exercise

Not this Time

Every year about this time, my weight goes up and my fitness level takes a precipitous turn downward. You see, I have this seasonal job in which the big kahuna event of the year occurs in mid-July. So usually around mid-to-late May, I start cutting back on workouts. I tell my trainer I am too busy to make appointments, and until this year, I never worked out unless I was with him. I was seeing him twice a week, so in May I’d cut back to once, and in June, I’d stop altogether. I’d be massively stressed, working long hours, with no endorphins. The stress eating would ratchet up. Then during the event itself in July, I would eat like there’s no tomorrow. Most people attending this event are horrified at the carb-laden, institutional food (think high school cafeteria) but for me, it kept me literally grounded so I didn’t spin off into space. Sloppy Joes, mac and cheese, pizza: BRING IT ON. Then I would eat for a week or two after the event, and by the end of summer I would be a total walrus. I’d slink back to my trainer in September, overweight and embarrassed, and we’d start at square one. Again.

Well, it’s June. My event is about five weeks away and I am determined that this is not going to happen. Not this year.

I HAVE A PLAN.

First, I’ve decided to switch to some evening workouts. I have not worked out in the evening very much since.. when? Since I was single? Twenty-five years ago? It’s really hard to wrench oneself out of the house when there are little kid betimes, bath, story and the like. But my kids can bathe themselves now, and they go to bed later than I do. Normally I see my trainer on Wednesday afternoons, which means leaving my work in mid-afternoon. During most of the year this is fine – it’s a part-time job, but in June it just doesn’t work. But instead of cancelling Monday workouts, I am switching to 6pm kickboxing class! YEAH!!!!!! (thanks for all the votes, kickboxing people!)

I’m going to continue to work out every day if possible, either running, going to a classs, going to the gym, SOMETHING. Even when I am AT MY EVENT. I am going to continue to eat as mindfully as possible, ESPECIALLY at the event. (we have switched locations and I am happy to report that the new place has a big giant salad and soup bar, and fresh fruit, and definitely healthier fare) I am not going to get into this summer stress-and-fatness cycle again.

I am excited!

And tonight I’m going to cardio kickboxing class. I didn’t have time to exercise today because I had to take various family members to medical appointments today. Normally if I do not get a workout before afternoon, it just isn’t gonna happen. But I realize I feel really bad if I do not workout now. My friend A just called and said she would come with me! Yeah! (I put an announcement on Facebook and invited everyone I know to come with me and I think she is the only taker)

Another plus-side to exercising in the evening is that it will hopefully keep me from overeating at dinner. I’m just having a tiny pre-workout snack, and then leftovers when I get home.

Can I say it again? I am excited! I’m changing a pattern I’ve had for the last five years, which I always felt was inevitable. Well guess what? It’s not!

June 4, 2009 10

Mixing Up the Exercise

I went to the gym this morning and worked out on the elliptical because my calf is just not loving the running right now. It was in major pain during and after my 5k, and I think I need to rest it for a while. Until I can find a way to rehab it and fix things so that it isn’t hurt when I run, I need to do other stuff.

I actually love the elliptical machine. It feels so… swingy, and almost relaxing, even though it is hard work. I was amazed that I did a 5k today and it felt 100x easier than RUNNING that 5k on Saturday. ANyway, while I was at the gym I realized that there are classes going on there ALL the time – free! (well, NOT free, but classes that I pay for every month and never utilize!) So I decided I’d make a goal out of trying at least one new class during the month of June.

Zumba sounds intriguing. But I also think it might be high time for me to get over my extreme aversion to yoga and Pilates. Should I challenge myself and try something completely new, or do something that sounds fun, or..? Hm. What class do you think I should try?

June 2, 2009 15

Day Two: Second 5k Race!

Now that I’m on the SECOND day of this challenge, I am seeing that every day will be different (profound realization, huh?). I can already tell you that yesterday was the day I didn’t hit the mark on the water, and today is the day I am not going to hit the mark on the fruits and vegies. I had about 8 blueberries in a little cup o yogurt they handed out after the race, and that is going to be it for today. Such is life.

