Days 24 & 25

Well, once again work interferred with my ability to post anything here! Maybe it is a good thing I will be transforming this into a regular blog--at least that way people won't be too disappointed when a day is missing!

So, I went to the gym as planned yesterday. I know I have only been a few times, but I already feel like there is a difference. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but I like it! I followed the exercises (again) as prescribed by my trainer. I am going to go again tomorrow...

I won't weigh myself, I have decided, until my next appointment with my personal trainer. My pants already feel a little looser, even though I can feel the bloat setting in that comes along with the "monthly visitor" (girls, are you with me here?). Even though I am PMSing, I still feel like I am making progress, which feels good!

The only tricky part lately for me is keeping track of my calories. I find myself spending a lot of time trying to find out the caloric count for the food I want to pack for my lunches, etc. When youu are trying to keep your calories within a certain range, it makes all the difference in the world if something has 50 or 100 calories! I am sure some of this will become second nature eventually, but it is hard to go from not paying any attention to what you eat to suddenly looking at everything you eat!

Been drinking my water and I have been fortunate enough the last few days at work to be able to drink the water and use the bathroom. Ah, the luxuries in life...

I know this is a short post, but work calls yet again. I've added a new poll--since I already asked what the worst fat-free food you have tasted is, I thought I would see if anyone had thoughts on what the best tasting were. Please answer the poll and leave a comment or two--I love to hear from you!

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't -- you are right."

Day 22

Ah, I think I am going to like going to the gym! I went through all of the exercises that my trainer wrote up for me and included a 20-minute session on the treadmill for some cardio. All in all, I was at the gym about an hour. I saw my husband doing these wicked crunches using an exercise ball and decided to throw a few of those in, too. Yowza! What a work-out! My plan is to make it to the gym at least every other day to do the exercises my trainer set up for me. On my "off" days, I am going to hit my treadmill at home when I can. I have my first exercise goal, too. Tonight I walked at a pace of 3 miles per hour at an incline of 3 for 20 minutes. Not a hard work out by any stretch, but I want something to build up to. I want to gradually increase the time, speed and incline gradually so that I can build up to a jog. My first goal is to build up to 25 minutes at a speed of 3.5 and an incline of 5. I think that is an easy goal to shoot for and when I get there it will inspire me to push harder to the next goal.

I spent some time this evening looking on-line at calorie counts for different foods. It's back to work for me tomorrow, so I am trying to plan ahead. My trainer wants me to consume between 1500-1600 calories per day, eating 5 or 6 small meals each day. This means I need to know how many calories I am consuming when I have my "mini" meals. She told me that my protein drinks are fine and that I cannot "save up" my calories! I am supposed to aim for 250-350 calories in my "mini" meals, so I am trying to plan accordingly.


Since my husband is now inspired to eat better as well, I am trying to find meals for the both of us--a daunting task, indeed! To make it even more difficult, my goal is to lose weight while his is to gain muscle. As a result, our eating habits will be different as well. He is supposed to eat more nuts, eggs and protein while I am supposed to increase my fruits and vegetables and watch fat content.

I am sure I have mentioned previously that my husband is not a big vegetable fan, but he has agreed to eat more salads. The challenge is salad dressing. Judging by the poll results so far, most people seem to agree that fat-free salad dressings are gross. I tried once to make homemade fat-free Ranch dressing and the results were a thick, disgusting substance that I just did not wish to ingest. My theory had been that if homemade Ranch tastes so much better than store-bought, the same must be true of fat-free versions. Yeah. Not so much...

So, here is what I did: I tried the homemade thing again, only this time I used 1/2 cup of real, full-fat mayonnaise with 1/2 cup of the disgusting low fat crap (aptly named, if I do say so myself). I know using full-fat mayo is increasing the fat and calorie content, but if it gets my husband to eat a salad it will be worth it to me! I stuck with the non-fat milk since I didn't view the milk as the culprit in my last homemade attempt. I will post the results tomorrow...

I will post a recipe tomorrow. Still looking for that quiche recipe, but even if I can't find that one, I will post something tomorrow since I am long over-due for a recipe.

If you haven't already done so, please take a moment to answer my poll. It will end soon and I have the next one ready to go.

Maybe I should have added mayonnaise to the list of most disgusting fat-free items....

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't -- you are right."

Day 20 - Personal Trainer Day!

Oh wow! I had my first session with my personal trainer today and what a work out! She really worked me and I am surprised that I made it through the whole hour. I can tell already that I am going to be hurting tomorrow. She even warned me that she will have done her job if I woke up hating her in the morning...

