I burn to hit 10k caloric deficit, and I have seven classes left, so I'm good.
#18 FRIDAY 5.30 Ann 24Cycle Kerri 55/415/55, 148/78, 126/67 (16oz water)
FRIDAY MORNING in-between classes. So I was on the bike this morning and I realized I have NO PAIN on my left knee. None and all. I can kick, I can extend, I even try to make it hurt and NOTHING, NO PAIN at all. It's amazing how the body can fully recuperate with eight hours of sleep. It is like night and day (literally). So nothing is sore right now, other than feeling some effects from the seat in cycling class. But if I start taking it 2-3 times a week every week it HAS to get better. Right? Right?? Get to have Dallas again within the hour. Dallas yells a lot. She's completely awesome. If someone yells a lot that just makes me want to break out yelling too. I'm thinking of making her Wednesday and Friday 8a classes regular classes. Today's class was different in that we did a lot of Intervals (different instructor) but Dallas just yells a lot, and that just makes her classes more full of energy.
I was thinking of doing this starting next week:
3 X Lift (est. 1050 calories)
3 X Cycle (est. 1200 calories)
1 X Pilates (est. 200 calories)
1 X Yoga (not even going to bother with the monitor)
The rest will be Zumba and TurboKick.
So that's 1050 + 1200 + 200 = 2450 - about 700 calories burned at rest, ==1750.
I burn about 2089 calories at rest or about 14623, and if I eat 1600 calories a day that's 11200 a week, with a deficit of 3423. Adding the 1750, that is 5173. To get to 10k that means I need about 10 cardio classes a week, coupled with those 8, that'd be about 18 classes a day, or 2 a day and four days of three a day. That would give me a great weekly workout. And I stay a lot for two-fers and three-fers, so that saves on time.
Off to cycle, will write more later.
#19 FRIDAY 8a Ann 24Cycle Dallas 58/511/45, 158/84, 138/73, 32 oz water
#20 FRIDAY 10a Agassi Zumba Pam B. 60/578/45, 162/86, 144/76
20 classes down, 4 to go. One today and three tomorrow. Checked temperature again and it's normal. Still have a cold but I got to say this is the most enjoyable head cold I've ever had. I've barely felt it. Other than the sniffling I wouldn't even notice I have a cold.
I was just thrilled with today's Zumba numbers. That's my highest caloric count of the week. Two things contributed to it: Taking it with an awesome instructor, and taking it next to someone I know. It just pushes you to that extra level when there's people you know around you. It elevates your spirits. The class was an absolute blast. So class #20 of the week, I had five classes yesterday, this was the third class of the day within the last five hours, and I still managed those numbers. Never underestimate the power of people.
Body's good. Holding out great. I got the spirit and the heart covered, but if the body doesn't hold up, something like this doesn't work. So I'm just thrilled that I can push my body like this and it keeps up.
I've been thinking about motivation lately. People around me (which have been very supportive, I may add... family, people at the gym, people at work, people I met through Facebook and I've never met in real life) keep congratulating me on the job I'm doing. But when they do that I feel like a faker. Because I've chosen to lose weight other times in my life and failed. But this time I didn't choose to lose weight. This wasn't a choice. I just woke up one day and started going to the gym. Didn't decide to go to the gym. Went to the gym. And I think that's a huge difference. There's no choice involved in this. This is not a choice. It's not hard. It's not difficult. It's not hard work. It's a blast and it's fun. So I can't really take credit for something I see myself as not having chosen. What makes one person do something that another won't? What motivates people? Why would someone not do something at one point in their life but they do in another?
I went through some major life changes recently (other than the eating/exercising), and that changed something in me that gives me the feeling that I'm going to do something sometimes. I KNOW I will do something, I don't think I will. I'm not going to try to do 24 classes this week. I'm going to do 24 classes this week. And I just do. It's not a choice, it's just an action. There's been a few things like that lately.
3 protein bars (one before each class), 2 egg wraps, 940 calories so far. Sub, protein bar, and egg wrap will put me at 1880 for the day.
Loving the cycling classes. Starting next week I'm going to do something like:
3 X cycle
3 X lift
1 X Pilates
3 X Zumba
3 X TurboKick
And en extra Zumba or TurboKick. About two classes a day. I want to start mountain biking and hiking soon. I learned about shoe clips today that clip to the bike. I don't go as fast as I could because I'm scared of my feet flying off the pedal harnesses. Going to get some of those biking shoes. And I need some gloves, my hands are already getting calloused after three biking classes. And a gel seat.
Off to bed until 5p.
#21 FRIDAY 5:45p Craig Zumba Donalin - Argh, forgot my heart rate monitor strap. So no stats. But it was a good class, going to call it 500 calories. (32 oz water)
8-10 sleep
21 down, 3 to go. One last hurrah. At least they're all at the same club, I think I spent an extra tank of gas driving this week.
Nothing hurts. Body feels good. I can almost touch my feet with my legs extended (which is good, means I'm getting more flexible). I've noticed a phenomenon twice. Exercise does give you a high. But too much exercise in a row can give you a crash like a sugar crash. I experienced it first last week on Monday when I took five classes in a row. And again today. But at least it waited until after Zumba to hit me full force. Now I have all night at work to recover. So far this has been a very enjoyable experience.
SATURDAY MORNING:
Three more classes to go. Nothing hugely sore, just a little ache here and there. My obliques are feeling it this morning. I think I did a lot of core work staying up on the bike. But I'm positive I can last through three more classes, so my body is holding up!! I feel lucky that I have been allowed to go through this experience. I didn't go through this experience, I was allowed to go through this experience, by whoever or whatever it is that lets life happen.
I can't underscore what a wonderful journey of discovery this has been. I've been blessed that I've been allowed to experience this. At the beginning I naively thought that I could go through this unchanged, but I should have been more specific. I hope my core doesn't change (beliefs, morality, etc.) but you can't go through an experience like this (losing weight in general) unchanged. As I've mentioned before, I've never been thin. I've never been a normal weight. I've been overweight and obese all of my life, mostly obese. So this is undiscovered territory for me. And you do change, and people around you change, and you have to adapt to a new way of life.
I feel blessed for what I have been given. I joke that I take instructors and not classes, and I mean it. I don't take Zumba, TurboKick, Lift, Cycle. I take Rachel, Kathy, Donalin, Dallas, Pam, Michelle, Michele, and so on and so forth. Something happened at the gym. I was accepted. We live in a society where fat is bad, where fat is lazy, unmotivated. Mothers point to fat people and tell their kids this is what they will become if they eat too many sweets.
But these people embraced me when I was down and fat and out of shape and gave me the greatest present of all: Life. It's one of those things that happens in your life that takes years to finally show the enormity of it all. Did I just avoid a heart attack in 20 years? Did they just give me 30 extra years of life? Did they give me 10 extra years of mobility? I feel I was given a gift unconditionally and unselfishly, and they are the only thing that could ever make get up there and teach a class. I feel an obligation to give back what I have been given, to pass it on, to spread it around. How do you even begin to thank someone for transforming your life? How many lives does it take to have made a difference in the world? Five? Ten? How about just one? How many people can say that the world is different because of them, that it's a better place? Well, at least seven. I didn't do this. I was given this. I was gifted this. And the one thing I can hope for is to emerge on the other side humble, thankful, and stronger. People tell me how inspired they are because of what I'm doing. I'm not doing anything. I'm being allowed to go through this experience. And I am enjoying each second of it. I don't understand it. Why am I here and others are not? Why were others here and I was not? Why did it take 31 years? I don't know.
