Holly’s BodyBlog

As is usually the case I’ve got good news and bad. I’ll start with the bad so that I can end on a positive note. The bad news is that I fell off the wagon with my diet and exercise the last two months of 2008, as usual one thing led to another and another down a slippery slope. Until by Christmas I’d let myself gain back 7 lbs of scale weight though I suspect that more sever damage was done given my lack of exercise I likely lost muscle and gained fat (the exact opposite of my life goal). I’m blogging this here to take responsibility for this slip up. In order to understand what happened I need to understand the beginning of the slide. I used a surgery in early November as an excuse. By doctors orders I wasn’t allowed to workout for several weeks, but during the mandatory time off I exacerbated the problem by eating poorly. The required three weeks turned into two months and I saw my size change from an 8 back to a 10. I’d all but gotten rid of my size 10 clothes only keeping one pair of jeans (for days when I needed a bit of extra room). During recovery I pretty much wore sweats everyday and I didn’t even notice the weight creep at first. By the time I went back to work it the holidays were coming and I couldn’t really get my mind back where it needed to be.

Ok so that was the bad stuff the good stuff is this. I still managed to learn a great deal about fitness last year and made significant improvements to my over all health. I even weighed in about 15 lbs lighter for the year (even after the last minute weight gain). I ended up going from a size 14 to a size 10 (with a brief couple of months at size 8 ). And the best of all things is that I’ve taken myself in hand, taken responsibility and got back with the program well before losing all my gains. This year I’m starting with a great deal more knowledge than I started with last year and I’m in better shape. I can see no reason why I won’t set all kinds of new records for myself this year. The idea of breaking into new territory is exciting and I have to at least admit that having all that time away from the gym and fitness lifestyle has recharged my motivation batteries. This will be a great year and I will see even more improvements.

     Ok so I hate the %#@! scale right now. My training cycle is officially over and now once again I have my week of recovery. Did I lose the 8 lbs that was my goal for the last 7 weeks… ha that’s a good one. No I weigh exactly the same as I did 7 weeks ago. It’s really discouraging; I worked very hard and didn’t really cheat much (and none at all by standards of old). So what do I have to show for it all a great deal!

 

       I lost 1.5 inches from my waist 4 inches from my hips .5 inches from my neck 1 inch from the above bust measurement and .75 inches from my thigh all other measurement remained the same save my calf which strangely went up .5 inches ( I assume muscle since I train then quite hard). I went from a size 12 to a size 10 and lost a total of 8 inches from my body forever. I’ve not totaled out my training log, but I’m confidant that I’ve made significant gains it every lift I trained during the cycle (I’d be very surprised if that turns out not to be true and you’ll read about it if it does.) The best part is I did it all in just 7 weeks. If I could continue to see that kind of progress I would be a hot mama by the end of the year.  

Q: Did I make my goal?

A: Nope not even close.

Q: Was the cycle successful?

A: It was, extreamly successful and would love to repeat it for the next cycle. Though perhaps not losing so much on the hips, lol.

Q: Do I get my reward I’d promised myself had I reached my goal?

A: Nope, I get to punish myself, because I didn’t create the right kind of goal.

Q: Can I imporve?

A: Undoubtely, and I’m already planning ways I can imporve, or atleast come to know body more so that I can make better goals for myself.

Today is Wednesday, and I’m becoming impatient to get into the gym. I don’t think Monday can come soon enough. Ah the start of a new cycle almost like coffee in the morning, but what goal should I set for myself?

 ttfn: Holly

What can I say but WAHOOOOO! !!  I’m a ten, size 10 that is.  When I started this fitness journey I wore a 22 (and they were tight). To my total amazement I’ve dropped yet another size going from a 12 down to a 10 just since December. If this keeps up I’m going to have to get a second job just to keep repurchasing my wardrobe.  Just kidding, but I’m quite happy about hitting the 10 mark. When I started I thought that if I could ever manage to make it to a size 8 I’d be done. Now that I’m closing in on that size (rather quickly) I have no idea what my ultimate size will be. I know that I still have a whole lot of extra shall we say baggage.  So who knows, but one thing is certain I’m getting closer to the body I want and my motivation has never been higher.
-Holly

In order to give my motivation a shot in the arm I decided to start a new fitness log. I’ve been carrying the same boring binder around since 2002 (although very hit a miss, mostly miss). It’s seen better days; I think there are even some puke stains around the middle of the book. I wanted my new logbook to be a better tool then the one in the past had been. Certainly the old one served its purpose and has seen me drop over 75lbs, but in truth it was not much more then a collection of training logs. These do serve many purposes and a logbook wouldn’t be a log without them. However I want more. So I made a list of what I wanted out of my journal.

