The Nubiennelady Chronicles

Well, I actually never really left but it’s been a while since I’m posted.

We got our new treadmill in April and on the 20th of April, I began power-walking to prepare my shins for the eventual transition to jogging.  I used the iFit cards that came with the treadmill and they kicked my butt.  I did this for about 10 weeks before I transitioned to the Couch to 5K running program.  I got through week 4 before I went on vacation for about 2 weeks and then came back, re-did week 4 runs (and a little bit of softball).  Now I’m back to to finish what I’ve started.  My weight is 210lbs but I’ve lost 1.5 inches from my chest, 2 inches from my waist and an inch from my hips.  I haven’t lost alot of weight but my clothes are definitely fitting better.  I know my progress could be much better once I get a handle on my eating.

I’m dealing with a chaotic and stressful work situation so I’m pinching pennies and trying to keep my head down.  I’ve decided to focus on the things I could control.  Taking care of my health and becoming satisfied with the way that I look are my priorities and I figure if I can get my eating and exercise right, it will be an anchor in other parts of my life.

My husband ordered us a new treadmill and I’m happy that I don’t have to depend on getting to the gym to get my cardio workouts in.  But my husband is already starting to get on my nerves with his "run until you vomit" mantra.  It always seems to escape this man’s notice that I have shinsplints something chronic and that I need to start SLOWLY with walk/jogs in order to condition my legs and my heart.  His old Army workout insanity is rearing it’s ugly little head again and I want to say so badly, "When’s the last time you’ve even worked out?"  But that would be petty….and I’m not beyond being petty…LOL 

I took a brief hiatus from training as my husband and I moved into our new digs.  Unfortunately the move didn’t go as smoothly as we would have liked.  Some of our property came up missing (i.e. a brand new Wii my husband gave me for Christmas) so we’ve been wrangling with the moving company and our lawyers. 

Anyway, I’m ready to get back on track because any more procrastinating and I’d negatively reverse the progress I made last year.  I did gain some weight over the holiday and move so cleaning up the diet is priority #1.  Since I’m rebellious by nature, I have to clean up my diet gradually.  Cutting out fried food, soda and candy will be my first and biggest challenge.  I do love me some fries but they also love to attach themselves to my belly which is not a cute look.

As for training, I’ll be using heavy circuit training thrice a week, 2 days of steady state cardio to begin (hopefully after finishing tw weeks to a full month of training, I’ll switch to interval cardio).

Time management is a key issue for me.  Being a college professor makes it challenging to have a steady work schedule because of meetings, grading papers, and doing my research each day is pretty different.  For me to stick with my workouts, I have to do them in the morning.  This means getting my internet addicted ass in the bed around 11pm (I’m already late as I type this) so I can workout at 7am.  Too many times I’ve let poor planning thwart my efforts to reach my fitness goals but I’m no spring chicken so I need to get to work.

Happy New Year….

Hubby and I are waiting to close escrow on our home so our condo is in a state of utter chaos as we pack.  I’m so excited about getting a dedicated workout room as opposed to using our 2nd bedroom as a guest bedroom/office/storage space/workout area which is cluttered with books, paper (mostly from my dissertation research), magazines, dumbbells and other fitness equipment.  I’m also very happy that we settled on a place because Lord knows, buying a home is one of the hardest things you can do to marriage.  We fought like cats and dogs….and most people assume women want the most expensive stuff but I’m the pragmatist in our relationship and fortunately, my pragmatism won.  Wahoo!

However, what I haven’t been able to do is workout.  The day after Christmas, I woke up with a sore throat, clogged ears and stuffy nose.  Dammit, another case of sinusitis.  I swear these sinus problems are never-ending.  I still have some residual congestion and my sleep schedule is all out of whack.  So combine that with a house that looks like a typhoon hit it and you’ll understand why I haven’t done a workout yet in 2009.  Oh, for ****’s sake!  Not how I envisioned beginning the year but without free breathing, I better just do something light and hope I can get back on the wagon soon.

Considering it’s close to Christmas and the end of the semester, a holding pattern is a good thing.  Right now, if I can maintain through the holidays, I’ll be happy.  Although I didn’t lose much weight this year, I did lose 13.5 inches all over which allowed for me to buy smaller blouses (one size) and pants (two sizes).  Admittedly, I got caught up in losing weight and it was counter-productive.  Next year, the focus will be on fat loss so instead of doing cardio until I turn blue, I’m focusing on heavy weights, interval cardio (short and intense) and eating cleaner.  To be honest, the scale made me neurotic.  If I had a bad eating day, I would try to go low carb and max out of cardio because I didn’t want to see a gain.  I should know better than this.

I have always had better results lifting and I prefer the burn from reaching failure as opposed to coughing up my lungs with cardio.  I think because I was so much heavier last year I got caught up in the idea of rapid weight loss.  What I failed to consider was/is that I’m no longer 20 years old.  I need weight training and I need to watch my diet closely as my metabolism isn’t as forgiving as it used to be.  Nevertheless, I’m in a much better place than last year and I’m planning to build on that success in ‘09.  So for a few more weeks, I’ll accept the holding pattern as a necessary part of my progress.  And I’d be lying if I said I was planning to avoid all the sinfully delicious food my family will have a Christmas.  It’s one day I know but it’s mine to indulge and then get back on track.

