Category: Health

Week 2 of this routine, and I am still really liking it. Hoping to stick with it for 4-6 weeks, and then grab the next routine from that site. There are 3, so I could potentially keep myself on routines through the year.

Day 1 (aka arms) planned to do spin first. Snoozed, telling myself I could do just 45 of spin. By the time I was at the gym, I would have only made 30 min. Instead, I did 20 on an elliptical, and 20 on an inclined treadmill between a 3 and 9 incline. For the arms, I added bench presses, back arm over the head things, and tricep extensions.
1 hr 13 min, 540 cal.

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Day 2 of week 2, I snoozed longer than I should have and missed spin class. Again. Ended up going to the gym by my work. I really like the layout there. I did the 5 minute warm up on tue stepper, at a level 5. Then I did the ab exercises, followed by 20 minutes of intervals on the treadmill. After that I added some more abs, using the machines. I did that one where you hold yourself up on your elbows and crunch your legs up from hanging to a sitting position. Then I did a forward bend with 60 lbs, and obliques with 48 lbs. 3 sets. I did 5 reps for the hanging crunches, in each set. For the other two, I did 12 reps each, including both sides for the obliques. 1 hr 2 min 470 cal.

Pretty sure I will still have another gain this week, as I’m not tracking and I know I have been going over. I have been telling myself that after my friends’ wedding, I will knock it off and get serious. I believe I plan to start that on Sunday. Until then I am still keeping with this program, so that I have something good going on for exercise.

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Day 3 was not an easy feat.  I had the rehearsal dinner last night, for my friends’ wedding.  Didn’t get to bed until about 1:30.  I had lofty dreams of getting up at 5, just like a normal day, and going to spin class.  Ha!  I ended up snoozing til after 7.  I was somehow able to not talk myself out of going.  Made some coffee and got to the gym.  Did a 5 minute warm up on the stepper, doing the fat burning plus program at a level 5.  Gets the heart rate going well.

Did the leg routine, and unfortunately the Pittsford gym doesn’t have the lying leg lift machine.  I looked around for a substitute.  Attempted a very awkward attempt at using resistance bands, which probably evoked some laughs from any onlookers.  Then I found  leg weights that looked like they were from the 1970’s.  I strapped those bad boys on and did the best I could.  Even though this day of the routine doesn’t call for cardio, I ran on the treadmill for 15 minutes.  Started at a 4.5.  About 1/2 way through I went to a 4.7.  In the last minute, I went to a 5, and for the last 30 seconds, sprinted it out at a 6.

Then I went to go through a series of other leg machines, just adding in more leg exercises.  This routine is definitely beginner, so I am just adding extra reps on other machines, and I figure that each week I can just choose some random machines.  Do 3 reps on any machines I pick and do what I can to work out that area.   58 min 477 cal.  Not exactly going to melt off the chocolate raspberry torte from last night, but it keeps me from feeling like I am in a free fall.  I know my eating is not where I want it to be, but my exercise is still happening and I am definitely committed to turning around the nutrition after this week.

My friends are getting married today, and I could not be more excited.  They are two of the greatest people. They love unconditionally, they are humble, honest, loyal, and beautiful.  I am honored that I get to stand with them and celebrate in their love for each other.  Not many people get to have that in their life, and when two people find that it is always a wonderful thing to appreciate.  L’chaim.

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All in all this week was fantastic, exhausting, and full of giving in to temptations with all the events, dining out, late nights, etc.  I still kept up with my workout routine, but that was the end of giving in for me.  I am lucky the 3 lbs gain wasn’t 10.  Now as much as I don’t want to have to be tracking everything, I am going back to it.  My commitment is to track on WW through the end of the year.  I will get to 75 lbs and I will get beyond it, on to 100 and to goal.

This was an amazing week, with my close friends getting married.  I couldn’t have asked for things to go better for them.  Now to clean my house and get back to a life without weddings.  I haven’t been in many weddings, or even attended many, but it really does take over your life.  It does it in the best way possible, but I will be glad for an end to all the fantastic (but not so healthy) eating and drinking.

I am really glad I kept the exercise up, so that I wasn’t in a complete free fall.  I want to add more cardio to the routine, which I hope to do this week.  This has been a fantastic summer, an incredible wedding and despite all the ups and downs in my weight, it was totally worth it.

Day 1 of my personal challenge rocked. 42 minutes, 338 cal. It was all arms today, and I’m excited to focus on arms, like that, every week.

Day 2 I thought to do more, but those abs reps actually add up. 43 min 322 cal. I still want to add more cardio. I set the amount for the abs sets to 25 and the plank to 45 seconds. Plan to increase that as well. Did the stair master for my 5 min warm up, the sets and then intervals. Started at 3.5/4.5 and worked up to 4.0/5.0 finishing with pushing a 6.0. I can’t do it for long, because my left foot starts to hurt. I have to really pay attention to my form.

I finished off playing with some other exercises, but I want to get through the first week, before I try adding more exercises on a given day. At least for the strength training part. I ended with some serious stretching. I could stretch for an hour and still be sore.