Something happened a few months ago, about three weeks into the Group X classes. I had lost about 15 lbs so far or so. I fainted twice in the shower. Here's a tip: if you faint, STAY DOWN for 15 minutes or so. I'd never fainted before so I wasn't sure what was going on and when I fainted the first time I was already dragging myself back up by the time I realized what I was doing, and then I went down again. I think it was the second time that I hit my head. I was on the other end of the tub, the water was somehow off, and a bunch of stuff was on top of me. I also chipped my front tooth in the back, but you'd only notice it if I pointed it out to you. Went to the hospital and had a bunch of tests done: CAT Scan, chest X-ray, blood sugar, EKG, bloodwork. Everything was normal. Turns out that if you take a hot bath and stand up too quickly, the blood rushes from your chest to your extremities and the heart runs out of blood to pump. So the heart lets the brain know and the brain shuts everything off and plop, down you go. Circulation is restored. Perfect. Except if you hit something on the way down. I wonder if I still weighed those extra 15 lbs whether I would have suffered a fatal blow to the head. I'll never know. Is this the first of many times my weight saves my life?
I really think everything is happening right on schedule. I believe that life is pre-determined choice, however oxymoronish that sounds. I don't know how it works yet, but that's how I believe life works. I've gone to group classes before, and after the first class I wouldn't go back because I'd feel fat, out of shape, and horrible. I had many first times. This time I avoided group classes at the beginning specifically to shield myself from having that experience again. I started doing the cardio and weight machines for a little over two months. Then for 2-3 weeks I stayed home and did fitness DVDs. Then I went to my first Group X class on 9/1/09 and was completely and unequivocally hooked. From the first second. I don't think I would have stuck with this if it wasn't for the Group X classes. I hate the cardio and weight machines and the classes are ALL I do at the gym. But I think the machines and DVDs built me up enough for it. And I think taking 5 classes last week Monday prepared me for the 24 classes this week. And I think it's fate that I took 24 classes this week. I tried Cycling when I first started Group X classes in September and wasn't hooked. Didn't go back. I only took cycling classes this week to build up to the 24, because I couldn't find other classes to take. And I was hooked from the first second this time around. Maybe the 24 classes were the only way I would take a cycling class again and maybe that's what I needed to do at this point in time. Pre-determined choice. Perfect timing. Fate. Destiny. I'm just tagging along for the ride.
I wanted to comment a bit on my food logs. I write them down just to have them on record. It's not to show people how they should eat (pretty much if you've gotten ANYthing out of what I write, is that each person should find their own way...and if you didn't, there it is spelled out). For one, I don't eat vegetables. Never have my entire life. So I didn't set out to eat as healthy as possible. I set out to eat as healthy as I could, with who I am, what I have, what I can do, where I am right now. This is as good as I can do it right now. And I think that's basically why it has worked. I'm eating in a way that is decently healthy and I worked it to fit me. This is not a fad diet, this is a way I can eat for life. Same with the exercise. I built something that fits me. And I'm always looking for stuff to learn or change or adapt to make it better. I think that if instead of eating and exercising the way you "should" and instead do it the way you "can," it'll work out in the end. Please note this week I went for convenience (hence so many protein bars) because of the lack of time because of all the classes. I'll decrease the protein bars next week, and I don't usually eat subs. I'll go back to my chicken, cheese, and egg wraps.
I also wanted to touch on overdoing it. I think we get too hung up on the way things "should" be. You should take a day off. You shouldn't take more than so many classes a week. I think I've shown that there's ways to make your body work better - eat a lot and good calories, sleep, drink lots of water, modify moves to prevent injury. I want to use my body, I want to experience my body, I want to live my body. I don't think you should push yourself beyond your limit because that'll just cause injury and sideline you for weeks, but I see nothing wrong in pushing yourself TO your limit. Know your limits, know your body, know yourself, and go there. Live your body. Be safe, be careful, but don't be scared.
#22 SATURDAY 9a Sahara 24Cycle Kurt 57/410/55, 147/78, 125/66 (the monitor had trouble reading my heartbeat so I'm estimating 100 calories more than that burned but not counting it for the calculations, just the 410) (16 oz water)
#23 SATURDAY 10a Sahara TurboKick Pam B. 57/417/55 (16 oz water)
#24 SATURDAY 11a Sahara 24Lift Pam B. 47/247/60, 127/67, 107/57 (16 oz water)
Rest of day - rest, sleep, party
Some final calculations:
Food recap:
Monday: 1120 2 footlongs, 700 4 protein bars, 240 2 Bananas, 2060 total
Tuesday: 1120 2 footlongs, 700 4 protein bars, 240 2 Bananas, 2060 total
Wednesday: 3 bananas, 2 cheese wraps, 5 protein bars 1760 total
Thursday: 2 subs 1120, 2 bananas 240, 3 protein bars 540, egg wrap 200, total 2100
Friday: 4 protein bars, 3 egg wraps, sub, 1880 total
Saturday: 5 protein bars (900), sub (560), almonds (180), 1640 total
Sunday: 3 protein bars (540), almonds (180), banana and apple (150), 2 cheese wraps (500), protein bar (180), total 1550
Total consumption = 13050
Total burned = 24 classes, 1300 minutes, 10706 gross calories, 8808 net calories.
I forgot my monitor to one class, Zumba, so I put in 500 calories and 60 minutes for that one.
2066 calories burned a day at rest, 14462 per week.
Total caloric deficit for the week: 14662 + 8808 - 13050 = 10420
SUNDAY REST DAY
SATURDAY AFTERNOON - I DID IT!! 24 classes in one week at 24 Hour Fitness. Whew. The last two classes were HARD. Especially because Kurt kept saying to leave it all on the bike and take nothing home, and I had a choice whether to leave something for the other two classes or not and I didn't, I gave Kurt my all so I had barely anything left for Pam. The numbers reflect that. My monitor didn't work correctly during cycle so I'm estimating 100 more calories burned than recorded (it kept losing the heartbeat).
Core hurts a little bit when I bend, and I'm not tired in the sense of sleepy but just zapped of energy. Next class isn't until Monday at 9a so almost two full days to recover. I should be as good as new. The biggest "injury" I suffered was someone dropping a barbell on my foot during Lift set-up (thankfully without weights), but it didn't seem to leave lasting pain. On the same foot I had just used for cycling and kickboxing, no less. Too tired to get excited now, I can rejoice tomorrow.
While reading this blog the following questions may come up: Why am I writing this? What's the purpose? And what was the purpose of this crazy experience? Well, I write this blog for many reasons. First and foremost I hope to be a published author one day and part of me needs to write. It's the one thing I do not because I like it or want to but because it comes out on its own. I also write in this blog because just like a picture captures a moment in time of a person's outside, a blog captures a moment in time of a person's inside. Their thoughts, feelings, aspirations, their soul. This is a snapshot of the soul. I want to remember how I was inside as well as outside as I go through this. Third, it's just a record of the journey to have for later.
Of course I wonder if anyone will read this. Maybe, maybe not. But if anyone does read this, I want to leave you with a few departing thoughts. As of my last weigh-in today, I am 177 lbs (I had reached 173 lbs and started drinking 96 oz of water a day this week to keep up with the exercise and gained 5 lbs, then lost 1). I am technically considered Obese (starts at 175lbs). I didn't do this while fit and thin, I did this while Obese. People told me how they couldn't imagine themselves being able to do this, and I'd look at them like they were crazy. They were skinnier, fitter, and stronger than me. If I can do this, then certainly they can. I just decided one day out of the blue (Sunday, I believe) to do this and I did. I didn't think whether I could or how hard it would be, I just did. I planned the food and drinking and scheduled the classes but other than that I just showed up and gave it my all.