• Progress Pictures of myself.
o Perhaps I could print some of my progress graphs from BB.com
• Pictures of women who really inspire me.
• Receipt section where I can collect great fitness friendly receipts.
• A pouch where I can put some cash in there (for protein shakes after a workout).
• I really want to add some style to it, perhaps some stickers or I could draw on it. I don’t know something to jazz it up.
• It should also be able to hold my car keys while I workout
• It needs to hold a pen or two.

With my list of needs and wants in mind I headed off to Home Depot. Where I purchased an “Active Use” binder, some clear protective binder sheets, and some photo pages that hold 4”x6” photos. My current training cycle began only a few weeks ago Jan 7th to be exact. I figure that’s the perfect logical cutoff. So into the new logbook the last few weeks went. It felt pretty empty so I added the latest copy of Oxygen and all of the clear sheets even though they are empty. I can’t wait to really start filling this thing in. It’s going to be a great source of motivation for me besides it regular purpose of tracking my lifts.

I plan on looking through the motivation pictures just prior to my workouts to really inspire me to dig deep and be mentally tough. After all I think most people who have tried to push themselves in the gym know very well that Arnold Schwarzenegger was right on when he said something on the order of: The mind will fail before your body does. I can’t count the number of times I have caught my mind trying to convince me that my body couldn’t do one more rep only to succeed in that last rep after pushing through all the self doubts.

If anyone out there has any other ideas of what I should include, please drop me a line. I’m very excited about the new log but any ideas on improving it are welcome.

Have a great day!!!

I’ve read that habits are formed in as few as twenty-one days of consistent behavior. If that is true, I’m proud to announce that my lifestyle changes should be becoming habits. My dedication to this new life has never been stronger. In fact I think my commitment has never been stronger. Each day I learn more and become more enchanted with the fitness lifestyle.

My weight losses have slowed down a bit and that’s probably for the best. Since it is often said that rapid weight loss has shown to be potentially unsafe. I’m pleased though that just because the scale has slowed my gains in the gym haven’t.  I’m fairly certain that the scale is confused with the gain of muscle and loss of fat. After all this build up for the let down you may be surprised since I’ve still lost another 4 lbs in the last 2 and a half weeks, which is still quite respectable.

With a mere 44 lbs to go (to reach my goal weight of 160) my utter zest for the fitness lifestyle has never been greater. My fitness education continues to grow with leaps and bounds. Success seems a certainty. Several questions do arise though, when will I hit my goal weight and will I be content with that weight once I get there? One thing is certain this summer is going to be a blast. That is to say I will look and feel even better then I do now which is better then I have looked or felt in many years. How exciting.

TTFN

A few weeks ago my significant other and I decided to get serious about our diet and to shift our food intake away from mostly processed foods to mostly whole raw foods or at least only cooking only when absolutely required. After just two weeks I really began to notice that things were beginning to change. For one thing I seemed to have more energy for another I seemed to be happier. I just felt better. For the first time in my life I felt like I was eating a truly healthy diet and I felt good about that. It may sound dumb but I think I even smile more. It seems that I don’t stress out nearly as much as I used to nothing seems to bother me near as bad as it once did.

You may have noticed the title of this blog and like every cliché there is some truth is at its core. Even though it is only Tuesday I have realized this week that there couldn’t be a truer statement then that cliché when it comes to your food.  While it has been a complete pain for the past three weeks my significant other and I sat down and planned out every scrap of food that was to go into our mouths over the next week to come. We then printed out a grocery list and the completed menu for each of the days to come. The difference was amazing either of us could prepare any meals throughout the week, meaning neither of us had the whole responsibility. It also meant that we didn’t have to think and ask “hmm… what do you want to eat tonight”. Possibly the best outcome of creating the meal plans was that we knew ahead of time exactly how our diet aligned with our goals. No more worrying about calories (protein, fat, carbs), “am I getting enough, too much?” We not only knew about the calories but we also knew the same about each and every vitamin and mineral.