So today was the See Jane Run 5k! This was a whole different experience because I was there with both of my daughters, two of my friends and also had a Twitter meetup with Twitter friend @pubsgal!

We got up early to get a spot in the parking lot. This race was right along the shoreline, so was both very beautiful and very COLD. The fog was in, and it was chilly. (still foggy even now in the afternoon) Then we stood in line for the bathroom (looooong line). They had a stage set up and after the half-marathoners took off (which gave me chills) they did a ten minute warmup with some goofy teachers in leg warmers and 70’s gear. Very cute. It did warm me up, but it was kind of distracting and it was not the same as doing a brisk walk/run warmup like I did last time. So we went over to the starting line, and one of my daughters ran into a friend, and with all the socializing, it just STARTED and I did not feel quite prepared.

I felt like this race was going much more quickly than the last one. Was it me? Was it the crowd? I don’t know, but in the first mile I felt like I was really struggling. I was really labored in my breathing, and I just felt like.. wow, I was going too fast or something. But I didn’t know how to slow down. (does that sound dumb?) It felt like everyone on the course was passing me. I felt a little panicked. I had told my friend M, whom I always run with, that I couldn’t talk during this race and I was going to use my iPod music to pace with (which I never do when I run with her). She was cool with that.

After passing the one mile mark I started feeling a little bit better. I wasn’t aching or hurting, and I didn’t feel like it was such a struggle. The turnaround point was about a mile and a half. Then we started seeing the first people coming back toward us. That was pretty cool, and inspiring. I saw my friend K, who is DAMN FAST. A little bit later, I saw my older girl. She looked great. I felt the best around the turnaround, and for the last 3/4 mile before we got to the finish. When the finish line was in sight, I started flagging (again). My friend M wanted to sprint to the end. I tried. We ran fast for about 50 yards? and then she took off right at the finish. I was… wow, I was pooped. As I ran past my mom I heard her say to my husband, “She’s limping.” Was I? My left calf was pretty sore.

I got through the finish line and was happy that my time was somewhere around 37 minutes, which was at least two and a half minutes faster than the first race I did a month ago. It might have been a few seconds less or more.

The thing is, if you keep running FASTER every time, it never feels any easier. I guess I am glad I beat my time by so much. But it wasn’t easy.

Next time I am going to be sure to do a BIG walking/running warmup before the race starts. I realize I really need that, and that it just feels bad to start out cold.

ANyway, it was cool to get a medal, and a champagne glass, and chocolate. I got an ice pack for my leg. We had some yogurt and blueberries and granola. It was nice to walk around with @Pubsgal.

Since I’ve been home though, my stomach has been kind of upset and delicate. I’m totally wiped out (AGAIN). I had to get up to drive one of my daughters to a friend’s house, and it just about did me in. I’m in bed again. And I can’t deal with the idea of eating any fruits or vegies. No fiber, please! I’m going to try out this allegedly very low carb Dreamfields pasta for dinner tonight. Linguine with clam sauce. I don’t think I can cope with salad though.

It surprises me that a 36 minute run should affect me so intensely. It really knocked me out. I don’t know if it is the diabetes, just general conditioning, pushing harder than usual, adrenaline or WHAT, but I feel pretty much flattened. I am very very happy I did it, and it was fun, but the aftermath is kinda rough.

May 30, 2009 23

Day One of Healthy Challenge: How’s It Going?

I’m so excited! Today is day one of the Fabfatties’ Healthy Challenge! And I’m really excited because I know that I personally recruited many people to join in. I was surprised that a few people that I asked really hesitated, saying it was too much of a commitment, or too much time, or something. My feeling about that is that there’s no rule that says you have to do every single thing on the challenge. Even if you make ONE change, and get some points for that, it’s a great step in the right direction.

It’s so funny how our minds work, isn’t it? Now this challenge contains so many things that are already a part of WW or other plans, and yet for some reason they feel brand new because it’s a new and different context, and people are all excited about it, and Tweeting it, and it’s like, WOW, drinking water! Food journal! when it’s stuff that is certainly not new to me.