My session started off with getting "pinched"--using a caliper to determine by percentage of body fat. I am currently at 36%, which appalled me. Then came the measurements (ick) and then the weigh in. The weigh in was probably the most devastating since the scale at the gym has me weighing in at 202 lbs. My trainer told me it is probably less (I had shoes on, etc), but I am betting that it still puts me at around 200 lbs. Still.

A little background about my trainer: In her office is a picture frame which contains two pictures. The first is a picture of when she was very over-weight. Yes, my trainer used to be fat. She told me her body fat used to be 69%. I can't remember how much she weighed--somewhere between 250-300 lbs. The second picture is a lovely photo of her in a beautiful blue bikini, looking cut, toned and fit. Motivational? You bet!

Anyway, after suffering through that humiliation, we talked about diet and I was so glad we did! She gave me a food journal and told me to write down everything I eat. We talked about my Starbucks addiction and we formulated a plan so that I could keep having my daily vice but gradually reduce the sugar and other no-no items so that it will become a very small part of my daily calorie consumption. She also gave me a food list of what is acceptable to eat (and what isn't) and a couple of web-sites to go to find out how many calories I am consuming:

http://www.calorieking.com/

http://www.thedailyplate.com/

The first one appears to be a "membership only" site that you have to pay for. The second one is a branch of http://www.livestrong.com/. After looking at "Livestrong" and "The Daily Plate" I feel even more inspired to face this challenge head on. I have not had the opportunity to look at the site more closely, but I plan to at some point tonight. I encourage others to click the links I have provided and check them out!

So after the small talk, it was down to business. Oh my! My trainer worked me non-stop for that hour and it was hard but I made it. I was so stoked to find that I could not only do the exercises but also meet the "goals" she had for some of them. For example, she has one move she calls "The Plank" and the goal is keep yourself in a push-up position (the "up" part) for a minute. It sounds easy, but when you already have spent an hour doing weights and other work-outs, it hurts! But I was able to do it, so I was very happy. I finished my hour tired and sore, but happy.

My trainer wrote out everything we did today and I am supposed to do those exercises plus 20-30 minutes of cardio 3-5 days per week. My next appointment is May 4 (two weeks) to resume more torture and analyze current results. The goal is to eventually get my percentage of body fat reduced by 10% and to get through these work-outs without feeling like I might die.

One thing is for sure--after a good, hard work-out like that, you definitely don't feel compelled to eat anything but healthy food! I think there is a sub-conscious feeling that you just put yourself through an hour of torture, why would you ruin it by eating a double cheeseburger? And nothing encourages water consumption quite the same way, either...

Ok, so that's it for today. I ate healthy, drank lots of water and had a great work-out. Maybe I should see my trainer every day to keep this going...

I am off to review those web-sites and make my grocery list for tomorrow. My husband and I plan to go back to the gym tomorrow for a little cardio work. That is if I can get myself out of bed after today. I will let you know just how sore I am tomorrow!

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't -- you are right."

Days 18 & 19

This is really starting to get old!

I couldn't post anything for Day 18 because of yet another double shift. I will tell you something else, too, they wreak havoc on a person's diet plan!

Needless to say, I have not been doing so well with watching what I eat, etc. It hasn't been as bad as I was eating previously, but I also have not been eating a lot of fruits or vegetables or drinking as much water as I should (one tends to avoid a lot of fluid when the ability to use the restroom is limited!) I know I need to find a way to reconcile this since this is going to be an on-going problem with work. It definitely needs to be addressed!

On a plus note, tomorrow is my first appointment with a personal trainer! I am nervous and excited. I have never had a personal trainer before, so I am really looking forward to learning from her. She wants to know what my goals are and I am wondering if it is too much to say, "Lose weight, tone up, have more endurance, and build some muscle". Am I supposed to pick just one?? I am looking forward to sharing what I learn!

Oh...and another side note--I still cannot find my Special K fruit crisps. I am really curious--has anyone else tried them? Obviously, others share my view that they are delicious because they have been sold out for three weeks now!!

I noticed that I haven't posted any new recipes in a while. I think I will try to change that since I will have the next few days off from work (woo hoo!!) I want to find a delicious recipe that a friend of mine once gave me for a vegetable quiche. It tastes so good, I swear you won't believe it is low fat and good for you!

My most recent poll is coming to a close and I see that the three people who voted (thank you!) all seem to think I should continue with this blog. I am in agreement since I have truly learned more than I ever thought I would by simply keeping a journal during this process. I think I will need to change the name, though, since the name "30 day challenge" really won't apply. Any suggestions??

So, I am hoping this will be the last of my "short" posts for the next few days since I will actually have a little more time to dedicate to writing. I hope you will stay tuned because I hope to have some exciting and useful information in the days ahead...

Stay tuned!

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't -- you are right."