Archive for April, 2008
April 13th, 2008 by Cynthia
Went to the accountant with our taxes Friday, still managed to get to water aerobics class afterwards and did a full workout, even with minimal sleep! I don't know if it was the stress from taxes or just plain lack of sleep (probably the latter), but I had rather a dietary and exercise meltdown yesterday.
We did another pizza Friday night, which would've been OK, if not ideal twice in a week, but I'd also picked up salads for the next day. As it turned out, those were low carb... but pretty loaded with fat. That's what my late breakfast was Saturday.
And the rest of Saturday just went right down the drain afterwards. I had no energy, so mostly I just sat watching the golf show and enjoying that and nibbling here and there on nuts, peanut butter, cheese and whatnot. No veggies to speak of other than the lettuce in the initial salad. Eventually I had a bowl of Kashi GoLean with milk and protein powder. So nothing horribly unhealthy, just not my normal eating pattern at all!
No exercise yesterday. My shoulders felt crappy and I had no motivation. I just rested. Which means today I DO need to do my workout! And that probably won't look pretty on my weigh-in tomorrow, if my muscles are retaining water, which is almost a sure bet.
I did try to keep up the water drinking yesterday, but fell short of getting my gallon in. I feel it... Saturday I felt quite a bit dehydrated, even my eyes felt dry and irritated, it's better today, but I need the liquids. I'm aiming to go get breakfast and then try and do my workout before the golf starts, because I will want to watch!
April 10th, 2008 by Cynthia
Just when you think you know what's gonna happen... it doesn't.
I had a planned pizza meal Wednesday night, enjoyed it and figured my weight would zoom up Thursday in reaction thanks to the usual sodium bloat from eating something salty. Only it didn't.
As of Thursday morning... I was exactly at 222.0 pounds. It may not hold, you've seen my roller coaster daily weigh-ins. For the moment, 40 pounds are gone! Roughly a third of the journey done!
If anyone is wondering why my Traineo "pounds to go" button hasn't altered yet, I've decided to update that on my "official" Monday weigh-ins, rather than fussing with it more often.
Tonight's eating was not spectacularly good... needed to shop, am stressed about the accountant's appointment tomorrow and one meal consisted of two Power Bars and a South Beach TV dinner. Nor do I think I'm going to get all my water in. Will do better tomorrow after the tax stuff is delivered!
April 9th, 2008 by Cynthia
Last night, I was up late, trying to catch up a little on blogs I read. And I came across an article over on Kathy Calculates: Weight Loss about the realization that this battle doesn't end.
Well, I knew that. Temptation is somewhat lessened for me these days, but it still lurks. And I absolute relish the idea of having a planned 10% pizza meal tonight. So there are always foods that will call to me, regardless of my good habits. Because those foods simply taste GOOD! And there's nothing whatsoever wrong about that!
Nevertheless, the battle is on for life. During this past few months, I hit an acceptance of that. I knew it before, I certainly started this journey with the idea of it being a lifestyle change, but didn't fully accept the truth of it.
I can have a treat once in a while... I cannot have a full bag of treats to eat all at once. I can enjoy something not entirely healthy from time to time, but I cannot eat what I want, when I want and in the quantities I want without possible consequences that take me further from my goals.
But what I realized while commenting on the article linked above is that I have accomplished something this year that has NEVER happened before when I started a fat loss journey...
THIS journey has lasted over a YEAR AND A HALF!
Twice before I have undertaken losing weight seriously... both attempts ended at about the one year mark. The first one thanks to injury, the second after the death of my mother. This one survives. The fight is to the death. You see, now I know that fitness and health are worth fighting for.
April 7th, 2008 by Cynthia
And NO CHANGE... in weight.
But this past week, I've been seeing lower body fat readings on my Tanita body fat scale... which, while it does tend to swing a lot, it's the first time I've seen some of these numbers on it EVER! And the Omron has also been giving me lower numbers more regularly than a month ago.
I will try for some girth measurements tomorrow. But even if I don't see much going on there, I'm not worried. I've seen scale numbers in the 223 range this past week. The weight loss is coming.
So oddly, even if the scale reading is not what I could wish, I feel good! Happy even! Getting our appointment with the accountant set up this morning may have *something* to do with it... but not all. I feel like I am on the right path and it is just a matter of time. Every month, I weigh less than the month before.
I'm reminded of an article that Kelly posted on her blog Radical 180, called "The Egg". Worth a read if you are feeling a little frustrated with scale progress. Things are changing under the surface here... like that egg.