Day 3 I actually got up at 6:30 on a Saturday, so I could get to the gym and do the day 3 routine before going to spin and yoga. Wasn’t bad at all. Had a hard time balancing in yoga, though. My lyrica prescription is now double, and I think it was making me dizzy. My wrists were also hurting a lot, so I did a lot of modifications. It was still a great class. Bummed that spin is now 45 min instead of an hour, but still a great push. The leg exercises were good too. 2 hrs 24 min 942 cal.

I may have gained this week, but that is just a failed experiment in not tracking.  I’m ok with it, because I am just trying to figure out healthy eating without having to track everything every moment of the day.  I would like it to be a little more “organic” (despite the bad rap organic is getting lately).

Here’s to another week experimenting!

• 5 minute Warm up on treadmill
• 10 minute Jog on treadmill
• 5 minute Cool down
• 3 sets Pushups (view image)
  
• 3 sets Lat pulldowns (view image)
  
• 3 sets Bicep curls (view image)
  
• 3 sets Triceps pushdowns with rope (view image)
  
• 3 sets Dumbbell front raises (view image)
  

• 5 minute warm up
• 3 sets Crunches on stability ball (view image)
  
• 3 sets Plank (view image)
  
• 3 sets Bent knee hip raises (view image)
  
• 10 minute Interval training on treadmill
• 5 minute Cool down

• 3 sets Stability ball squats (view image)
  
• 3 sets Forward lunges (view image)
  
• 3 sets Lying Abduction (view image)
  
• 3 sets Lying leg curls (view image)
  
• 10 minute Jog on treadmill
• 5 minute Cool down

Don’t ask me how. With quitting smoking, I have been going through 10:30 bowls of cereal, like it’s my job. I did get to the gym Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Hopefully I can be even more on track next week.

Here are my stats for this week:

9/3 –
Running outside 59 min 656 cal

9/5 –
Spin 1 hr 6 min 489 cal

9/7 –
Spin 59 min 556 cal

Our spin instructor said that today, as he was saying the jumps were optional.  That’s what everything feels like for me lately.  Everything is a choice.  It’s all up to me whether I show up, pay attention to nutrition, fitness, etc.  I spent weeks not tracking my nutrition in Weight Watchers.  Following Weight Watchers is how I lost over 70 lbs.  I was and am at the cusp of hitting 75, well on my way to my goal of losing 124 lbs.  Somehow, without tracking, I managed to not gain any weight for the month of August.  Even with camping every weekend, and parties, eating out, etc.  I went up and down, but netted a small loss.  It was great, but then getting back to my normal routine has been rough.

I wanted to sign up for a program at my gym, so that I could focus on my weight training and make a commitment to take my fitness to the next level.  The past couple of years have required a good fight from me to get my physical fitness into existence.  It started with aggressively advocating for myself with my doctors.  I knew I was having issues, but didn’t know what they were, or how to best manage them.  Autoimmune disorders can hold you back from accomplishing anything.  They had that effect on me for a while.  Knowing what was going on allowed me understand what was causing the problem, so I could decipher what I was allowed to ignore (what I can and needed to push past) and what issues I needed to acknowledge.

Well, a new issue arose when I went to get the evaluation for a program at my gym.  We went through my medical history and I was told I needed to meet with a trainer.  There were no appointments I could make, so they said he would call me.  He hasn’t and it’s been a week.  Not something I can ignore.  Definitely frustrating.  I was mentioning it in the locker room this morning, and come to find out this trainer is not good. He is apparently a womanizer and has been known to push people to injury.  Opposite of what I am looking for.  I feel better about being ignored, because I am just going to call a different location and start over.

So now I have to acknowledge something else.  I quit smoking.  I know.  Non-smokers are probably thinking “why aren’t you shouting that from the roof top???”  Smokers will get it more.  The hesitation.  Every time I get in my car, I want to stop and buy a pack.  Am I sure I quit?  Am I really ready to commit to saying that out loud?  What if I have one?  What then? The disappointment, for everyone, that I failed.  This personal challenge is independent from the goal to lose weight and get fit.  It will be 3 days tonight.  The end of the chemical addiction.  I can feel that I am almost there, because I have wanted to chew my arm off for the last 2 1/2 days.  That feeling seems to be wearing off.  I know I have been fighting that feeling. Just not sure I have been winning.

I had a big gain last week, so I went back to full tracking of my nutrition with Weight Watchers.  That doesn’t mean that I am on track.  It just means I am tracking.  To give some perspective, I have 32 points a day.  I also have 49 weekly points that I can use throughout the week to off set my nutrition each day.  I don’t need to use them, but I can.  I can also earn activity points.  On average, a spin class will earn me 6-8 AP.  So far this week, I have used 27 of my WP and all 14 AP that I have earned.  That is definitely a lot.  I know it is the quitting smoking, but it is frustrating that I can’t be better about it all.  I want to get that weight loss momentum going again.

