Day Three: Is this a Test?

Sometimes, it feels like the universe is throwing out everything that it can think of to derail you. It's important to pass these little tests.

Last night, I got to bed a little later than I should have, but such is life. Then Finn woke up twice during the night, which was a pretty severe sleep interrupter. However, I managed to lever myself out of bed at 5am anyway to make it to the 5:45am Barbell Strength class at the smaller gym location near me in Apex. Whew, I am out of shape! I made it through the class, though it was a near thing there at the end. It's been a LOOOOOOONG time since a workout actually made me feel nauseated, but that one really did. I know that's a lactic acid issue, and that I will adjust, but it still stinks! That said, by about 10 minutes after class was over, I was good to go. I really liked the instructor, so that's a huge plus.

I did my first official Tuesday weigh-in with one of the trainers at the Apex location, and for some reason, he insisted that I didn't need to log into the machine to do it; he instead took a picture, with my phone, of my results. So this meant that, to get those results officially recorded, I had to drive them over to the Cary location. What a waste of time! Next time, I know to insist on logging in, and then no one has to manually enter anything anywhere. Who knows--maybe that trainer was as new to this program as I am.

Today at lunchtime, it was supposed to be pouring rain, so I had to sneak in a walk between storms. I had a failed start, but I got the walk in by walking around my office floor (feeling a bit like an idiot), and then heading outside when the rain paused (with a Ziploc bag for my phone and an umbrella). Every victory counts, right?

I am WIPED OUT, but pretty proud of myself for the last few days' work.

Today's Log:

Exercise: 

• Barbell Strength Training class, Apex gym
• Lunchtime walk: 2.06 miles
• Day 3 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (25 sit-ups, 10 crunches, 10 leg raises, 15 second plank)

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: spinach and mushroom frittata, fresh garden and CSA tomatoes, hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, cup of 2% milk
• Lunch: pan seared tilapia with tomatoes and basil , french green beans with olive oil and wild porcini salt, roasted cauliflower with garlic and rosemary
• Dinner: salmon baked in parchment with squash, lemon, and basil
• Snacks: hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar, hot tea (black), hummus and raw veggies (celery, zucchini, and yellow peppers)

Stats:

• Steps: 11810
• Calories: 1372 consumed, 558 burned
• Weight: 211.6 (official Tuesday Weigh-In from Lifetime) (Net -2.7)

Pretty Thing from My Walk

Day Two: Report

Despite all good intentions, today didn't start out at smoothly as it could have. I was planning to go for a walk early this morning, but I woke up with a raging headache instead. This happens to me sometimes, so I need to be flexible I guess. I took some drugs and slept another 45 minutes instead of walking. Luckily, today wasn't as scorchingly hot as it's been lately, and the predicted rain held off, so I was able to go for a walk at lunch. I'm trying to do little things to help with my step count, like parking at the far end of the parking lot, taking the stairs (I am considering the elevator off limits for the next 90 days), walking the perimeter of the building every time I take a break; I am hoping that little things will add up into big things.

Today's Log:

Exercise: 

• Lunchtime walk, 2.12 miles
• Day 2 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (20 sit-ups, 8 crunches, 8 leg raises, 12 second plank)
• Short evening walk, 1.22 miles

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: spinach mushroom frittata, fresh garden tomatoes, hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar 
• Lunch:salad with green leaf lettuce, cucumbers, yellow peppers, and little red tomatoes, baked chicken breast, champagne caper vinaigrette
• Dinner: pan seared tilapia with tomatoes and basil , french green beans with olive oil and wild porcini salt (Note: In the tilapia recipe, I used olive oil instead of butter and dry vermouth instead of white wine. I also added more tomatoes, as our garden is overflowing with them. This lovely summer dinner is pictured below.)
• Snacks: big hot tea (2 bags) with 2% milk and 1 tsp raw sugar, raw almonds, 1 babybel cheese

Stats:

• Steps:11634
• Calories: 1263 consumed, 442 burned
• Weight: 210 (home scale - doesn't quite match the gym scale)
• A note on this: Yesterday, at my official weigh-in, it was 9:40am, and I had eaten breakfast and drank a bunch of water. This morning, I stepped on the scale at 6:45am before I had eaten anything. I think that's pretty much accounting for the difference seen here--in no way have I lost 4.3 pounds in one day. If only, right? :-) 

