It's been a day since I took the boot camp class and the good news is that I am feeling it! The boot camp workout was amazing and today I have the tenderness to prove it. It is not quite the P90X Plyometric feeling in my legs, but as an added bonus, I can feel it in my back and shoulders and a little in my chest too. This morning at spinning, I could definitely feel yesterday in my legs. It was just that much harder to push myself and get the RPMs at each gear. I forgot my heart rate monitor today, but based on the sweat factor - I would say I was in the zone most of the workout and it was a good one. The cool down walk was a definite necessity today.
Eating was good yesterday. I finally was headache free all day, which further supports my theory on the source and I will be exploring that in a week or two when I see the doctor. Having no headache left me feeling snacky last night. I had some white cheddar cheese and some Triscuit Thins, which was fine until I had a second serving. Oh well! You will have that from time to time and it is okay. Before my snack, dinner was tasty and reasonably healthy too - Cajun Jambalaya Pasta. Full of peppers, onions and tomatoes, with some chicken breast too (we skipped the shrimp last night) - it is high in veggies, lean protein and flavor. I made sure to stick with a single serve of the pasta, but allowed a little extra of the toppings.
Tonight, I plan to fit in a Zumba class. I miss Zumba, now that it is not available at a convenient time for me at the Y.
I am not a diet or fitness expert. I am a mom, just trying to be healthy and fit. All opinions expressed are my own.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Boot Camp - Day 1
Wow! That really is the only way to sum it up. Today, I participated in my first boot camp class. It is taught by my spinning instructor and I know most of my classmates. The warm up was very reminiscent of P90X and other like programs. Some cardio followed by stretching. Then, we did a mix of what I would call plyometrics style exercises. None were too long, but all were intense. You were getting cardio, but with the associated squats, lunges, push ups and the like, it was clear that you were working the muscles too. Then, we grabbed a weight bar and a step and proceeded to do some squats, chest presses, upright rows, and more. Of course, we wrapped up with some stretches. The workout was great! I was feeling it by the end - love that feeling! I followed up the boot camp with a 1 mile quick walk at the track (around a 12 minute mile).
I am confident that by tomorrow, stairs will be a challenge. I sure hope that I can make it through Spinning with the soreness I anticipate. Now, if we can talk her into doing the class twice a week instead of just once.
Yesterday was a good day. I started the day with Spinning and a 1/4 mile cool down walk. It was a more intense spinning class, based on my heart rate monitor. I had to take some longer breaks to fully recover.
Eating was good too. I started with my typical protein (MRS) shake and a banana. Lunch was a steakhouse wedge (dressing on the side) with a wonderful horseradish cheddar cheese and apple slices. Dinner was Lasagne. I fit in a snack of a cinnamon roll, made for my manager's birthday (they are just too irresistible - so soft and so easy to make too!).
The best part, the scale responded in a positive fashion. Not much, but I was down from my previous low. That felt good.
I am confident that by tomorrow, stairs will be a challenge. I sure hope that I can make it through Spinning with the soreness I anticipate. Now, if we can talk her into doing the class twice a week instead of just once.
Yesterday was a good day. I started the day with Spinning and a 1/4 mile cool down walk. It was a more intense spinning class, based on my heart rate monitor. I had to take some longer breaks to fully recover.
Eating was good too. I started with my typical protein (MRS) shake and a banana. Lunch was a steakhouse wedge (dressing on the side) with a wonderful horseradish cheddar cheese and apple slices. Dinner was Lasagne. I fit in a snack of a cinnamon roll, made for my manager's birthday (they are just too irresistible - so soft and so easy to make too!).
The best part, the scale responded in a positive fashion. Not much, but I was down from my previous low. That felt good.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Slow and Steady
I know that slow and steady wins the race and that the best way to lose weight and maintain the loss is to lose it slowly, but it doesn't make the slowness of progress any less frustrating. Over the past few weeks, I feel like the scale has done little to respond despite the effort I have made to be active and watch what I was eating. Clearly, the loss is more visible than the scale would suggest, because others have commented on my weight loss and the clothes that were tight are definitely fitting better.