The food bit
Eating went fairly well this past week. I had that small binge, and a skipped meal and one normal 10% meal. So I kept 90% compliance which is what I am usually aiming for. One thing that wasn't entirely ideal, with hubby being on evening shift, we ate a fair few Jack In The Box salads. I'm not much up for cooking near midnight and didn't have a chance to fix a stew or soup or chili or something for him to just nuke when he rolls in after work.
But the Asian Chicken Salad really isn't too bad, veggies, fruit, chicken, almonds. I usually add some protein, either chicken of my own, or deli turkey and use minimal dressing, or substitute something of my own. Flexibility is a good thing in a long term plan.
Here's my Joe's Goals sheet for the week:
Better on the water and meal front than last week, but there is a bit of room for improvement.
Workouts
On the exercise front... I filled in another star on the President's Challenge site. Two more and I'll have completed a long delayed little goal! I also got in my planned 5 hours of exercise for the week. This week could be a bit more erratic, thanks to taxes, but I'm hoping to still get in plenty of exercise. If the weather cooperates... maybe even some yard work.
April 6th, 2008 by Cynthia
Well, wish me luck! I need to schedule a rather late accountant's appointment. But I did get our paperwork together! I hate tax time.
Today was a rest day... Saturday's TRX trainer workout was good. Maybe too good! The DOMS is here, but I've been mobile today, sore, but able to walk up and downstairs without too much groaning.
I timed it so my workout would end right around the point I needed to eat next... but even though it was not a long workout, I was trembling all over by the end of it! I immediately fixed the fastest thing I could think of, which was simply rolled oats and milk in the microwave, along with a little peanut butter, cocoa powder and a TBSP of chocolate Splenda syrup by Torani. Followed by some turkey and veggies shortly after.
Some highlights... I was able to do some chest presses WITHOUT using a leg to help spot and take some of my bodyweight! I also managed to hold a kneeling plank 67 seconds... a 7 second improvement over last week. I found the shoulder exercises came a little bit more naturally. I'm still kind of working on just getting comfortable with the various exercises, so was not really counting reps yet.
Lunges, even assisted with the trainer, are still very tough. More so on my left leg than on my right, so there is work to be done. I'm afraid I didn't notice any improvements there. It may take time. Years ago, I injured my left quad trying to do squats, and had no insurance then, so I'm not sure just what I did, only that it has been touchy since. For the moment, lunges on the left are shallow.
The weekend eating was good... I kept to my calorie budget.
I will do girth measures soon, I know I need to, but taxes came first.
April 5th, 2008 by Cynthia
I was pleased with myself last night.
I was tired yesterday, really wasted after water aerobics. Speaking of which, I just couldn't bring that up to peak level... though I did try hard. Probably because of the hard intervals the day before. I did swim a quarter mile after though.
I was tempted to do a second shake last night, when I was waiting for hubby to get back home, instead of my planned chicken/broccoli dinner, I'd even started to get out the measuring cups and then I stopped, asked myself if the shake was a better idea than the chicken and told myself no. Then I got out the chicken, spice rubbed it, grilled it up while steaming the broccoli, made a nice lemon juice/olive oil/garlic drizzle for the broccoli and dinner was good.
Days when I am tired are the hardest... that's when it's easier to not have my veggies, or grab for snack foods like cheese, nuts, peanut butter, etc... but I didn't.
April 4th, 2008 by Cynthia
Or so the sign in the women's locker room at my gym says! I asked at the front desk and it will arrive in May. There will be a class most days. With luck, I should be able to find something relatively convenient to attend, as I'm quite curious about this! It's apparently all the rage and I guess our small town health club doesn't want to be left out.
What is it? From the locker room post and the Group Power link, this is a barbell class with adjustable weight barbells... choreographed and done to music. Supposedly fine for any fitness level. I should be quite the acid test there! Could it be a problem for my feet? It's possible. So I will try a class when it comes and see how it goes.
Group Power uses moves from traditional strength training and programs these movements to music, creating a simple, fun and effective way to train in groups. The class starts with a comprehensive warm-up, followed by eight songs that focus on specific muscle groups, and finishes with a well-earned stretch.
Is it just me, or does this many barbells in one room make anyone else nervous? I'm also trying to imagine these songs that focus on the muscle groups... that just sounds a little, ah, weird!
Has anyone else gotten to try one of these classes?