The truth is, as much as I want to quit smoking, I don’t know why I chose now.  I guess any time I can try, I will.  Who knows how long it will stick.  Some say once a smoker always a smoker.  It’s impossible to convey why that is, to non-smokers.

So that’s my update for the moment.  I am still trying to figure out how I want to structure the next “phase” of my exercise regiment.  Classes are great, but I want to incorporate strength training.  I have a good gym membership and like going there, as it provides focus for working out.  Other than that, I don’t know.  Until I get it figured out, I will keep going to classes, so that I can keep some level of fitness going.

So not surprised, but also not as psyched as last week’s gain. Completely my doing. I figured since this not tracking wasn’t working so bad, let’s keep it up and master this whole nutrition thing naturally. Of course, this week, I wasn’t tracking and I was going over what I knew my daily points were. I was doing the same previous weeks, but I pushed it too far this time.

So back to basics, back to getting on the progress wagon. It’s so hard to get going in the right direction when you’ve fallen off track. In the end, though it wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to start this either. The point is that every part of getting to

That’s a gain, and I can’t believe it.  Only 1 lbs after yet another week of not tracking, minimal exercising (ie 2 x a week), and camping like a champ.  I looked back at my ww tracker and in the last month I astonishingly netted a loss of .6 lbs.  A month that started with back to back bachelorette parties, which I was hosting.  Then on to a camping free for all with 15 people, pitchers of spiked lemonade, iced tea, drunk gummi bears, banana boats, s’mores, and yummy carb treats (read casseroles, meat and potatoes, candy etc).  Then on to camping at Darien Lake. More fun and more not tracking.  Finally the last camping trip of the season.  Yet more non-tracking and just enjoying myself with friends.

During the week, every week, I was good without tracking.  Now that my summer vacations are done, I am so ready to be officially back on track.  It’s nuts that I didn’t gain this last month, but even so, I have a goal to get to, and I’m not done yet.  I’m going back to tracking, but I am not as strict as I used to be.  I want to be able to eat nutritiously and intelligently without having to track everything, but just to be smart about it.  I also want to get my fitness going to a higher level.  Even more than what or how I am eating, I am motivated to getting myself in better physical fitness.

I plan to make an appointment at my gym for an evaluation.  They will basically take all my measurements, do a physical fitness test, and then make a program for me.  It’s free, and the reason I really want to do it, is two fold.  One, I want to incorporate more weights into my exercise.  More, because I haven’t been doing any lately, and when I was, it wasn’t consistent.  I also like that when I do a program, we can see it’s effectiveness over time. At the end of the program, my measurements get taken again, and I get to see the difference.  That really motivates me to keep on it and see it through.

So that’s it for now.  All in all, I had a great summer vacation season.  Awesome friends, fantastic times. Now’s it’s back to focusing on my goal and continuing towards the finish line.

I am on this kick, if you can call it that. Since I have accepted that snoozing too long, waking up late, isn’t an excuse to not get to the gym, I keep showing up late. I still call it a victory, as I showed up. I despised getting up this morning, as I’m sure many do in a Monday. Nevertheless, I mustered up the determination to do what I committed to doing for myself and made it to spin class. I wasn’t at my top form, but I got a descent workout in.
Stats:
Spinning 53 min 476 cal

After the gym, I had to go to the dealership, as another part of my car handle fell off. When I talked to them on the phone, they seemed to imply that they would fix it. When I got there, the gentleman at the desk immediately said this wasn’t the part of the door they fixed a few weeks ago. I almost lost it. That previous fix set me back over $225. I’ve also had to fix my rotors and my muffler. All in all, about $1,000 in the last month. I’ve only had this car 3 years. I conveyed this to another gentleman, while the first went to check on the price for this new part. By the time he came back, I had won over the 2nd gentleman with my desperation. They are ordering the part and will fix it for free. Just say when.

When.

What? Excuse me? What was that? A loss? Are you kidding me?

I keep my eyes open on all rides. Superman is no exception. I even held my arms in the air for almost the whole ride, with the exception of one turn. Even so, I was completely prepared to close my eyes this morning. it could be bad. Camping is always tough, but it’s been great this year, as my friends have embraced snacks like veggies and light dips. Baked chips too. But there are always good drinks. And darn it if they don’t always set me back. Then there was the family picnic.

We are talking real mac salad, potato salad, hot dogs, chicken with the skin on, devil’d eggs, and cake.

Despite all that, I somehow squeezed in a loss. It isn’t much, but it’s huge compared to the gain I had been preparing for.

Whatever I’m doing, it’s working and it’s really fun!

I am enjoying my workouts lately, because I realized that pushing every workout to be more, more, more was building pressure. It became exhausting just trying to beat what I’ve done to this point. So I decided to back off and just work out. It feels good. I have to work at giving myself credit for just going to a spinning class, or just running on the treadmill for 30 minutes. Showing up is the real battle. What I do once I’m here is cake. Or at least it will burn the cake off.

Stats:
Spin 56 min 563 cal

Happy Friday to me!