And why do this crazy little experiment? Because I can. And after reading this blog hopefully you have an understanding of everything that goes behind that phrase and what that phrase means.
So if you get nothing else out of this blog, get this: Pick one thing, and do it. Don't think about how hard it will be or all the things that could go wrong or how you can't do it. Don't choose to do it, don't wonder whether you can do it, just do it. Push yourself. Reach your limit. Be safe, be careful, but again, don't be scared. Know your limits and reach towards them. Don't go by what you "should" do, go by what you "can" do. Know yourself, know your body, live your body.
Update: If you want to see the aftermath of the 24 classes, check out this week's post, the one that starts 12/14. I enjoyed the extended blogging experience so much I decided to do it on a regular basis, and I talk about the 24 classes a bit in that post.
Here's the link to next week: http://fitdeb.blogspot.com/2009/12/monday-december-7th-2009-sunday.html
Going to start doing that at the end of each weekly post. Nevermind the URL, I modified the thread of the 7th to become the thread of the 14th because I was a bit busy the week of the 7th and it ended up getting its own thread.
If you just want to take a look at the workouts I'll do another post with just the workout stats and without the commentary once the week is done. Or just skip the ramblings and go for the bolded lines in this post.
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Sunday, 12/06/09, 2:18p
I am going to write in this post as the classes and week go by. My biggest challenge is going to be sleeping, actually.
I have a bit of a cold but I researched a bit and they say it's fine to exercise if all your symptoms are from the neck up... i.e. congestion, coughing, sore throat (I know, I know, they start in the chest, but are mostly manifested from the neck up). Symptoms from the neck down (i.e. upset stomach) mean skip the gym. I only have symptoms from the neck up, and mild at that. I've been exercising this week and this cold started around Wednesday. Fever is an immediate stop.
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Before we get started (well, I'm actually writing this on Thursday, but let's pretend), here's an explanation of what the numbers mean.
#1 MONDAY 9a Ann Zumba Michele 58/594/40, 163/86, 149/79 (32 oz water)
I keep track of times, location, and instructor for a few reasons. One day I will have a bunch of data for a spreadsheet and will be able to see trends; who gives more calories per minute, do I burn more in the day or at night, did I burn more on a Zumba class because of a new instructor or location? (I find that sometimes just taking a new class will spike up the calories just from the excitement).
The numbers right after the instructor are minutes, calories, and % fat burned. So the class lasted 58 minutes, I burned 594 calories, and 40% of those calories were fat (the rest were carbs and protein). My max heart rate was 163, or 86%, and my average heart rate was 149, or 79%.
I've kept daily track of these numbers for months now. I use a Polar Heart Rate Monitor. Getting a BodyBugg on 1/8!!
Now something important to note is that I burned 594 calories during that class, but I would have burned SOMEthing if I just laid in bed. I burn around 1.46 calories per minute at rest (based on current weight), so in 58 minutes I burn around 85 calories. So I subtract that from the 594 (what I call gross cals) and that yields 509 net cals, or what I burned extra because of the exercise. Since I calculate what I burn at rest weekly, this helps insure I don't double count calories burned.
MONDAY
Going to simplify the food and not cook this week. This is going to be my daily consumption. The protein bars and bananas will be for work and in-between classes.
1120 2 footlongs
700 4 protein bars
240 2 Bananas
2060 calories a day
Estimating 500 calories burned per class (it's going to be more than that and I will increase my consumption accordingly to hit 10k caloric deficit this week), that's 12k gross calories.
Based on 173 lbs, 2066 cals burned a day, 1.44 cals burned a minute at rest, 87 cals burned an hour at rest, 87*24 = 2088 I would burn in 24 hours at rest, taken from 12k, that's 12000 - 2088 = 9912 estimated net calories burned in those 24 classes.
Based on 173 lbs, estimating 14462 cals burned a week - 14210 daily consumtion + 9912 net cals burned = 10164
I pretty much plan to eat what I burn at rest and rely on exercise alone for my caloric deficit this week, whatever that is. It's going to be 8000-10000.
Getting excited !! Got thermometer in hand and am monitoring my temperature regularly. Perfect so far. And the cold seems to be getting better.
By the way, I don't go halfsies on class. I give my all in each class. I'm not going to cheat and lazy my way through the classes, I'm going full force on each one.
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These are the people that are going to make the magic happen!!
(by the way, I work the regular 40-hours this week).
MONDAY
Protein bar at work CHECK
Protein bar right before Zumba CHECK
Right before Zumba - feeling awesome, temperature completely normal, all full of energy and ready to go to class 1 of 24. And it's ZUMBA, my favorite class. Awesome.
#1 MONDAY 9a Ann Zumba Michele 58/594/40, 163/86, 149/79 (32 oz water)
Some classes will give more than 500 and some less. But it should even out to 500 per class. Pilates, Yoga, 3 lifts, and 3 45-min classes should yield an average of 370 or so, and all the other classes should be over 500.
One down, 23 to go. I may just be able to pull this off. It's chipping away slowly as a stone slab and making something appear. 45 minutes until I have to leave for Lift. This Sunday I have to do something and can't take any classes so I'm squeezing them into six days.
Protein bar right before Lift CHECK
#2 MONDAY Noon Agassi 24Lift Wendy 56/398/55, 142/75, 122/65 (16 oz water)
Sub (CHECK)
Sleep 2-5p CHECK (more like just over 2 hours, but happy I got to sleep)
Banana CHECK
#3 MONDAY 5.30p Sahara Zumba Pam B. 39/386/40, 164/87, 147/78 (32 oz water)
Banana CHECK
#4 MONDAY 7p 24HF TurboKick Nicola 54/459/50, 152/80, 135/71 (16 oz water)
Sub CHECK
Protein bar CHECK
Right after Nicola. I am feeling it. I had such a good workout at 24Lift that my muscles are all achy. But a good achy. Definitely better to keep eating throughout the classes and I think the banana is a wonderful mid-classes meal. Tired but good. I may just get through this. The harder it gets the more I want to do it. Muscles only hurt when I move them, so that's good, I get my roller massager Wednesday, that should help.
I'm a bit under 500 calories per class but today was my only 45-minute class of the week and I had a Lift, which is always lower calorie. Two more lifts, a Pilates, and two Yogas are my low-calorie classes, and that leaves 15 high-intensity cardio classes to make it up. I think I will hit the 12k gross calories burned.
Brain functions better if I feed it in-between classes, especially carbs. And sleep is always good.
I usually do over 500 in TKB, so my performance did suffer a bit. But it all averages out.
MONDAY NIGHT - tomorrow should be fairly easy. Two classes, then a good 4 hours of sleep, then two more with an hour in-between. I should do around 1850 calories tomorrow since I have Pilates.
Slept about half an hour more on Monday night before going to work. It really does zap your energy. Now I know what the meaning of exhaustion is, but a level of exhaustion you can feel in your bones. Cold (the sniffles kind) is I think better. It's not worse, that's for sure.
Did well on my water, 96 oz for the day.
It was a miserable day. It rained and rained and rained. Wendy told me about Pam teaching Zumba Monday nights so I decided to make that a class. I've gone to that location a couple of times before but missed the gym because of the dark and the rain but finally got there after a U-turn and a kind driver-by. Took me 10 more minutes than usual (almost 40 minutes). Dark and wet, not like Las Vegas at all.
Planning food for tomorrow.