Lately though, the most frustrating thing has been an incessant headache. Not a throbbing, debilitating type of headache, but a constant dull pain. Early on, it was at the top of my head, but as the week progressed, it seemed to be located more where I was used to having a sinus pressure or stress induced muscle tightness headache.
It started mid-week and just left me unmotivated and trying every combination of ways to address (I'm not one to take medicine, but I did eventually have to take something to see if it would make a difference). I have tried slowly drinking water all day, to ensure that I was evenly hydrated - I almost always drink more water than the recommended amount, but I have a tendency to drink 16 oz before 7 and then a little more before lunch, 16 oz at lunch time and then a little in the afternoon, 16 oz on the drive home and then some in the evening for about 64 oz each day. I was drinking about 8 oz each hour to make sure it wasn't being caused by dehydration. That didn't seem to have an effect, so I decided to cut caffeine - not that I have much, usually a cup of coffee (16 oz cup) and a handful (or two) of M&Ms account for 99% of the daily caffeine I consume. The first day, I made my coffee half regular and half decaf. The next day, I skipped it altogether. I did maintain the chocolate though. This didn't have much effect (I know, caffeine is supposed to help headaches and cutting it can cause headaches, but I needed it gone to make sure it wasn't impacting my headaches), so I tried to eat at regular intervals. I started to spread out my meals. Instead of eating it all at once, I would eat my banana and then have the oatmeal an hour later. I would eat the main course of my lunch and then have the yogurt and then the fruit across the span of the afternoon. This didn't seem to help. I was trying to get to bed earlier and because I didn't have class this week (the break week between classes at the Y), I opted to allow myself to sleep in. This didn't seem to help.
Finally yesterday, it just seemed to be better. I got up and got laundry folded and put away. I got the dishwasher emptied, the dishes in the sink cleaned and put away. We drove to my son's soccer game and my head bothered me a bit on the drive. I was fine during the game. We drove to roller skating and my head was bothering me again. I roller skated for two and a half hours and was fine. We drove to dinner and my head was bothering me. I was fine at dinner. We came home and my head was bothering me. I rested on the couch and watched TV. I felt fine when I headed to bed. This morning...we are a couple of hours in...I am doing fine.
Based on timing, I have a sidebar theory that I will explore at my next doctor's appointment. If it comes back before then, I probably will head to the doctor to try to understand the headaches.
Classes resume tomorrow at the Y, so I am hopeful that I will continue to feel good and can return to regular activity this week.
The good news is that despite all of this, the slow and steady race continues and I haven't lost ground, just haven't gained much either.
Lately though, the most frustrating thing has been an incessant headache. Not a throbbing, debilitating type of headache, but a constant dull pain. Early on, it was at the top of my head, but as the week progressed, it seemed to be located more where I was used to having a sinus pressure or stress induced muscle tightness headache.
It started mid-week and just left me unmotivated and trying every combination of ways to address (I'm not one to take medicine, but I did eventually have to take something to see if it would make a difference). I have tried slowly drinking water all day, to ensure that I was evenly hydrated - I almost always drink more water than the recommended amount, but I have a tendency to drink 16 oz before 7 and then a little more before lunch, 16 oz at lunch time and then a little in the afternoon, 16 oz on the drive home and then some in the evening for about 64 oz each day. I was drinking about 8 oz each hour to make sure it wasn't being caused by dehydration. That didn't seem to have an effect, so I decided to cut caffeine - not that I have much, usually a cup of coffee (16 oz cup) and a handful (or two) of M&Ms account for 99% of the daily caffeine I consume. The first day, I made my coffee half regular and half decaf. The next day, I skipped it altogether. I did maintain the chocolate though. This didn't have much effect (I know, caffeine is supposed to help headaches and cutting it can cause headaches, but I needed it gone to make sure it wasn't impacting my headaches), so I tried to eat at regular intervals. I started to spread out my meals. Instead of eating it all at once, I would eat my banana and then have the oatmeal an hour later. I would eat the main course of my lunch and then have the yogurt and then the fruit across the span of the afternoon. This didn't seem to help. I was trying to get to bed earlier and because I didn't have class this week (the break week between classes at the Y), I opted to allow myself to sleep in. This didn't seem to help.