Pan seared tilapia with tomatoes and
basil, French green beans with olive oil
and wild porcini salt

Pretty Thing(s) From My Walk(s)

Pretty Thing From My Walk

Day One: Initial Weigh-In and Pictures

This morning, I met with a super nice trainer named Jacob for my initial weigh-in and to officially start my 90 days. For the most part, he approved of my plans, but felt that I should focus more tightly on strength training and on calorie tracking and portion control. He had some good points. There was also the trainer sales pitch, but it's definitely tempting to add that level of accountability to this entire exercise. But my goodness, it's expensive--prohibitively so for me, even with the 20% discount offered to participants in this challenge. I am listening to Jacob's advice, but I think I am trying this on my own, at least for now. I have many years of reading behind me, and well--I have Jason, who is nearly a trainer himself at this point. If I need extra strength training, he can help me.

As for the numbers themselves, they were predictably dismal. My weight is 214.3 pounds, and my body fat percentage is 44.4% (which is down, by the way, by about 3% from the last time it was measured.) That means I need to lose 49.3 pounds to hit my goal of 165, which I think is possible, though by no means easy. We'll see what happens to the body fat percentage along the way. I am, with great trepidation, sharing my before pictures. Front, back, and side views in a bathing suit or similar, both before and after the challenge, are a requirement, but not really where I want to place my focus. In the interest of keeping an accurate record, however, here they are:

I definitely feel better with more clothes ON. Whew!

Meanwhile, on to the rest of the day's activities:

Exercise: 

• Day 1 of the 30 Day Abs Challenge (15 sit-ups, 5 crunches, 5 leg raises, 10 second plank)
• Hike with the family at Hemlock Bluffs, 1.86 miles
• Stretching
• Short walk after the kids are asleep, 1.24 miles

Nutrition:

• Breakfast: scrambled eggs with cheese and nutmeg, fresh garden and CSA tomatoes, hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar 
• Lunch: roasted chicken breast, sauteed spinach, baby kale, and baby bok choy, fresh garden and CSA tomatoes
• Dinner: grilled boneless chicken thigh, roasted cauliflower with garlic and rosemary, grilled asparagus, baby bellas, and orange and red peppers
• Snacks: raw almonds, hot tea with 2% milk and 1/2 tsp raw sugar

Stats:

• Steps: 11694
• Calories:  1152 consumed, 429 burned
• Weight: 214.3 (Official Weigh-in at Lifetime)

Gear: Workout Clothes

I went shopping today for workout wear for the first time in many, many years. It's not like i have nothing--I do have a few things. But everything I own already is worn out and feels dated. I feel frumpy in most of it, and to be honest, I associate a lot of it more with sitting on the couch with tea and knitting than i do with getting sweaty in the gym. On top of that, I am required to take somewhat revealing pictures for this weight loss challenge. Who wants to do that in ill-fitting, saggy, or unattractive workout gear, right? It was definitely time to shop.

It's always a tough thing when you are battling weight gain to resign yourself to the reality of shopping for your current body. It's very easy to get caught up in the body you want and are working toward instead of accepting what actually fits the body you have right this minute. I probably own at least 5 things I would classify as "goal clothes" that just hang in my closet, unworn, awaiting the day when they actually fit. I know rationally that this is ridiculous, but there is nothing rational about the vision of your future self you have in your head. I know many other women who are caught in this same trap. So today, I promised myself not to fall into that bad habit, and to approach things more realistically.

I refuse to spend tons of money on clothing that is specifically meant to get sweaty and gross.I looked at expensive gear, gasped in shock that people spent $60 on a jog bra, and headed to target. Observe my haul:

I am pretty fired up about it. Having clothes are feel at least kind of cute and that fit well make me feel like I actually belong in the gym. My dad always said that you need to right tools for the job, and this seems like a move in that direction. I am trying these out. I think I have enough here to get through a week. If I find I am doing laundry all the time, there are at least 2 other color schemes to explore!