Throughout the night at work: It's weird how I can feel my body "healing" throughout the night. I had some neck pain a couple of weeks ago (I go to the gym an average of 10-12 hours a week and where do I hurt my neck? Sleeping) and could feel the pain slowly going away at work. Tonight I can feel my body slowly coming back to full force. Can't wait for TKB now to go all out. Both of them. But by Donalin's I'll probably be exhausted again so I'll have to make Kathy's count. On Wednesday I have to get to Sports Authority and get me a gel seat for the two cycle classes on Thursday. I took one spin class and I couldn't sit well for a week. I think I would enjoy it more and go more if I had a gel seat. Might as well pick up the barbell padding and wrist supports for 24Lift at the same time. I have a Mongoose bike I bought back in 1999 that has an excellent frame, before Mongoose went Huffy. New tires and good as new. Once I get in a bit better shape I want to do beginner bike trails. There's quite a few in Las Vegas.
Now I'm not worried that I can do this. Now I'm worried that I'm going to want to do it again. I won't be able to do it for a while because of other stuff I have to do like errands and such, but maybe once every couple of months. To switch it up next week I was planning on taking as many "new" instructors as I could. I reached the saturation mark - more instructors I like than classes I can comfortably take a week (just because of time constraints... 12 is about a good number I can take a week and have time for everything else). And I haven't tried everybody. So I'll start rotating people. But I want to try everybody at least once. I'm taking seven new people this week, which now that I count it is quite a lot.
I don't think I can emphasize enough what a journey of discovery this is. It's discovering your true self, basically. It's pushing yourself. It's different if you have been skinny before and got overweight. But if you're never been skinny, you're entering undiscovered territory. I've lost 42 lbs so far. In 2004 I lost 47.5 lbs doing the South Beach Diet - NO exercise. And gained it all back. So weight-loss-wise, I'm almost at the same point. But I started at 230 lbs then and went to 182.5 lbs. So I've never been at my current weight (well, maybe when I was ten). Physically I can do things I've -never- been able to do before. There's a huge difference between doing things you haven't been able to do in years and doing things you've never been able to do before. It's one thing if you're talking about visiting Europe, and another when it comes to how you're able to move and what you can physically do. I'm like a kid with a new toy. I want to use it, I want to see what it can do, I want to take it through all its functions. THAT'S the WHY in the why am I doing this. There's a bit of regret I didn't start this when I was 14 or so, but it's overshadowed by the world of possibilities that just opened up to me.
Am I overdoing it? Define overdoing it. I just think I'm doing it to the max. I'll be the first one to throw in the towel if I bite more than I can chew. If I push my body more than it can take, all it will do is break and THEN I'll be missing the gym for a while. So for me it's better to miss a day or two or four than be sidelined for weeks. I hurt my neck sleeping so I skipped a day at the gym. I hated it, but would have hated missing a week more. There are things you can do that will go a LONG WAY towards letting you push your body beyond what it regularly does. Sleeping, drinking lots of water, and feeding it a lot of good calories, especially in-between classes. And all these are changes I've done by doing it wrong the first time.
Do you get the feeling sometimes that you KNOW your life is changing, but you don't really have a grasp on the magnitude of the change and it's one of those things that will just become apparent years later?
Early Tuesday morning. Getting better and better. Ready to go full force on TK. Two protein bars so far, waiting until 8a or so for the third, and then the fourth and last protein bar in-between classes.
At work: PROTEIN BAR + PROTEIN BAR ///// CHECK and CHECK
PROTEIN BAR CHECK
#5 TUESDAY 9a 24HF TurboKick Kathy T. 56/561/40, 166/88, 146/77 (32 oz water)
BANANA CHECK
#6 TUESDAY 10a 24HF Pilates Rachel 55/273/60, 135/71, 106/56 (32 oz water)
1/2 SUB CHECK
1p to 4p - sleep
1/2 SUB
12:20p TUESDAY - Feeling pretty good, actually. I'm a quarter of the way done and will be a third of the way done by the end of the day. This is easier than I thought. Cold holding steady, no fever. A little fatigued. Area right above knees sore (lower part of quads) but I think that's all the way from Sunday. That's about the only soreness I have, and it's not too bad. I definitely will be doing this again. Constant feeding, watering, and sleeping definitely does help.
#7 TUESDAY 6.30p Craig Turbokick Donalin 57/531/40, 166/88, 141/75 (16 oz water)
#8 TUESDAY 7.30p Craig Yoga Rabeeyah 56/187/60, 112/59, 94/50 (16 oz water)
BANANA (CHECK)
SUB (CHECK)
TUESDAY NIGHT: A third of the way through. Feel good. Nothing particularly sore, legs back at full force, another day of rest before Lift on Thursday. Pleased with TK results today, second one was almost as high calorie-wise as first one, which is great.
Hate Yoga. Took it three years ago or so and hated it. Took it today and hated it. I just don't like Yoga. I'm going to try and see if I can get rid of the other two Yoga classes this week and shift things around, if I can't replace them to get 24 classes I may be stuck. I think I'm definitely going to switch one for Connie's Zumba and try to weasel out of the other one. I just really hate Yoga. Karen's highly recommended (not the instructor I had today) by more than one person so next week I will go to her class but if I still hate it, that's it for Yoga. Hate it hate it hate it hate it.
Stats so far: 8 classes, 7 hours 6 minutes, 3389 calories. I should have been at 4000 calories, so I will adjust the eating. That's 611 calories less than forecasted (thanks to a sub-200 Yoga and a low Lift and Pilates), times three it's 1833, divided by 5 it's about 367 less calories a day, 2060 - 367 = 1693 calories a day for the rest of the week. Will re-calculate after 8 more classes, and try to have the total caloric deficit right around 10k.
Zumba day tomorrow. Awesome. Can't wait!! Another 4-class day, no biggie. Off to see if I can replace the 8a Yoga. Did I mention I hate Yoga?
Edit Goodbye Yoga, Hello Cycle!!
Modified diet:
4 protein bars (720)
3 bananas (360)
3 egg wraps (600)
1680 calories. Will do tomorrow's eating schedule later today. (Edit: Done).
I drank 16 oz of water at work before midnight, so that's 7 16-oz water bottles or 112 oz, beating the 96 oz I had yesterday. So yesterday I drank 6 lbs of water and today I drank 7. I actually weighed a bottle of water a couple of months ago, 16 oz is 1 lb. I had reached a milestone, 173 lbs. Milestone because at 174lbs I went from Obese to Overweight. But since then I went up to 175.5lbs. They keep telling me it's because of all the water I started drinking (from 32-48 oz to 96-100+ oz) and because I started doing the weights. I did three things with the weights. 1. I separated them so I have one and two days in between and no days in a row. I increased my daily intake from 1100 (eating just when I was hungry) to 1600, and 3. I doubled the weights and have set it up so that I get exhausted before the timer runs out. So far I think I notice a difference after three lift days. I think this is going to be good.
I'll take a little detour and write some musings about the group fitness classes. As part of the New Member Rewards program to get a free Body Bugg, I wrote this about my first Group X class:
Submit Date: 2009-09-02
Date Attended: 2009-09-01 09:00:00
Class Type: Cardio
Class Name: Turbo Kick Box
Instructor's Name: The class schedule says Kelly, I didn't ask her name.
Attend Again?: Yes
Like to See: I was very impressed with my first class (I joined 24HF two months ago). I didn't know it was going to be this much fun. I plan to try out all the available classes and this first one is definitely going to be a keeper. I'd love to see just any other class, because the more the variety, the better it is. I love that's there's resistance training classes.