Finally yesterday, it just seemed to be better. I got up and got laundry folded and put away. I got the dishwasher emptied, the dishes in the sink cleaned and put away. We drove to my son's soccer game and my head bothered me a bit on the drive. I was fine during the game. We drove to roller skating and my head was bothering me again. I roller skated for two and a half hours and was fine. We drove to dinner and my head was bothering me. I was fine at dinner. We came home and my head was bothering me. I rested on the couch and watched TV. I felt fine when I headed to bed. This morning...we are a couple of hours in...I am doing fine.
Based on timing, I have a sidebar theory that I will explore at my next doctor's appointment. If it comes back before then, I probably will head to the doctor to try to understand the headaches.
Classes resume tomorrow at the Y, so I am hopeful that I will continue to feel good and can return to regular activity this week.
The good news is that despite all of this, the slow and steady race continues and I haven't lost ground, just haven't gained much either.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Keep on Keeping On
I have been like the little engine lately...just sort of chugging along. Not making much in the way of progress, but continuing to be conscientious about what I choose to eat and sticking to a regular workout schedule. I may not be having a scale impact, but I think by now the one thing that I know about my body is that it will seem to not react and then suddenly, BOOM!, I will be down a decent amount and will continue to waffle around a weight for a little while again.
This morning was frustrating, I will admit. I had been out last night for a concert and got home and to bed much later than I normally do. My husband said to me, it is okay to miss a class. I said that I wanted to try and still make it to class. I got up and headed up to the Y a little late and only had time for 7/8 mile warm up (but I did run a full 1/2 of that distance). When I headed over to the group exercise room, my fellow class mate was there, but no sign of the instructor. We gave her a few minutes and when she didn't show, we figured there was no class. So, here I was - at the Y and warmed up, what would I do. I decided to walk. So, I headed back to the track. It was much more crowded than it is first thing in the morning. I wasn't sure how far I wanted to go, but decided that my workout ought to be twice as long as my warm up, so I settled on 1 3/4 miles. It seemed a bit strange to run the warm up and walk the work out, but it is what it is and I just couldn't muster up the run after having cooled down in prep for class.
I guess I will have to try to make it to another Zumba class later this week to make up for the miss.
This weekend was a banner weekend for working out. I went to Zumba on Saturday morning, because I knew the substitute would be there and she does a great workout with lots of squats and lunges and hops. Then, Saturday afternoon we went roller skating with friends. Then, Sunday, my son had a birthday party at Pump it Up and since it was small, the parents got in on the jumping and we ran the obstacle course. It was a nice little unplanned bonus exercise and certainly made me realize that I am not a kid anymore. I was very ready for a nap after playing hard.
Generally, eating has been really good. I even did a reasonably acceptable job with eating out dinner this weekend and enjoying the Big Game with friends. I tried to snack mostly on the cut vegetables and only have a taste here and there of the buffalo chicken dip and other things that I simply love. I know that I need to figure out the balance, because I want to be able to enjoy life and maintain a healthy weight.
This morning was frustrating, I will admit. I had been out last night for a concert and got home and to bed much later than I normally do. My husband said to me, it is okay to miss a class. I said that I wanted to try and still make it to class. I got up and headed up to the Y a little late and only had time for 7/8 mile warm up (but I did run a full 1/2 of that distance). When I headed over to the group exercise room, my fellow class mate was there, but no sign of the instructor. We gave her a few minutes and when she didn't show, we figured there was no class. So, here I was - at the Y and warmed up, what would I do. I decided to walk. So, I headed back to the track. It was much more crowded than it is first thing in the morning. I wasn't sure how far I wanted to go, but decided that my workout ought to be twice as long as my warm up, so I settled on 1 3/4 miles. It seemed a bit strange to run the warm up and walk the work out, but it is what it is and I just couldn't muster up the run after having cooled down in prep for class.
