Making_A_Change’s BodyBlog

So I dragged myself to the gym determined to get 30 minutes of cardio in on the elliptical machine with the handles. I pedaled for 14 minutes forward and backwards, then finished off pedalling forward, again. I did three of the ab excercises assigned to me. I got good and sweaty because it was a bit of a struggle, but I left the gym feeling waaa-aay better than when I entered! The power that is excercise! Tommorow, I will attempt the workout again tommorow. When I meet with the PT on Monday I can say that I did the program 3x (what I could do anyway) and 3 days of cardio (he assigned two). It’s only been a week, but I can say that my squats have improved drastically. I do alot of self correcting, now. I’ll keep working at it and we’ll see what kind of changes happen towards the middle of October!

Back to School Night was a success. I thought the day would never end. After 15 hours on my feet, I was beat. As the day went on I noticed that  was feeling worse and worse. A little achy all over. I just kept saying the mantra–I will not be sick. I will not act sick. I will not be overcome. By the time I got home It was over. This may explain the poor workout on Wednesday. At least it is the weekend, I can nurse myself to health and be ready to go on Monday. Even though yesterday was an off day from the gym, I was very active and very physical while preparing for our families to visit the school. Tonight the plan is to do some light cardio–just 30 minutes. BUT I will listen to my body and if it doesn’t happen, I’ll focus of stretching (I don’t do enough of that anyway). Tomorrow, I am going to do the trainer’s program and see how far I can get. He wants me to eat or drink a shake and hour before we meet. I don’t know how I can going to pull that off. I’ve grabbed half of an apple and ate it on the way to the gym, but I’ve never gotten up and hour before an already early workout to eat. That just might give me stomache problems.

I am currently pre-menstrual, so I am retaining alot of water. It’s funny, now I can actually see it. I’m a bit more jiggly and loose. At least I get to go into work later today. So, I am going to sit here, sip on a protein shake, read a magazine–and breath….

So, the Little One decided to cry and scream from 2 a.m.-4 a.m. Needless to say, getting up at 4:45 to workout was out of the question. I got home at around 7 p.m. and was going to call it a night, but just couldn’t. I know I am going to take tomorrow off, for sure, because I am working a 15 hour day. I just want to sleep as long as possible. Monday, I met with the trainer. Tuesday, I ran 3 miles and then some outside, today I tried to do my routine. First of all, I couldn’t really remember the things that we did. I mean they were so different from what I normally do. I know it will take some time to get it. But I did the best I could. I only got through 3 of the excercises that he showed me and eeked out 3 sets of 6-8 reps. I am feeling bloated and sluggish, which doesn’t help. AND the program is hard! But that is what I liked. I am going to have to work at it. I don’t know how I am going to do it three times per week though. My butt is still sore from Monday. I am supposed to do 15-20 minutes of cardio after the workout, but I could only do SIX! It really is like starting from scratch. But it’s good, it gives me something to work towards and I sure my body is saying—what the hell!

I am just hoping I get a good night’s sleep and make it through tomorrow.

So, I guess yesterday would be the equivalent of a ‘refeed’ or ‘loading’. After class, I decided to get some sushi and teriyaki chicken for dinner. I ate so much unagi. I was bloated, so bloated that the scale read 170 last night! I eat brown rice, now. But there is something about that eel atop of that sticky white rice, man. Whoo! I felt better this morning, the bloat is still there but has lessened. Today will be lots of water [crossing my fingers on that one] and mostly protein and veggies–very, very low carbs with the exception of fruit. That usually helps me feel alot better. I didn’t workout this morning. I decided to sleep in. I may do cardio tonight, we’ll see how I feel. I can’t wait to do my program, again. Right now, my butt is killing me–Come On Shelf Butt!

Update: I just got back from a run around the lake. I usually drive to it; it’s only 2 minutes away, but a 10-15 minute walk. I didn’t want to move my car, b/c parking is at a premium out here, especially after 7 p.m. My husband suggested that I run to the lake (it’s down hill), run part of the lake and walk up the hill. I ended up running down the hill, running the entire lake, and walking up the hill. It felt so good. Now, I can save my rest day for another day. It will probably be Thursday, I’m working a 14 hour day so I’ll need all the sleep I can get.  Turns out Baby Girl like Talapia, too. She just took out two fillets. I didn’t do to well with low carbing today. I must be ovulating–when it is hard to resist a mini muffin it’s time.

I felt clumsy, uncoordinated, and winded–and I loved it. "You are conditioned for that". He said pointing to the gym floor. "You haven’t been through the conditioning that we are about to do. We are going to do conditioning….[something else I didn’t catch here because I was trying to catch my breath], then building mass. We are building your foundation here." Yes, you are Mr. Washington. I had a blast! I am going to miss my time on the gym floor, but let me tell you, I used a 5 lb. dumbell around 20 pounds on the cable machine, and tons of squats. I was dripping sweat and breathing so hard. We only did one circuit of what I am suppose to do during the week. I have to work up to 3 circuits and 12-15 reps of the stuff that we did. Full body work 3x per week and cardio 2x for no more than 45 minutes.We will meet once per week and I am really looking forward to doing something different. It was exciting to move my body in different ways. What really impressed me was the intensity in which he paid attention to me when I was working and when I wasn’t. While I was standing there, he was able to tell me things about my posture and weakness by looking about the way I held my arms, for example. While I squated, he provided alot of feedback and  pointed out some things that explained why I have difficulty squatting. He assured me that I would get my ’shelf butt’. Right on! He explained why he was doing something, what the benefits were, and gave alternatives. I got a very doable rate that I feel comfortable with. I was doing well on my own, but it should be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks.

