My Accidental Biggest Loser Moment.

I've been watching The Biggest Loser for a few years. One of my favorite parts of the season is when they do the physical challenge in which the contestants have to carry or lift or use some sort of effort to stave off the exact amount of weight they've lost while on the ranch. It's such a huge realization to them of just how far they've come, and how much they've really done to achieve their new body.

Today, I inadvertently had that kind of an experience. One of my errands today was to take the spare change to the Coinstar machine. So, I had a vinyl bag, kind of like a large pencil case or make-up bag, and i filled it with the coins, so I could walk to the supermarket on my way to the gym and get rid of them.

I could not believe how heavy it was! At first, I was excited, because I knew it meant I was going to have a really nice sized Amazon eCertificate when I cashed them all in. It was awkward to lift and heavy no matter which hand I planned to carry it in. And I was going to walk and carry it? Maybe I should wait until later and get the car? No... this will be good for me. I'll do it.

But then I had this idea to weigh it, to see if I was crazy to try and carry it.

Eleven pounds. Pretty much the weight I've lost so far.

I'm struggling to carry the exact same amount of weight that was on my body just 2 months ago.

I was shocked. Sure, on TBL, they're lifting 50 - 100 pounds by the time they get to that part of the season, so their shock is understandable. But I don't think it would have been that different. You suddenly imagine that this was the equivalent of a big block of fat that weighed 11 pounds that came off the body some where. It's sad, but it's also inspiring that it's a good measurement of progress, and what that progress really means. And yes, of course I could go to the gym and lift 11 pounds as a proxy, but it's different. I wasn't going in intending to do that, and bracing myself for the psychology of the act. It was just an accident. A happy accident.

So, that was my moment for the day. My amazon account is now $145 richer, and then went to the gym. Not bad.

Thanks for reading!

Pluses and Minuses, where Pluses are bad, and Minuses are good.

So, this is a bit of a mixed results posting. The Pluses are bad, but the minuses are good. Stay with me and you'll see how it unfolds...

First, as I expected, I actually gained a little weight this week. Not only did I indulge this weekend for our anniversary dinner (including fantastic carrot cake with creamchees frosting from Rosie's!) but I ate poorly last week in general, some driven by PMS, some driven by laziness. But, the damage wasn't as bad as it could be:

Weight loss this week: + 0.4 lbs.
Total loss: -10.1 lbs.

Not tragic, and not completely unexpected but still a little disappointing. I am confident this comes from not being as good about eating as I had been. I've vowed to get back to the diligent point counting I'd strayed from a bit, starting with yesterday.

One reason it's as disappointing as it is is because I went to the gym 4 times last week -- 3 of them were more cardio visits or a good blend of cardio and other. I really wished my first week of "more days in the gym than not" would have been rewarded with numbers, but I know it's my own fault.

But it's not all bad. I did bring my body fat down another point (that was definitely a function of the gym), and that's a good thing.

Here's one other good thing. I'm 10 weeks into this journey, so I decided to do two things.

1) Took updated pictures. (no, still not posting them). I was able to see a few differences, and that felt good.

2) Took updated measurements. When I started this, I decided to get some baseline measurements on the standard areas: bust, waist, hips, arms, thighs. I figure these measurements are a lot more slow to move, so every 10 weeks sounded like a good thing (7 total measurements in my 60 weeks).

I was really surprised by what I found. My Bust/Waist/Hips measurement was down a total of 5 inches, pretty evenly spread! Arms and thighs down slightly, but nothing to get too excited about.

5 inches down, another body fat point down, and less than half a pound up? I'll take it! :-)

Thanks for reading!

Good thing I started a month ago!

It's our First Wedding Anniversary tomorrow, and Robert and I are up in NH. We're going out to dinner tonight, and I expect I'll have a tasty dinner and I'll have dessert. Last night, we opened a bottle of champagne, and I had a glass of that. It's nice to celebrate here and there all weekend. Yay us! I realize it can put my week's weightloss at risk, but I'm okay with that for a special occasion. :-)

This morning, however, my friend, Misty, and I went to our 3rd session of the Power Pilates class in the gym up here. The first class we took (4 weeks ago?) was a killer, and it took us days to recover. The second class, I handled much better, and the exercises got a bit easier to handle. This class today, man-oh-man, she kicked our butt. I expect that the recovery from this class will be a bit harder.

I think I can also say, though, that if THIS had been the first class we took with her, she might have scared me into never taking a second class! I honestly think this one was much tougher, and I don't know that I would have been able to talk myself into starting with a class like this. But at this point, I've gained enough stamina and strength to get through such a tough class, and come back for more. (in 2 more weeks, but still...)

Thanks for reading! (And Happy Anniversary, My Husband!)

Humiliating, but for a good cause.

I am not a sexy latina woman. I am also not an undiscovered hip hop sensation. But I think breast cancer sucks.

What does all of that have to do with each other?

I attended ZUMBA-THON at my gym tonight!

Our gym was doing a breast cancer research fund raising event tonight. You could make a donation and participate in either the Zumba-thon or the Spin-a-thon (Robert did that one). So, I took the 7:00 hour event tonight.

If you don't know what Zumba is, it's a latin-inspired cardio/aerobics class, often with some mix of hip hop included. Here's actually a good example of it being taught in a gym, rather than other videos I could post, with a bunch of professional exercises for some sort of instruction video. (Oh -- and if I were in this particular class on the video, I'd be feeling north of average, I think.)

My class was taught by a woman who is insanely skinny and equally energized. She makes it pretty easy to get "into" the class, but my lack of coordination certainly slowed me up a bit. I'm a special brand of horrible at this, and I look as awkward in it as I feel, I am sure. But I can see how doing the class more often with the same instructor, so that you learn her particular choreography, can make it easier, if only because you eventually learn to anticipate what is coming next. This instructor normally teaches Thursday evenings and, though I have plans already this week, I can see trying to work this class into a normal schedule for me as part of my routines.