I am really eager to know how everyone is doing with this so far. Which parts of the challenge are super easy? (for me, it’s not drinking soda- I don’t anyway- but I know that others are really grappling with this big time) Which ones are hard?

Please check in here and let’s give each other support, suggestions, tips and kudos!

I knew right off what my hardest points would be: drinking water, and eating a healthy breakfast. In fact, I just ate my breakfast a few minutes ago. It’s 11:30am. Does that count as breakfast? Or did I skip breakfast and just eat breakfast food for an early lunch? (ha) I did get some points for the fruit/vegi category. My “breakfast” was some nonfat Fage yogurt with big fat blueberries, some walnuts and a drizzle of agave syrup. VERY YUM.

I exercised for 90 minutes today. Since I have my 5k race tomorrow morning, my trainer wanted to take it easy so we did no cardio- just a lot of strengthening and stretching. My right hip is giving me issues. I had to roll it out on a hard basketball, then a tennis balll, for quite a bit, and it really hurt. But I think I loosened it up a bit.

I drank 8 oz of water after my workout. I know this water thing is going to be challenging, partly because I don’t believe in it. I just read this last week in Mindful Eating and it made me laugh but I also agree with it:

In the last decade, there has been an epidemic of mind-induced thirst. ….Modern Americans feel compelled to carry around a water bottle at all times and sip from it frequently, much like a baby bottle, no matter where they are. This fetish began with a medical report stating that humans should drink 8-12 glasses of water a day. Tea and coffee didn’t count since they are diuretics. Your cells were crying out for water. Fearing death by dehydration (HA!) Americans began carrying glasses of water around. Product development departments noted, and responded quickly, spawning two huge new industries: bottled water and water bottles.

People now bring personal water bottles (everywhere), including into meditation halls. Apparently they are unable to endure various bodily sensations that they interpret as “dehydration” and cannot sit for sixty minutes without a drink. All the liquid that goes in must come out. People pop up and down to the bathroom like grasshoppers (LOL).

A few years ago a corrective report came out, announcing that people had misinterpreted the first report. Humans do need a total of 64 ounces of liquid a day, but it does not have to be drunk from a glass. It actually could ALL COME FROM FOOD, and tea and coffee counted! Studies showed that caffeinated beverages did not deplete the body’s liquids after all.

Why, in the midst of this epidemic of grownups toting and nursing from water bottles has no one asked how our grandparents, and the entire human race for tens of thousands of years escaped mass annihilation by dehydration? Our modern minds believed what magazines told us and overrode the wisdom in our bodies.

In other words, you don’t need to drink extra water unless you are THIRSTY. The only times I am actually thirsty are: 1) right after I exercise; and 2) when I eat very spicy food. Other than that, I do not really ever feel the need to drink. So this 64 oz. thing is sort of annoying me but I am going to give it a shot and see what happens.

Other than that, things are going okay so far. I’ve checked off exercise, breakfast (even though it’s late). I’m tracking my food. Trying to come up with a good deed.

May 29, 2009 18

Feeling Healthily Competitive? Join Me In This Challenge!

Wow. The FabFatties have done it again – they’ve set up a HUGE challenge for the next two weeks. It involves doing many, many great things to boost one’s health. I was so excited when I saw this because truly, that is what has done it for me these past months, doing LOTS of different things, all which benefit my health and weight loss efforts. One of the ways to win points in this challenge is to recruit others to do it too, so that is what I am doing right now – I am asking all of my readers to join me!! Come on, come on, I get a whopping 25 points for every recruit!!

These are the things that we are being challenged to do: (the intials afterward are my own abbreviations for the challenge, which I’ve used in my handy-dandy Challenge Worksheet –if you join up I will email you one!)

*Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily- 5 points (F/V)
*Drink 8 glasses of water a day- 8 points (8W)
*Exercise- 1 point per minute (EX)
*Do a random good deed- 5 points (GD)
*Stop drinking soda pop for a day- 1 point (NS)
*Actually read someone else’s blog post and leave a comment- 1 point (RB)
* Answer Fab Fatties random bonus questions about us- 5 points (FF)-Bonus questions will be posted daily on our blog.
* Recommend 2 fabulous friends from twitter and tell us why we should follow them- 2 points (TW)
* Eat a healthy breakfast-1 point (HB)
* Lose weight- 1 point per pound (LW)
* Keep a food journal for the day- 5 points per day (FJ)
* Take a walk during your lunch break- 5 points (WK)
* Have a friend join this challenge- 25 points per friend-make sure your friend tells us you recruited them! (RF)

So as I said, I’ve made up a handy-dandy tracking worksheet so you can track all of your points each day. I am gunning to do EVERY SINGLE challenge point, every day. (except maybe the lose-weight one, not sure I can (or should) do that every day.)

In order to sign up, you must email the FabFatties here, on or before 12:00 a.m. MST Thursday May 28^th 2009. You must send them your name, Twitter name if applicable, and your blog or website URL (if applicable; it’s not necessary). Also, tell them that Foodie McBody sent you!!!!! So I can get credit! 🙂

And LET ME KNOW (in comments on this post) if you are doing it. Also send ME your email address if you want the unofficial FabFatties Challenge Tracking Worksheet! It will help you keep track of all the amazing things you are doing for your health.

Here’s to some HEALTHY COMPETITION! Let the challenge begin!!!!!!!!!

May 26, 2009 19

Guest Post by The Fat Geek!

shapeimage_1 It’s truly wonderful to find healthy eating/fitness buddies on Twitter and the blogosphere. One of my newest buddies is The Fat Geek. He just posted my “Got Sweat?” entry on his blog and so I’d like to share one of his posts with all of you.

Week 4: Super Motivated

Week 4 has been a real success. I was super motivated the whole week. Thanks in no small way to all those folks who send encouraging e-mails and tweets via twitter, subscribe to the podcast and of course my family and friends. I am getting unbelievable support from all areas and it is truly what is making the difference. I Thank You all emphatically from the bottom of my heart.

I think the difference between success and failure with weight loss is 95% motivation. More on that another day, let’s get to the week that was and lessons learned.

I had a 2 lb weight loss for week 4. This is fantastic given the travel that took place during the beginning of the week and constraints the hotel gym put on me. However, we (or I did anyway) learned from week 2 that during travel it is your diet that requires the most attention. I was able to improvise the gym routine to ensure I got a good workout in, but I really paid strict attention to what and where I was eating. I think that made all the difference….and my proof is in the results this week compared to the results during week 2. If you remember, during week 2 I worked out like a madman, wasn’t too sure about what I ate and lost nothing. This week I worked out as best I could and concentrated more on my eating plan, which resulted in a weight-loss.

In science we would refer to my “Concentrate on Diet during Travel and less on Workouts Thesis” a hypothesis. To test my hypothesis we require experiments that test the casual relationships among the different variables. In this case it will not be fair. Given my not so good results in week 2 and my good results here in week 4. I will continue to follow my “Travel Hypothesis” (of concentrating big-time on diet) as I go forward. Thus, we won’t get to see if other factors may have caused the week 2 problem. We are all different but the results of this first experiment (last week, concentrating on diet) gives me enough proof to feel confident in my hypothesis that I will continue with that strategy during travel weeks. Which, by the way, happens again next week.

My workout routine for week four was pretty similar since the beginning. I have been doing strength training and running every day, with the following exceptions: Monday and Tuesday I had to improvise my strength training routine due to lack of equipment. This meant doing some old fashion push-ups and bench dips along with the machine exercises. I didn’t run on Wednesday morning because I arrived back home late Tuesday night. I did my strength training that was scheduled for Friday evening on Saturday morning because I was really tired Friday night. I feel way more confident with this routine right now, because I am confident that I can improvise as required and still gain great benefits from the exercise plan. That means a lot to me, given my work schedule and travel requirements.

My healthy eating plan was excellent for this week. I averaged around the 1700-1800 calories range each day of the week. I had about three Subway meals for either a lunch or dinner (trust the Subway 6 grams of fat meals). I ate out on Friday night, had some Salmon and rice (600 calories). During travel I tried to eat the same way I did when I was home. Bought a bag of apples and some bananas to throw in the hotel fridge, so I always had a healthy snack during the day. Basically, I ate the same as I would at home all during the day and then had a really healthy choice for supper. This worked. I will continue with this strategy for week 5. As I mentioned above I am on the road again. Once again I will be traveling to Calgary for part of the week (Tuesday to Thursday).