Tuesdays at 9a is now a regular slot for me with Kathy, so that means there was a sub that day. I've tried to lose weight before, and one of those times I went to a group class and was so out of shape I didn't go back and it was a horrible experience. This time around, I did some cardio and weights on my own and a DVD at home during July and August, and that built me up a bit. I don't know if it was that or the instructor or new classes or a combination of everything, but I've been hooked on Group X classes from day 1. From the first second. And I wonder if I had had a different instructor or had tried a different class first whether things might have been different. I think I found Kelly, at least I found A Kelly that has subbed at Cheyenne, she's going to check if it was her. That Kelly that taught that day and Group X classes in general may have saved my life, literally. I was just looking at picturs at my heaviest weight and I don't ever remember being that fat and pudgy and soft. How did I ever get that big? I looked fatter than I remember or felt. I don't like cardio or doing weights outside of GX classes and honestly I don't think I would have stuck with it. Group X classes are the one thing that have worked for me exercise wise. I look forward to going to the gym. I hate it when I have to skip a day. How powerful is that, that one person can change another person's life so dramatically for the better?
I thought about becoming a Group X instructor, but I don't think I'm going to do it for a multitude of reasons. First and foremost, while I don't freak out in public, I don't particular enjoy having a bunch of people looking at me at the same time. I don't mind being part of a crowd, but I don't want to be the center of attention of a crowd. I have horrible stage fright. And I guess I could get over that and get used to it, but I like to just go and have FUN and not have to worry about anything but follow the person in front of me. It's relaxing and I have a great time. I think that would change if I became an instructor. So I decided to just keep taking them.
I HAVE thought about becoming a personal trainer, and this I will be giving some more thought. Here are some of my thoughts on personal trainers. There are a lot of trainers who they themselves transformed their bodies, so they recommend that same program to other people. And people go to trainers to be given a program. I'm not like that. I studied and read and learned and researched and little by little started learning stuff (for example, did you know muscles retain water after being worked out? I had no idea... learned that yesterday and I've been working out for over five months). I came up with an exercise and nutrition regime. It seems to work for me. So when I go to a trainer, I want them to be a background player, not front and center. I want them to examine my exercise and nutrition logs and results and tweak to make it even better and make suggestions and assess my strengths and weaknesses and suggest ways to work on my weaknesses. I want them to ask why I resist some advice, what has worked for me in the past and now, and what hasn't. This time around the one thing I made sure I did was not repeat things that hadn't worked in the past. Taking group classes the first day, for example. And another thing that has hugely helped is that I modified exercises in class to adapt to whatever my current level was/is. In Lift I'd do alternate exercises that work out the same muscle group. Now that I'm in better shape I tend to take it up a notch sometimes from what the rest of the class is doing and no one seems to mind... i.e. adding jumps to the exercise. I like that I can tailor the workout. So a trainer should work for the client, not have the client just come and follow their program. It's funny because I still am fat so I think a lot of people dismiss what I have to say about exercise and health.
I do try not to be preachy. There's nothing that makes me better than anyone else, so I haven't and I would never come out and tell a person with some extra weight what to do. Even when I'm asked directly I just tell people to try different things and do what works for them. There is ONE thing that I WILL preach about. Whatever you do, do something that's FUN for you. Exercise SHOULD BE FUN. There are SO MANY ways to lose weight, don't do what "should" be done or the "right" way to lose weight. There IS no right way. Machines, running, sports, group classes. Do what works FOR YOU. And HAVE FUN. If you have fun, you will continue it, and you will lose the weight. Don't exercise in a way that's boring for you. That is the one rule I have about fitness.
I was at the bank today and there was a heavy woman dragging around a chair with her to the teller window. I wanted to know if she had health and medical issues, if she had any preexisting medical conditions, but mostly, I thought it was sad and I wanted to help. For someone with mobility issues water-based fitness would probably be a good start. Or just food manipulation at the beginning. I want everybody to be thin, but there's nothing separating me from them and I've been overweight 31 years, so I keep it to myself. But it's thoughts like these that make me think something fitness-related is in my future. There's a way to work around any obstacles and get the results wanted. I don't understand motivation. Why did I lose weight now? I don't know. I don't know why I stuck with it now. I don't know what motivated me. And since I don't know what motivated me I don't know how to bottle it and spread it around.
AT WORK: PROTEIN BAR X 3 CHECK
WEDNESDAY MORNING: All ready to go, no fatigue and no soreness. I'm going to forego the gel seat just because I don't have time to get one. I'm going to start going to cycle classes and hopefully I just get used to the seat.
PROTEIN BAR CHECK
#9 WEDNESDAY 8a Ann Cycle Dallas 56/491/45, 458/84, 136/72 (16oz water)
PROTEIN BAR CHECK
#10 WEDNESDAY 10a Sahara Zumba Michelle R. 54/538/40162/86, 145/77 (32 oz water)
BANANA CHECK
#11 WEDNESDAY Noon 24HF Zumba Nicola 55/475/50, 149/79, 134/71 (16 oz water)
2 CHEESE WRAPS CHECK
#12 WEDNESDAY 6.30p Craig Zumba Donalin 54/505/45, 158/84, 141/75 (32 oz water)
BANANA X 2 CHECK
Rest of the day and night - sleep
1760 calories.
Some calculations first and then on to the commentary. Monday+Tuesday 2060 calories and today 1760 calories. Total 5880.
2066 calories burned a day. That's 14462 for the week. If I eat 2000 the rest of the week, that's 8000+5880 or 13880. 582 caloric deficit. To hit 10k, that means I need 9418 more calories.
Numbers so far. 12 classes, 643 minutes, 5398 gross calories, 4459 net calories. 9418 - 4459 = 4959 more.
I have the following 13 classes left:
Zumba X 4
TurboKick X 3
Lift X 2
Cycle X 3
Assuming Lift gives me 350 calories and everything else gives me 500, that's 5850 - (1.46*(12*60)) = 4798
4959 - 4798 = 161 caloric surplus. Going to eat 2000 on Thursday-Sunday and adjust Sunday what I need to hit 10k, which shouldn't be more than 100-200 calories.
So this morning I did my second cycling class and it was absolutely wonderful and invigorating and gave me a great high. And I wasn't sore afterwards. There's two outcomes to working muscles. You're either sore after class and slowly get better or are not sore after class and then wake up in agony the next day. I'd rather be sore right away.
So I drove to the other gym for Zumba and I got there early, and the instructor came out and invited me in for the last 10 minutes of abs. As soon as I started working out my abs and legs, I felt it. A lot.
Zumba was good. Then drove over to the other gym for the second of three Zumbas for today. I wasn't able to hit 500. I was just beat. But I got close enough. I'm starting to feel fatigued. Just one more class today and then sleep A LOT tonight. I think in 4 hours I'll be rested enough for the class.
Cycling was just amazing and I plan to make it a regular class. It is a great workout and it was FUN and LOUD and INVIGORATING.
Doing good on water, 64 oz so far, 32 more with Donalin should put me at 96. If I drink 96 oz a day (6 lbs), at the end of the six workout days I would have drank 36 lbs of water. I shudder to look at my weight. I keep hoping I'm not getting fatter and it's just all water weight. I think I'm back to obese because of the extra water. Hopefully it stabilizes sooner or later.
Definitely feeling the fatigue now. But Monday and Tuesday were my barely sleep days, and the rest of the week are my sleep a lot days. That should help a lot. So far haven't broken any of my rules. Cold holding steady, no fever.
HALFWAY !!!!!!!!!!
12 classes, 643 minutes, 5398 gross calories, 4459 net calories.
I estimated 6000 gross calories but Yoga, Pilates, and Lift brought me down. Not by much, though. I thought Zumba and Kickbox would give me closer to 600 but they've been giving me around 500. Happy with that, though. Performance HAS to suffer as you add classes to it, but I'm happy with the numbers I'm left with.