But no matter how much I do it, or how good I get at learning the moves of the dance, I am still not going to be a sexy latina woman. I will continue to be very awkward looking. I'll get over it. :-)

In the meantime, yay me for working out AND raising money for a good cause!

Thanks for reading!

Another goal achieved

Ten Pounds Lost. Well, 10.5 pounds, to be more accurate. Took me 9 weeks, when I was hoping for doing it in 15 or so.

This week: -1.6 lbs
Total: -10.5 lbs

I'm almost at 1.9 points down on my BMI. And I'm now officially below my wedding weight from a year ago.

I have to say, this is a bit of a surprise. On Friday, the scale hadn't budget much. I put in some extra time over the weekend, but I also know I didn't eat as well (food itself was fine, but just not enough points). So, I was worried that I'd be reporting a less-than-one-pound loss for this week. I'm glad to not have to do that!

My reference to not eating so well applies to most of last week, actually. I didn't do well with points (mainly under) and I'm finding that I'm still good at breakfast and lunch, and not as organized for dinner. One aspect of that is that I ran out of frozen meals, which had been helping a bit. I did go shopping this weekend and buy at least a week's worth, so we'll see if I can use those to get back on track. The other thing is that there were chips in the house, which of course then mean there were chips in my mouth. It's not that my servings were bad (they weren't), it's just harder to deal with temptation when there's a bag in the house, and each chip seems like a gateway to the next 5.

I've got a busy week ahead, but between my pilates reformer class, one other trip to the gym, and the power pilates class on Saturday back up in NH, I hope to be getting in 3 if not 4 work outs this week. And this coming weekend is Robert and my first wedding anniversary, so I definitely expect a splurge dinner out on Saturday night up in NH to celebrate. Not sure I'll have the same good report next week! :-)

Thanks for reading!

Mid-Way Rewards and Expensive Pants

It was suggested a bit ago that I work on developing some mini-goals for both targets and rewards along the way.

I thought of something last week that I put in my mind as a 'half way' reward:

When I hit 15 pounds (which I hope to be by Christmas, but we'll see!) I'd like to treat myself to a cute outfit from lululemon. I don't any yet, and figure this would be a great reward.

Do you know lululemon? They're expensive as hell. Like, shockingly expensive. So, are they worth it?

People I know who have them love them. Reviews I've read rave. They usually mention:

• Extremely well made - better than any other brand out there
  
• Fit very well (they come in even numbered sizes, rather than SML, so you can get a better fit)
• VERY supportive bra tops for girls of my particular sveltitude
• Free alterations on pants (for girls of my particular shortitude)
• Rumor has it, they make your ass look amazing. I don't think that's the category I'll be hunting for in my particular size, but it's nice to know it's out there.

Why not make this a 10 pound goal?Yes, I've done well so far. Here's the thing: They only sell sizes up to a 12 (though 14 appears on their size chart, I don't see them offered anywhere). I'm JUST fitting back into 12's again, and I want to make sure I'm much more confidently resident there (if not a 10!) before I lay down $100 for some yoga pants or something.

Do you have any lululemon? what are your thoughts? What do you think of this as a mid-way-to-goal reward?

Thanks for reading!

I like it, so, let's do it more.

I think we've covered that I am not doing well at enjoying exercise and going to the gym (or any other place) in order to get used to the process. I'm continuing to try different ways to incorporate exercise, cardio or not cardio, and making it a more frequent part of my week.

Of all the exercising classes and such that I've taken, both recently and in the past almost 2 years since I joined our gym, I like the pilates classes the best. Pilates, if you don't know, is based on exercises which work all the muscle groups of the body, but mainly focusing on developing strength in the core. If done correctly and over time, it can really increase core strength, strength in other muscle groups, and impact spine health (in a good way). It involves flexibility and stretching and focused breathing, like yoga, but also involves resistance training and in some cases, weight training. It's not cardio, so it won't replace other exercise, but it's a great way to get some strength training in, especially to help lengthen and make more lean.

Most people will get involved with "mat-based" pilates, which means doing the exercise on a yoga mat, maybe with a stability ball, or a ring, to help with some of the resistance exercise. It burns calories (at my level and weight, probably about 350 an hour). Last week and the week before, I was able to take a "power pilates" class, which used the basic pilates mat and hand weights or medicine balls, and that probably brought the calorie count up a little bit, too.

Yesterday, however, I got to try a more involved version of Pilates - the Pilates Reformer. This workout is based entirely on a machine that looks a bit like a torture machine, with spring loaded movable platforms and cables which can be attached to the arms or legs. There is a lot more attention to the precision of movement, and I could tell that every exercies I've done on the mat is much more intense when done with this kind of resistance from the reformer machine. I got the hang of most things quickly, and I can definitely feel a few of the exercises taking their toll on me today.

I liked the free "exposure clinic" I took, with a 30 minute primer on all the basic moves and the muscle groups impacted, and I decided as another motivator to continue to get me into the gym and to work on some of my muscle and strength issues, I'd sign up for 5 weekly sessions of pilates reformer training. I really like the instructor (I've taken her mat classes) and I think the personal attention (well, one of 5 people, at least) will really help me correct some issues that I'm a bit more blind to in these kinds of exercises.

So, that's my next experiment, for weeks 10 - 14 of this journey. This is also a good reminder for me that this whole thing is not just about weight loss; it's about being more fit and healthy, and that's going to have to come from lots of different sources.

I'll let you know how it goes!

Thanks for reading!