I guess I will have to try to make it to another Zumba class later this week to make up for the miss.
This weekend was a banner weekend for working out. I went to Zumba on Saturday morning, because I knew the substitute would be there and she does a great workout with lots of squats and lunges and hops. Then, Saturday afternoon we went roller skating with friends. Then, Sunday, my son had a birthday party at Pump it Up and since it was small, the parents got in on the jumping and we ran the obstacle course. It was a nice little unplanned bonus exercise and certainly made me realize that I am not a kid anymore. I was very ready for a nap after playing hard.
Generally, eating has been really good. I even did a reasonably acceptable job with eating out dinner this weekend and enjoying the Big Game with friends. I tried to snack mostly on the cut vegetables and only have a taste here and there of the buffalo chicken dip and other things that I simply love. I know that I need to figure out the balance, because I want to be able to enjoy life and maintain a healthy weight.
Monday, January 28, 2013
What a Wonderful Weekend (and Monday too)
I had a really good weekend. I started my day on Saturday with a Zumba class. It was with my regular instructor, but the song mix was a little different and she did a lot more of teaching to many levels - makes me wonder if the fact that I am not super coordinated is why she keeps it lower intensity. We shall see. Saturday night was Girls' Night Out. I had a great time with my friends. We went to a Thai restaurant and I ordered Seafood Garlic. It was full of steamed vegetables and had mussels, shrimp, scallops and calamari in it. The sauce was awesome. After I ate the main course, I ate the rice - covered in the sauce. I also enjoyed some wine with dinner. Then we went out to a show. I managed to maintain my weight, despite a fun a night out...that I awesome. Just think, if I had skipped even part of the rice (or a glass of wine), it could have been a net loss. That is so encouraging to me. Going out and enjoying time with friends and family is very important to me...I just need to do it in a healthy way.
Sunday was sort of a lazy day. No workout. I ate cereal for breakfast - which I never do during the week. It was nice to just relax.
Monday, I am happy to say started with Spinning. I managed to get up on time and head over for class, despite the freezing rain. It was a great class, even though at the beginning I was questioning if I could make it through. My cool down walk felt good. It was mostly a good eating day, except for the chocolate. What can I say, co-workers have chocolate and work has been crazy, busy = stressful lately. Better to enjoy a little than to go over board, is all I can say.
Hope you are off to a great week!
Sunday was sort of a lazy day. No workout. I ate cereal for breakfast - which I never do during the week. It was nice to just relax.
Monday, I am happy to say started with Spinning. I managed to get up on time and head over for class, despite the freezing rain. It was a great class, even though at the beginning I was questioning if I could make it through. My cool down walk felt good. It was mostly a good eating day, except for the chocolate. What can I say, co-workers have chocolate and work has been crazy, busy = stressful lately. Better to enjoy a little than to go over board, is all I can say.
Hope you are off to a great week!
Friday, January 25, 2013
Disappointed!
What a disappointment. I must have been tired, as I forgot to set my alarm last night. So, this morning, I rolled over and looked at the clock to see how long until my alarm would go off and discovered that it was already 6:30. I had not only not gotten up when I needed to, but I had already completely missed my spinning class - it was just ending. I was so disappointed to miss my Spinning class. It is so much fun and such a good workout.
It might not have been so bad to take a break from my workout, but then I went and had a stressful day at work. Working out always helps me relieve stress, so to have missed that relief, made it that much more stressful. Now, I just want to sit down tonight with a bowl of ice cream with hot fudge. If I had at least worked out, I would feel less guilty.
I definitely think that I will have to make a point of going to Zumba tomorrow, to make up for today's missed workout.