Since my last blog post, I’m down to 207.5 from 212…4.5lbs loss never felt so good.  This is the lowest weight I’ve been since January 2006.  I’m working out about 4 times per week doing a mix of kickboxing, strength training and step aerobics.  My diet is 3 meals and 1 small snack spread throughout the day.  I tried experimenting with 3 meals and 3snacks but I’d always overeat.  Snacks were just like another chance for me to over-indulge.  One thing I’ve had to do was to dump all the refined sugar/flour products from my house except for my hubby’s ice cream (this is not something I’ll binge on, strangely enough).  But the chips, cookies, muffins, etc…had to go.  I don’t care if it was 100-calorie packs, they needed to go too because as soon as I got stressed or behind on work, I’d reach for something to make me "feel good". 

I’m far from perfect but I can see a difference in my stomach.  It looks less bloated and I’m hoping to kick these last 8lbs to the curb so that I won’t go into 2009 at 200lbs or more.  I was worried that I’d have to do some extreme dieting to reach my end of the year goal because I’d failed so many times before.  But getting the junk food out of the house, committing to 4 or more workouts per week and enlisting the support of the hubster is making a difference.

I managed to drop 1.5lbs this week.  It’s a good start considering my issues with hitting my meal targets.  This week will be much better as I have no planned social outings and I’ve prepped enough food on Sunday to last for three days and then I’ll re-cook on Thursday to get me through to next Sunday.

Training will consist of 4 lifting sessions and 5 cardio workouts (30 minutes each).  I know with consistency, I will reach 195 by December 20th and I should be able to maintain that through New Year’s when I resume my fat loss program.

Exercise has gone well this week.  I’ve been really consistent and not making excuses.  Diet/nutrition on the other hand, has left alot to be desired. 

My challenge this week has been eating out.  The downward slide began on Wednesday with a faculty happy hour at a tapas bar.  Those were some of the nastiest damn tapas ever so like any good foodie, I had to get those weird flavors off my tongue with a tall glass of sangria.  Who knew wine and fruit over some ice is like 300 calories each?  Damn, that’s what I’d normally eat in terms of a protein based mini meal. 

I tried to recover the next day because I knew I was going to a sorority fundraiser at a Mexican restaurant.  I worked out early and ate very light but my resolve around the tortilla chips was just not what it should be. In fact, I looked like a crackhead fidgeting around trying to avoid that stuff like the plague.  But I gave in and had to guess-estimate my calorie/macro intake…

Fortunately, the damage wasn’t too bad but still…I have eaten over my calorie target 3 out of 5 days.  I know it’s my first week back but I was hoping I could pick up where I left off in August.  But I suppose it will require baby steps back to clean eating…and staying my ass at home.    My husband will probably dance the gig because he’s spoiled from my cooking (he likes it all - my sweet potato pies, ginger teriyaki flank steak, cornbread dressing and grilled shrimp with roasted asparagus) and I’m sure my waistline and wallet will thank me.  With my work schedule, I often don’t get home until after 8pm so now it’s time to break out my mini cooler and pack a day’s worth of meals.  If I want my stomach to be smaller than the size of my ass, I’m going to have to accept that abs are made in the kitchen and I can’t over-compensate with cardio and weight training.

I managed to lose 6lbs in July and then I went buckwild in Vegas in August for my lil sis’ 30th birthday party (see the pics below). I am just now returning to tracking my calories and macros.  Fortunately, I’ve been able to maintain that 6lbs loss through exercise primarily but I know if I really want to see a drop in weight, I have to get my act together with the diet.  For me, that means better planning and time management.  Teaching, research, writing - that stuff comes easy for me.  But prepping lunch and setting out my work clothes the night before…is a real struggle.  See, I was raised around a household full of educated, intelligent women who didn’t give a rat’s ass about time management.  I never learned to really make exercise, proper nutrition or even keeping a tidy house a priority. Seriously.  I’ve had to learn, honestly, by trial and error on my own and some of it while my husband and I were shacked up prior to getting married.  Most of my weight gain comes from this lack of planning and time management because I like healthy foods and I love weight training (I do still hate cardio but now that I’ve added kickboxing, I can tolerate it better).  For years, I’d blame genetics, or being too busy working on my degrees or whatever else I could come up with until it hit me a few months ago that my biggest problem is what I do with time.  So now that the vacation is over and I’ve adjusted to my new teaching schedule, I’m back on track.  I am making Sunday my grocery and prep meals day because if I don’t, I won’t follow the plan.

My goal for the remainder of the year is to lose 15lbs which brings me back to ONEderland which I haven’t seen since 2003.  My weight training and cardio is simple but my biggest challenge is TRACKING my calories/macros daily.  I have to make this the single most important thing I do with my time besides making sure I prep my meals, my work and exercise gear and get enough rest.  No, I’m not going to hit my target of lose 40lbs this year but I’ll happily take a 26lbs guaranteed loss.

When I started back with calorie and macro tracking about 3 weeks ago, I had no problem whatsoever getting in all of my protein because I was hungry as hell in the beginning.  Really was no need for whey powder or some meal replacements because I was at home, able to cook and preferred solid food to liquid calories.  But for the past few days (about 4-5), I’m struggling to get the protein in.  I’m cycling my macros every few weeks and I’m supposed to be eating 40% protein, 35% carbs and 25% fat for these few three weeks.  I’m lucky if I can even get to 35% lately. 

I’ve noticed my appetite is diminishing a bit (which I welcome) but I guess it’s time to break out the whey protein powder again.  But beyond whey powder, what else can I add to my diet without overloading on fat and carbs?  I have non-fat Greek Yogurt on a regular basis along with lean protein (for lunch and dinner) and maybe some egg whites for breakfast.  I can’t have too much cheese in the house because I’ll hit that like a crackfiend.  I suppose I could add beans but my husband might want to divorce me.  Any suggestions?

In the coming week, when I have an active recovery week, I’m supposed to have 50% protein, 20% carbs and 30% fat.  Eeek!!