So, over the past 4 weeks I have lost a total of 14 lbs. However, if you break down the numbers you see that I lost 12 lbs during week 1 & 3, weeks I stayed home and had no travel. I lost 2 lbs during week 2 & 4, weeks I travelled. Big, big difference. Maybe week 2 skews the results, but it certainly tells me that I need to seriously consider what my expectations are during travel weeks. I need to be patient about my weight-loss when it comes to travel weeks. Finally, I need to trust my process here and that doggedly continuing to concentrate on exercising and eating healthy will have long-term pay-off.

To read more from The Fat Geek, to keep him company and cheer him on, visit his blog!

May 24, 2009 0

Got Sweat?

It used to be (not so long ago, either!) that if I got a little pink in the face and had a thin film of sweat, I’d declare, “WOW that was a good workout!” But I wasn’t wild about big exertion. I only saw my trainer twice a week, and during the other days, I’d either walk (leisurely) or do nothing. I was fairly sweatophobic.

Now, I feel like a workout session just isn’t cutting it unless I have visible rivers of sweat running down my face and body, and unless I can see a color change in my clothing. THAT is different! And now, on my “days off” from my trainer I am either running with my penguin buddy (we call each other that because we used to run like penguins) or at the gym. If I take a walk, it’s “extra” and really for pleasure rather than considering it a workout.

Someone on Twitter recently mentioned that she didn’t want to intentionally sweat after sweating all day at work. I liked that phrase “intentional sweat.” I LOVE intentional sweat now!!!!! But I still really really hate “uninentional sweat” which comes from just standing around in hot, muggy weather. I grew up in NJ so I know about this. It’s MISERABLE.

ANyway, I read somewhere that once you start working out, you really have to keep upping the intensity level or your body just sort of stagnantes. As you get stronger, you just have to DO MORE. Back then, the idea absolutely terrified me (“I can barely do what I’m doing NOW, how can I do MORE? Aghh, get me off this train!”) but now it is exciting. It is making me believe that now that I’ve done a 5k, they will keep getting easier and faster, and that I WILL be able to get to a 10k or even a half marathon. RUNNING.

I had an incredible nonscale victory today. I’ve been going on and on about how I HATE spinning (stationary bike). It’s true, it’s the only exercise I’ve done that has made me want to puke. About 2 years ago, I worked up to a pretty high level but then we moved on to other things (trainer and me). I’ve never taken a group spinning class. I really don’t know how those things work, just how I do it with my trainer. Anyway, he had me doing these things that he calls “hops.” One hop basically = pedal 2x standing up, and on the 3rd pedal, sit down for a millisecond. Then up again.This is all done at very high resistance, so you have to push HARD to do one revolution. This is a lot harder than either perpetually standing or sitting, because it’s that up-down thing that is such an effort. I hated those freaking things. The first time I did them, I was heaving and gasping and really almost crying after I’d completed 25. I worked up to 4 sets of 25 for a total of 100.

I hadn’t done “hops” in YEARS when a few weeks ago he said, why don’t we try this. I immediately felt a sense of dread and anxiety. And it kicked my butt. I actually did cry then, because I felt like I’d come so far in my fitness, the running etc. and why could I not do these hops?? It nearly killed me to do 100, then a second 100, gasping out for mercy the last 30 or so.

So I was NOT HAPPY when I walked in and he said we were going to do the bike today. I thrashed around on the floor and whined and groaned (I can be quite dramatic when I feel like it). He was like, don’t worry, only 500. I was really upset. I dragged out the warmup for about 40 minutes. Then I got on the bike. He turned up the resistance. I started.