5 classes, then 4, then 3, ten off Sunday. Tomorrow is the biggie. But one of them is Lift. I should be ok. It's three classes then two. Just noticed how it's TK Zumba Lift Zumba TK. I've taken five classes once before and had a major energy crash afterwards but I hadn't slept for 24 hours and didn't eat between classes. Changing that this time. Sleeping a lot tonight, then eating a good breakfast, taking some bananas with me to munch in-between classes, and drinking plenty of water. Friday and Saturday shouldn't been too hard. This has been a blast. The working out has been a piece of cake, it's the scheduling that's a nightmare.
Slept a couple of hours before tonight's Zumba and that helped a lot, got rid of the fatigue, so I'm thinking the fatigue from last time was just the lack of sleep. Was all refreshed for Zumba tonight (but still only pulled 500 which means energy only goes so far). Felt a lot better than at Nicola's Zumba, though, after that rest.
After this I ran out of ideas how to spice up the workouts. I guess next up will just be going harder on the classes. Still feeling the rush from cycling this morning. I'm going to take up mountain biking soon (beginner trails). My muscles are asking for some Lift. They're ready to rip it up tomorrow. Had a couple of days without weights and now they're antsy. I noticed that Zumba really uses the leg muscles, though. I can definitely feel them during Zumba.
I'm really happy with the difference in the cycle class. Everything has been so gradual that I'm sure I'm in better physical shape than when I started but taking two spin classes a couple of months apart really showed the physical progress.
THURSDAY MORNING - about to start my "hard" day. I've done Rachel/Connie/Rachel and Nicola/Wendy before, just not in the same day. And I've done five classes in a single day before. So nothing new. I did sleep about eight hours yesterday, so I'm all refreshed. Had some Egg Beaters and a Flatout Bread Light. Going to eat three protein bars and take one after each of the first three classes it and then do bananas for the other two, because I want a lot of protein for Lift.
Not too sore. We spent most of the bike time off the seat so that doesn't hurt a whole lot. I have some soreness right above my knees in the lower part of my quads. Do feel a little tired, but maybe it's just because I just woke up less than an hour ago.
I stopped doing Lift for 2-3 weeks because I wanted to do a split-muscle-groups weights routine at home but never got around to it so I re-introduced Lift last Thursday, and I doubled up on the weights. I also started drinking 96+ oz of water a day this week. So I had reached a low of 173lbs (and below the 174lbs threshold for Obese) and all of that ballooned me to 178 lbs. Finally going down again, 176.5 lbs now. So water CAN make you obese!! (wink)
Just waiting for the water to normalize and the scale to show the work I've put in this week. Although I increased the eating to keep it at the same caloric difference than other weeks because it's not about losing weight this week but just about doing the classes and building my body up enough to get through them without a problem.
Off to TurboKick!
Egg Beaters and Flatout Bread Light
#13 THURSDAY 9a Agassi TurboKick Rachel 55/535/45, 161/85, 144/76
PROTEIN BAR
#14 THURSDAY 10:30a Craig Zumba Connie 44/411/45, 155/82, 141/75
PROTEIN BAR
#15 THURSDAY Noon 24HF 24Lift Rachel 59/377/60, 139/74, 116/61
PROTEIN BAR
FOOTLONG SUB (turkey breast on wheat, same sub I've been having all week, 560 calories).
So far so good. Just two more classes. Got a nice little break right now. I noticed during TK and Zumba that my leg kind of gave up a little and I had to do a double step. Good to know, I'm going to have to watch it this afternoon. It underscores the difference between energy and physicality. You can be full of energy and still have problems moving.
Cold's still the same. But I haven't really felt it, so from now on if I have any neck-up colds, I'm going to work out through them. I barely feel the cold while working out.
15 down, 9 to go. I may very well do this. Body's holding up well. Other than the effects from the cycle class, nothing really hurts. I'm really enjoying Lift with the extra weight, and I feel great afterwards, I feel strong. I think I can see a difference after one week. Doing 30 for squats and 20 for everything else. When I started I was doing 5 total for everything. I think I feel my legs tightening up. I think I'm going to be stuck at the weight I'm on for a couple of weeks and once my body stops retaining water I'm going to lose like 8 lbs or so and show the results of the work I'm putting in now. Couple of hours rest before the next class.
Still waiting for weight to stabilize from the water. 5 lbs/80 oz so far today, and least 48 more oz to go.
#16 THURSDAY 4:30p 24HF Zumba Nicola 56/523/45, 153/81, 140/74
#17 THURSDAY 5.30p 24HF TurboKick Wendy 54/384/55, 142/75, 122/65
Can't remember how many oz of water but at least 16oz each, so let's call it 32oz water for both.
Rest of day and night - sleep
THURSDAY NIGHT - finally felt it during Wendy's. The back of my lower knee hurts when I extend it, hoping rest tonight will take care of it, so I dropped the kicks and left it at just knees. Hope my body holds out. I want to compare Wendy with my fifth class of the day last week.
Monday 7p 24HF TurboKick Nicola 56/442/55, 141/75, 126/67
7.89 calories a minute vs. 7.11 calories a minute. So I did worse this week. But let's compare the day's tally.
Last week: 251 minutes, 2401 calories. This week: 268 minutes, 1930 calories. Last week I had Zumba, BodyCombat, Everlast, Zumba, and TurboKick, and this week TurboKick, Zumba, Lift, Zumba, TurboKick. So the Lift will necessarily be lower. But I think the performance suffered even further because I'm 17 classes into the week as opposed to fresh out last week Monday. Still worse than I expected, 471 less calories. If you add 200 calories to the Lift, about 271 less calories if classes were about equal. So I guess this does take a toll on the body.
I felt better this time around, though. Last week on Monday my joints hurt, especially my ankles. Not so much this week, just the knee. I made sure to eat between classes and drink plenty of water and sleep and that helped a lot.
Four more tomorrow, three on Saturday, and that's it.
Food for today - 2 subs 1120, 2 bananas 240, 3 protein bars 540, egg wrap 200 = 2100.
So far for the week: 5880+2100 = 7980. Burned so far: 7628 gross calories in 909 minutes, or 6300 netcals. 2066 cals burned at rest.
2066 * 7 = 14462 + 6300 - 10000 (goal net caloric deficit) - 7980 = 2782 surplus. So in the next three days I can eat 2782 calories plus whatever I burn to hit 10k caloric deficit, and I have seven classes left, so I'm good.
#18 FRIDAY 5.30 Ann 24Cycle Kerri 55/415/55, 148/78, 126/67 (16oz water)
FRIDAY MORNING in-between classes. So I was on the bike this morning and I realized I have NO PAIN on my left knee. None and all. I can kick, I can extend, I even try to make it hurt and NOTHING, NO PAIN at all. It's amazing how the body can fully recuperate with eight hours of sleep. It is like night and day (literally). So nothing is sore right now, other than feeling some effects from the seat in cycling class. But if I start taking it 2-3 times a week every week it HAS to get better. Right? Right?? Get to have Dallas again within the hour. Dallas yells a lot. She's completely awesome. If someone yells a lot that just makes me want to break out yelling too. I'm thinking of making her Wednesday and Friday 8a classes regular classes. Today's class was different in that we did a lot of Intervals (different instructor) but Dallas just yells a lot, and that just makes her classes more full of energy.
I was thinking of doing this starting next week:
3 X Lift (est. 1050 calories)
3 X Cycle (est. 1200 calories)
1 X Pilates (est. 200 calories)
1 X Yoga (not even going to bother with the monitor)
The rest will be Zumba and TurboKick.