Overall, otherwise, things are going well. I know that I will get past this missed workout, but I just wish that I didn't have to.
It might not have been so bad to take a break from my workout, but then I went and had a stressful day at work. Working out always helps me relieve stress, so to have missed that relief, made it that much more stressful. Now, I just want to sit down tonight with a bowl of ice cream with hot fudge. If I had at least worked out, I would feel less guilty.
I definitely think that I will have to make a point of going to Zumba tomorrow, to make up for today's missed workout.
Overall, otherwise, things are going well. I know that I will get past this missed workout, but I just wish that I didn't have to.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
WoooHoooo!
You know, the thing is, I actually really enjoy working out. Sure, there are times when it is hard to get out of bed, but I know that if I get up and move, I will feel so much better. For me, working out is as much about the physical benefits as it is the mental ones. Working out is such a stress release. I can't really 'think' when I am doing Spinning or Zumba, it is a good break to turn the mind off and focus on the activity at hand. I think in the multi-tasking world in which we live, our minds are always on. The opportunity to disconnect really helps our mental abilities. The brain needs a break! Of course, when I am walking in warm up or cool down mode, I admit, I do use that time to run through my mental checklists, plan out my day or work through a conversation that I need to have that day. But, even that feels like a great chance to focus and align - I know that technically I am multi-tasking, but really for the mind, it doesn't feel that way - plus, it makes the walk/run super quick.
Yesterday was a busy, but great day. I started with Spinning Class. It was a very quick 45 minutes. I didn't get as much distance, but I can tell that I am working harder. I have my gears at higher numbers and am still getting the same RPMs during the different phases of the workout. It felt great. Then, I did a 1/4 mile cool down walk - it simply is a necessity after that workout. A busy day at work was followed by a one hour Zumba class. The class was packed - had I arrived 2 minutes later, I would have been turned away at the door and upset. I need to make sure that I head to Zumba a little earlier I guess....at least for a few more weeks.
Eating has been good. I have been getting a great variety of food, but eating within my targets. We even went out to dinner with friends and I was able to do it. Eating right makes me feel better too! There just is something to be said for how sluggish I feel after I nibble on chips or sweets. Now, don't get me wrong, I still find a way to fit in a bit of chocolate each day, I'm talking the 'desserty' sweets. Yesterday, mid-afternoon I was feeling a little hungry and grabbed a bag of baked chips that was leftover from a meeting. After eating it, I wondered why. I can't say that I really felt less hungry, but I felt a lot more sluggish. It fit within my day from a calorie perspective, but I could have grabbed an apple or a banana and been so much more satisfied and felt better too.
The scale is continuing to respond. I am so thankful for that. It is amazing how motivational progress can be.
Yesterday was a busy, but great day. I started with Spinning Class. It was a very quick 45 minutes. I didn't get as much distance, but I can tell that I am working harder. I have my gears at higher numbers and am still getting the same RPMs during the different phases of the workout. It felt great. Then, I did a 1/4 mile cool down walk - it simply is a necessity after that workout. A busy day at work was followed by a one hour Zumba class. The class was packed - had I arrived 2 minutes later, I would have been turned away at the door and upset. I need to make sure that I head to Zumba a little earlier I guess....at least for a few more weeks.
Eating has been good. I have been getting a great variety of food, but eating within my targets. We even went out to dinner with friends and I was able to do it. Eating right makes me feel better too! There just is something to be said for how sluggish I feel after I nibble on chips or sweets. Now, don't get me wrong, I still find a way to fit in a bit of chocolate each day, I'm talking the 'desserty' sweets. Yesterday, mid-afternoon I was feeling a little hungry and grabbed a bag of baked chips that was leftover from a meeting. After eating it, I wondered why. I can't say that I really felt less hungry, but I felt a lot more sluggish. It fit within my day from a calorie perspective, but I could have grabbed an apple or a banana and been so much more satisfied and felt better too.
The scale is continuing to respond. I am so thankful for that. It is amazing how motivational progress can be.
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