Yesterday I worked my back and did some abs. Today, I ended up doing lunges in the studio and working on my butt. I wasn’t sore for Friday’s workout and felt compelled to do a bit more. Tomorrow is my first session with the trainer. I am excited and can’t wait to see what the next few weeks brings. I told him what I want–I want to be strong, lean, and muscular. I think now is a good time for a change in the routine. Plus, I do believe in the power of the universe, faith, luck–whatever you want to call it. I wasn’t looking for this opportunity and it was made available to me. He’s seen me work, and I just want him to bring it! I didn’t spend this summer in jeans, which was great. But next summer is going to be an entirely different animal. A thong and pasties, perhaps? No, just kidding.

I updated my measurements. I’ve lost and inch and a half on my hips and four inches from my waist since I’ve started. I updated alot of my clothes and over the past few weeks and I’ve found that some of the skirts and pants that I purchased are already a little loose–a nice problem to have. I had bacon, grits, and eggs in all their runny, yolky glory this weekend–so good! But during the week, it’s back to the grind that is clean and frequent eating. Until next weekend, Quick Grits, good-bye.

I get dressed in the dark, so that Husband can stay asleep. I get to the gym and notice that my tanktop is inside out. Ok. Then, while doing leg extensions I notice that my shorts are inside out, too. I didn’t bother changing. I would have changed if the shorts were like some of my other cotton shorts and had big white cotton crotches, but since they didn’t no worries. Today was the light leg day, sans lunges. I surpised myself by doing 130 on the leg extension! I was trying to do 105 and the weights felt challenging but I figured it was becuase I just did leg presses. The weights were sticking together. I decided to do 120# and really focus on form–but I was might impressed with myself, indeed. I am probably going to take Little Bit for a walk around the lake today. She likes to feed the ducks and people watch. I have my first session with the trainer on Monday. We’ll see what he has for me–it’s exciting. He gave me a paper on nutrition today. I don’t think he knows who he is about to deal with–I am going to do everything with enthusiasm and fervor. I have never worked out with someone before, so it will be a different experience for me, but I am ready to try something new and see where I can take this body.

By the way, talipia is the lick. It is a good fishy fish–and it’s CHEAP.  I like the texture  it cooks quickly–that’s key for me, and I can get it fresh. Well, as fresh as it can be in the grocery store. Definitely better than tuna, in my opinion. I don’t know how it stacks up nutrition-wise, but I like it.

I slept in and just got back from the gym. I ran 3 miles @ 5.3 mph. The great thing is that I felt great. I really felt like I could have gone another couple of miles, but…I wanted to go home so I cut it short. Evenings are just not good for me. Once the day is over, I like it to be over. On a postive note, at least I did get 30 minutes of cardio in. With the exception of the ice cream I had tonight all is well….

I did biceps and triceps this morning–it was alright. I felt a little drained and I really don’t care for that split too much anymore. I like chest/triceps or biceps or back/triceps or biceps. I guess it feels like I don’t get the rest the other part much and feel like I tire much earlier. But I suppose the change is good thing every so often–but next week it’s back to the split I like. I think tomorrow I’ll run and try for 5 miles. I weighed in at 163, again, so I guess I’ll post it. The past 3 months it seems that I have this pattern of little change for 3-5 weeks then dropping several pounds in one week. Interestingly, it is usually after my cycle end. Water is the word of the day. I feel really dry. My mouth and skin feel dry. We don’t have a water dispenser here, so if I don’t bring water I have to have tap and you can really taste the difference. You have to bring your own, and I can say that a trip to the water dispenser breaks up the day and encourages you to drink–at least it does for me. It is almost time for my next meal…

I am taking this morning off from the gym. Since I made it to the gym last Tuesday to this Sunday (6 days) I can take the 7th off. So I got up an hour later.  My butt still hurts from the leg workout a few days ago–lunges, lunges, lunges. In 6 months I am determined to have a nice, tight, high, ROUNDED, backside. I’ll workout Tuesday-Sunday, again. And I awoke to the sound of the gagging man, again. My husband and I had a lovely discussion about whether he was throwing up or phlegmy. He is the latter…and it’s still gross. I grocery shopped for the next week and a half or so. Got lots of chicken, salmon, and decided to try the tilapia that people on here talk about. I’ll probably cook that close to the end of the week. I am excited to be picking up the shoes that I put in to be repaired. Just 20 pounds caused me to walk harder and destroy the heels of many of my shoes. As a matter of fact, after losing this weight I can wear these cute, brown, stilleto ankle boots and a sex-ay pair of black, knee high ankle boots that I had in my closet, comfortably. The vixen was in me and had shoes–but I just couldn’t pull her off. I took in three pairs of heels to be repaired and tapped and a pair of caramel colored pointy-toed boots to be repaired. And I have a dark brown boot next in line for some TLC. Reclaiming clothes and shoes is almost as good as shopping. Today’s cooler has brown rice, red curry chicken, [dang, I forgot the brocolli], cottage cheese, some strawberries, and my emergency protein bar only eaten in the event that I am out of food.