So that's 1050 + 1200 + 200 = 2450 - about 700 calories burned at rest, ==1750.
I burn about 2089 calories at rest or about 14623, and if I eat 1600 calories a day that's 11200 a week, with a deficit of 3423. Adding the 1750, that is 5173. To get to 10k that means I need about 10 cardio classes a week, coupled with those 8, that'd be about 18 classes a day, or 2 a day and four days of three a day. That would give me a great weekly workout. And I stay a lot for two-fers and three-fers, so that saves on time.
Off to cycle, will write more later.
#19 FRIDAY 8a Ann 24Cycle Dallas 58/511/45, 158/84, 138/73, 32 oz water
#20 FRIDAY 10a Agassi Zumba Pam B. 60/578/45, 162/86, 144/76
20 classes down, 4 to go. One today and three tomorrow. Checked temperature again and it's normal. Still have a cold but I got to say this is the most enjoyable head cold I've ever had. I've barely felt it. Other than the sniffling I wouldn't even notice I have a cold.
I was just thrilled with today's Zumba numbers. That's my highest caloric count of the week. Two things contributed to it: Taking it with an awesome instructor, and taking it next to someone I know. It just pushes you to that extra level when there's people you know around you. It elevates your spirits. The class was an absolute blast. So class #20 of the week, I had five classes yesterday, this was the third class of the day within the last five hours, and I still managed those numbers. Never underestimate the power of people.
Body's good. Holding out great. I got the spirit and the heart covered, but if the body doesn't hold up, something like this doesn't work. So I'm just thrilled that I can push my body like this and it keeps up.
I've been thinking about motivation lately. People around me (which have been very supportive, I may add... family, people at the gym, people at work, people I met through Facebook and I've never met in real life) keep congratulating me on the job I'm doing. But when they do that I feel like a faker. Because I've chosen to lose weight other times in my life and failed. But this time I didn't choose to lose weight. This wasn't a choice. I just woke up one day and started going to the gym. Didn't decide to go to the gym. Went to the gym. And I think that's a huge difference. There's no choice involved in this. This is not a choice. It's not hard. It's not difficult. It's not hard work. It's a blast and it's fun. So I can't really take credit for something I see myself as not having chosen. What makes one person do something that another won't? What motivates people? Why would someone not do something at one point in their life but they do in another?
I went through some major life changes recently (other than the eating/exercising), and that changed something in me that gives me the feeling that I'm going to do something sometimes. I KNOW I will do something, I don't think I will. I'm not going to try to do 24 classes this week. I'm going to do 24 classes this week. And I just do. It's not a choice, it's just an action. There's been a few things like that lately.
3 protein bars (one before each class), 2 egg wraps, 940 calories so far. Sub, protein bar, and egg wrap will put me at 1880 for the day.
Loving the cycling classes. Starting next week I'm going to do something like:
3 X cycle
3 X lift
1 X Pilates
3 X Zumba
3 X TurboKick
And en extra Zumba or TurboKick. About two classes a day. I want to start mountain biking and hiking soon. I learned about shoe clips today that clip to the bike. I don't go as fast as I could because I'm scared of my feet flying off the pedal harnesses. Going to get some of those biking shoes. And I need some gloves, my hands are already getting calloused after three biking classes. And a gel seat.
Off to bed until 5p.
#21 FRIDAY 5:45p Craig Zumba Donalin - Argh, forgot my heart rate monitor strap. So no stats. But it was a good class, going to call it 500 calories. (32 oz water)
8-10 sleep
21 down, 3 to go. One last hurrah. At least they're all at the same club, I think I spent an extra tank of gas driving this week.
Nothing hurts. Body feels good. I can almost touch my feet with my legs extended (which is good, means I'm getting more flexible). I've noticed a phenomenon twice. Exercise does give you a high. But too much exercise in a row can give you a crash like a sugar crash. I experienced it first last week on Monday when I took five classes in a row. And again today. But at least it waited until after Zumba to hit me full force. Now I have all night at work to recover. So far this has been a very enjoyable experience.
SATURDAY MORNING:
Three more classes to go. Nothing hugely sore, just a little ache here and there. My obliques are feeling it this morning. I think I did a lot of core work staying up on the bike. But I'm positive I can last through three more classes, so my body is holding up!! I feel lucky that I have been allowed to go through this experience. I didn't go through this experience, I was allowed to go through this experience, by whoever or whatever it is that lets life happen.
I can't underscore what a wonderful journey of discovery this has been. I've been blessed that I've been allowed to experience this. At the beginning I naively thought that I could go through this unchanged, but I should have been more specific. I hope my core doesn't change (beliefs, morality, etc.) but you can't go through an experience like this (losing weight in general) unchanged. As I've mentioned before, I've never been thin. I've never been a normal weight. I've been overweight and obese all of my life, mostly obese. So this is undiscovered territory for me. And you do change, and people around you change, and you have to adapt to a new way of life.
I feel blessed for what I have been given. I joke that I take instructors and not classes, and I mean it. I don't take Zumba, TurboKick, Lift, Cycle. I take Rachel, Kathy, Donalin, Dallas, Pam, Michelle, Michele, and so on and so forth. Something happened at the gym. I was accepted. We live in a society where fat is bad, where fat is lazy, unmotivated. Mothers point to fat people and tell their kids this is what they will become if they eat too many sweets.
But these people embraced me when I was down and fat and out of shape and gave me the greatest present of all: Life. It's one of those things that happens in your life that takes years to finally show the enormity of it all. Did I just avoid a heart attack in 20 years? Did they just give me 30 extra years of life? Did they give me 10 extra years of mobility? I feel I was given a gift unconditionally and unselfishly, and they are the only thing that could ever make get up there and teach a class. I feel an obligation to give back what I have been given, to pass it on, to spread it around. How do you even begin to thank someone for transforming your life? How many lives does it take to have made a difference in the world? Five? Ten? How about just one? How many people can say that the world is different because of them, that it's a better place? Well, at least seven. I didn't do this. I was given this. I was gifted this. And the one thing I can hope for is to emerge on the other side humble, thankful, and stronger. People tell me how inspired they are because of what I'm doing. I'm not doing anything. I'm being allowed to go through this experience. And I am enjoying each second of it. I don't understand it. Why am I here and others are not? Why were others here and I was not? Why did it take 31 years? I don't know.
Something happened a few months ago, about three weeks into the Group X classes. I had lost about 15 lbs so far or so. I fainted twice in the shower. Here's a tip: if you faint, STAY DOWN for 15 minutes or so. I'd never fainted before so I wasn't sure what was going on and when I fainted the first time I was already dragging myself back up by the time I realized what I was doing, and then I went down again. I think it was the second time that I hit my head. I was on the other end of the tub, the water was somehow off, and a bunch of stuff was on top of me. I also chipped my front tooth in the back, but you'd only notice it if I pointed it out to you. Went to the hospital and had a bunch of tests done: CAT Scan, chest X-ray, blood sugar, EKG, bloodwork. Everything was normal. Turns out that if you take a hot bath and stand up too quickly, the blood rushes from your chest to your extremities and the heart runs out of blood to pump. So the heart lets the brain know and the brain shuts everything off and plop, down you go. Circulation is restored. Perfect. Except if you hit something on the way down. I wonder if I still weighed those extra 15 lbs whether I would have suffered a fatal blow to the head. I'll never know. Is this the first of many times my weight saves my life?