This week however we decided to introduce more spontaneity into our lives by just buying the normal stuff (our new normal mostly fruits, grains and vegetables). Things are almost the complete opposite save the fact that we are still eating healthy food selections. All the worries and concerns about food are back though and we still don’t know what’s for dinner. Looking back I have to wonder if all of the good feeling I attributed to diet were related to diet and not just a lowered stress level.

-Holly

Edit: While I was writing this blog (on my lunch) my significant other sent me an email informing me that she had spent her lunch making menus for the rest of the week. I guess I am not alone in my feelings.

I have turned a corner, I know I have. Yesterday I had to miss a planned workout (your choice of expletive) Boss kept me late so the window of time that was scheduled as my workout time was lost. My emotional journey went something like this… Total Anger – ‘Enraged at the fact that I would not move closer to my goal today’… followed by … ‘OMG, I AM pissed that I’m missing a workout – kind of happy that my attitude towards working out has changed this much this fast… followed by … disappointment that missing this day means that I won’t be able to reach my goals for an additional day.

Another realization dawned this morning as I weighed myself. I am closer to my goal weight then I am to my starting off weight (I am well over halfway there). I also thought about how much I have yet to lose and the number is no longer scary having lost over 70lbs already and my goal weight a mere 48 lbs away. In fact I think I am going to start thinking of the number of pounds remaining each time I need a kick of motivation. I know to some people 48 lbs sounds like a great many but when the amount you want to lose equals some women’s ideal body weight, it sounds easy.

I feel great today. I feel so healthy and alert. Better then I have felt in years. I know this is not due to weight loss I have been losing slowly for the last couple of years. There is only one reason I can think of that I feel soooo good. It must be because I am finally doing it. I’m eating right and I’m exercising. I am full of energy and I know that I will get where I want to be. This is it, this is the rest of my life, this is how I live now.

Have a great day!!!

Today marks the end of the first week of correct and healthy eating. I can honestly say I have been eating more veggies this week then I have in the past year. While I know this is a sad state of affairs, I am quite pleased with myself for having eating well. What did this do for me well I went from 214 to 208. Can you belive 6 lbs in one week it sounds like an infomercial. I can assure you though it was not for lack of food. I was completly stuffed at every moment of every day.

While I plan on continuing to eat this way I can honestly say that it wasn’t enough. Of course I mean the exercise componet of a healthy lifestyle. I am proud to announce that I did join the gym and went for the first time yesterday. I am quite sore already so I am sure the next few days are not going to be plesant. I did plan on going today (for a cardio only day) but did not make it. Rest assured that I will continue on my way.

I am rededicating myself to this new life style. I have not been working on things like I should and of course all progress has stopped. The real kicker for me and the reason for my new found motivation is that when I stepped on the scale (evil machine) it said I had gained 4 lbs. I would love to report that it is muscle but having not been working out at all it can only be one thing FAT.

So what am I going to do differently to insure a better outcome. In short I am going to do what we all know we should namely "Eat Right and Exercise".

Eat Right - Well I admit that I am a complete idiot where food is concerned. I tried to find a nutritionist locally but had no luck. So instead I opted for creating an account on vitabot.com to the tune of 9.97 per month. I figure after a couple of moths planning every meal I should know a great deal more then I do now.

Exercise - I have done the gym thing and I have done the home gym thing. To be honest both have the same issues for me, first I start off all gung ho and then I start skipping workouts more and more until I am not working out at all. I think there are a few reasons for this:

1. After a while I start having troubles with recovery and get progressivly tired.
2. Lack of a built in reward system.
3. Peer pressure to not be fit (friends and family are overweight)

I am sure there are other factors but I believe these are the biggest three. I now think that the first is controlable with three componets which I never concerned myself with they are proper Nutrition, adaquate sleep and trying not to over do it in the gym everyday.

The second thing is a built in reward for this I have decided to join a gym, not for any of the normal reasons, infact the biggest reason I am going to join a gym is so that I have access to a steam room. You see I love steam love love love it. So at the end of each work session I will have a steam. I am hoping that after a while I will begin to love to work out just so I can get the steam.

Lastly peer pressure. I have no real good ways to handle this demotivator. I did get my honey to join the gym and buy in to the new diet which is so vastly different then our old one it has caused both of us to have stomach upset. I am a bit fearful that this is still not a long term solution. If anyone has any suggestions on how to deal with negative peer pressure I would welcome them.

ttfn thats all for now.