I really think everything is happening right on schedule. I believe that life is pre-determined choice, however oxymoronish that sounds. I don't know how it works yet, but that's how I believe life works. I've gone to group classes before, and after the first class I wouldn't go back because I'd feel fat, out of shape, and horrible. I had many first times. This time I avoided group classes at the beginning specifically to shield myself from having that experience again. I started doing the cardio and weight machines for a little over two months. Then for 2-3 weeks I stayed home and did fitness DVDs. Then I went to my first Group X class on 9/1/09 and was completely and unequivocally hooked. From the first second. I don't think I would have stuck with this if it wasn't for the Group X classes. I hate the cardio and weight machines and the classes are ALL I do at the gym. But I think the machines and DVDs built me up enough for it. And I think taking 5 classes last week Monday prepared me for the 24 classes this week. And I think it's fate that I took 24 classes this week. I tried Cycling when I first started Group X classes in September and wasn't hooked. Didn't go back. I only took cycling classes this week to build up to the 24, because I couldn't find other classes to take. And I was hooked from the first second this time around. Maybe the 24 classes were the only way I would take a cycling class again and maybe that's what I needed to do at this point in time. Pre-determined choice. Perfect timing. Fate. Destiny. I'm just tagging along for the ride.
I wanted to comment a bit on my food logs. I write them down just to have them on record. It's not to show people how they should eat (pretty much if you've gotten ANYthing out of what I write, is that each person should find their own way...and if you didn't, there it is spelled out). For one, I don't eat vegetables. Never have my entire life. So I didn't set out to eat as healthy as possible. I set out to eat as healthy as I could, with who I am, what I have, what I can do, where I am right now. This is as good as I can do it right now. And I think that's basically why it has worked. I'm eating in a way that is decently healthy and I worked it to fit me. This is not a fad diet, this is a way I can eat for life. Same with the exercise. I built something that fits me. And I'm always looking for stuff to learn or change or adapt to make it better. I think that if instead of eating and exercising the way you "should" and instead do it the way you "can," it'll work out in the end. Please note this week I went for convenience (hence so many protein bars) because of the lack of time because of all the classes. I'll decrease the protein bars next week, and I don't usually eat subs. I'll go back to my chicken, cheese, and egg wraps.
I also wanted to touch on overdoing it. I think we get too hung up on the way things "should" be. You should take a day off. You shouldn't take more than so many classes a week. I think I've shown that there's ways to make your body work better - eat a lot and good calories, sleep, drink lots of water, modify moves to prevent injury. I want to use my body, I want to experience my body, I want to live my body. I don't think you should push yourself beyond your limit because that'll just cause injury and sideline you for weeks, but I see nothing wrong in pushing yourself TO your limit. Know your limits, know your body, know yourself, and go there. Live your body. Be safe, be careful, but don't be scared.
#22 SATURDAY 9a Sahara 24Cycle Kurt 57/410/55, 147/78, 125/66 (the monitor had trouble reading my heartbeat so I'm estimating 100 calories more than that burned but not counting it for the calculations, just the 410) (16 oz water)
#23 SATURDAY 10a Sahara TurboKick Pam B. 57/417/55 (16 oz water)
#24 SATURDAY 11a Sahara 24Lift Pam B. 47/247/60, 127/67, 107/57 (16 oz water)
Rest of day - rest, sleep, party
Some final calculations:
Food recap:
Monday: 1120 2 footlongs, 700 4 protein bars, 240 2 Bananas, 2060 total
Tuesday: 1120 2 footlongs, 700 4 protein bars, 240 2 Bananas, 2060 total
Wednesday: 3 bananas, 2 cheese wraps, 5 protein bars 1760 total
Thursday: 2 subs 1120, 2 bananas 240, 3 protein bars 540, egg wrap 200, total 2100
Friday: 4 protein bars, 3 egg wraps, sub, 1880 total
Saturday: 5 protein bars (900), sub (560), almonds (180), 1640 total
Sunday: 3 protein bars (540), almonds (180), banana and apple (150), 2 cheese wraps (500), protein bar (180), total 1550
Total consumption = 13050
Total burned = 24 classes, 1300 minutes, 10706 gross calories, 8808 net calories.
I forgot my monitor to one class, Zumba, so I put in 500 calories and 60 minutes for that one.
2066 calories burned a day at rest, 14462 per week.
Total caloric deficit for the week: 14662 + 8808 - 13050 = 10420
SUNDAY REST DAY
SATURDAY AFTERNOON - I DID IT!! 24 classes in one week at 24 Hour Fitness. Whew. The last two classes were HARD. Especially because Kurt kept saying to leave it all on the bike and take nothing home, and I had a choice whether to leave something for the other two classes or not and I didn't, I gave Kurt my all so I had barely anything left for Pam. The numbers reflect that. My monitor didn't work correctly during cycle so I'm estimating 100 more calories burned than recorded (it kept losing the heartbeat).
Core hurts a little bit when I bend, and I'm not tired in the sense of sleepy but just zapped of energy. Next class isn't until Monday at 9a so almost two full days to recover. I should be as good as new. The biggest "injury" I suffered was someone dropping a barbell on my foot during Lift set-up (thankfully without weights), but it didn't seem to leave lasting pain. On the same foot I had just used for cycling and kickboxing, no less. Too tired to get excited now, I can rejoice tomorrow.
While reading this blog the following questions may come up: Why am I writing this? What's the purpose? And what was the purpose of this crazy experience? Well, I write this blog for many reasons. First and foremost I hope to be a published author one day and part of me needs to write. It's the one thing I do not because I like it or want to but because it comes out on its own. I also write in this blog because just like a picture captures a moment in time of a person's outside, a blog captures a moment in time of a person's inside. Their thoughts, feelings, aspirations, their soul. This is a snapshot of the soul. I want to remember how I was inside as well as outside as I go through this. Third, it's just a record of the journey to have for later.
Of course I wonder if anyone will read this. Maybe, maybe not. But if anyone does read this, I want to leave you with a few departing thoughts. As of my last weigh-in today, I am 177 lbs (I had reached 173 lbs and started drinking 96 oz of water a day this week to keep up with the exercise and gained 5 lbs, then lost 1). I am technically considered Obese (starts at 175lbs). I didn't do this while fit and thin, I did this while Obese. People told me how they couldn't imagine themselves being able to do this, and I'd look at them like they were crazy. They were skinnier, fitter, and stronger than me. If I can do this, then certainly they can. I just decided one day out of the blue (Sunday, I believe) to do this and I did. I didn't think whether I could or how hard it would be, I just did. I planned the food and drinking and scheduled the classes but other than that I just showed up and gave it my all.
And why do this crazy little experiment? Because I can. And after reading this blog hopefully you have an understanding of everything that goes behind that phrase and what that phrase means.
So if you get nothing else out of this blog, get this: Pick one thing, and do it. Don't think about how hard it will be or all the things that could go wrong or how you can't do it. Don't choose to do it, don't wonder whether you can do it, just do it. Push yourself. Reach your limit. Be safe, be careful, but again, don't be scared. Know your limits and reach towards them. Don't go by what you "should" do, go by what you "can" do. Know yourself, know your body, live your body.
Update: If you want to see the aftermath of the 24 classes, check out this week's post, the one that starts 12/14. I enjoyed the extended blogging experience so much I decided to do it on a regular basis, and I talk about the 24 classes a bit in that post.
Here's the link to next week: http://fitdeb.blogspot.com/2009/12/monday-december-7th-2009-sunday.html
Going to start doing that at the end of each weekly post. Nevermind the URL, I modified the thread of the 7th to become the thread of the 14th because I was a bit busy the week of the 7th and it ended up getting its own thread.
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