Um. It did not kick my butt. I kicked its butt. My trainer counts by going 1, 2, 3, 20, etc (going up) until the last ten, then he counts down when he reaches 90. 10, 9, 7… His plan was for me to do five sets of 100, with ample breathing and whining in between each set. But when he got to 90, I wasn’t even breathing hard. He was like, WOW, okay, keep going. I got to 150. I got to 200. I was still feeling pretty damn good. Happy little sweat rivers were coming down my neck. I got to 300. Then I stopped.

My trainer had tears in his eyes. He said, I have goosebumps, you crazy woman. I was so happy. I was not at all winded, but my feet hurt, so I thought I was a good time to stop. I said, “I don’t think you had the resistance high enough.” He looked at me funny. He cranked it up several turns. He said “OK, now go.” I cranked out the last 200 feeling like, I don’t know what. Chariots of Fire.

It. Was. Freaking. Awesome. And now I’ve been on an endorphin high all day.

I’m not afraid of anything anymore.

UPDATE ON 5/27/09: Did 700 straight without stopping. Heeeeeeeee!!!!!

May 22, 2009 13

Laptop Bag Giveaway!!

51WSk36dmpL._SL500_AA280_ I’m doing a giveaway! The prize is this festive bag for carrying a laptop computer. What you need to do to enter is to write a comment about how and why WRITING (blogging, freewriting, journaling, Twittering etc) is helping you in your quest for healthier living (eating well, exercise, dealing with illness, etc).

The winner will be picked only semi-randomly. I will choose the top five posts in terms of thoughtfulness. It’s too easy to just write “I love to write, and I want that laptop bag!” THEN I’ll send those top five to the random picker. The deadline for this giveaway is Monday, May 25th.

I truly believe that writing has made my journey towards health possible. I’d like to hear about yours.

May 18, 2009 21

What I Did On My Silent Retreat

Are y’all curious? If not, skip to another post, I won’t take it personally if you don’t want to read about the minutae of my weekend. But if so…

Thursday:
•   Arrived; silent dinner (pasta, pesto veggies, salad)
•   Group gathering. I cried. Lit individual candles and placed in chapel. I put mine at the base of a leafless tree hung with gold origami cranes.
•   Read.
•   Slept for 10 hours, very deeply.

Friday:
•   Woke up. Went to yoga/meditation.
•   Silent breakfast. (veggie frittata, few spoons of oatmeal, fruit, coffee)
•   Made bed.
•   30 minute walk/run. Injuries bothering me. (shin splint, groin pain)
•   Morning gathering
•   Read poems on various walls, copied many down. Spent time in art room but didn’t do art.
•   Spent one hour in straw bale hermitage. Meditated. Cried.
•   Silent Lunch (turkey, tuna, salad, fruit)
•   Walk/ran one hour. Injuries slightly better but not great.
•   Read.
•   Napped.
•   Showered.
•   Silent dinner: chicken, Israeli couscous, salad. Wrestled with apple crisp with whipped cream. Didn’t eat it.
•   Walk, 30 minutes. Slowly.
•   Evening gathering: meditation, elm dance in courtyard garden: slow, mournful circle dance from Russia, composed to mourn death of forests after Chernobyl
•   Slept, but woke from 2-4am

Saturday:
•   Slept through yoga/meditation. Made bed.
•   Silent breakfast. (hard boiled egg, chicken apple sausage, honeydew, brown rice cereal)
•   Very slow walk
•   Morning gathering – re connection with nature, Wendy Johnson book
•   Silent gardening: planted 3 kinds of lettuce, kale. My first garden experience.
•   Read.
•   Very short nap.
•   Silent lunch: chicken broth with toppings (chicken, green onions, carrot shreds, lime), salad. No cookies 4 me.
•   Another slow walk.
•   Silent art: made ‘treasure boxes’ out of matchboxes, homemade paper, shells, leaves
•   Read.
•   Massage. Melted onto table. Injuries completely gone.
•   Showered.
•   Silent dinner: poached salmon, sugar snap peas, salad. Passed up the potatoes and the wine (only night it was offered). Did not pass up poppyseed cake with whipped cream. Meant to have one bite; ate the whole piece. Delicious.
•   Slow walk, 20 minutes.
•   Tested blood sugar, worried about cake. Ecstatic it was 109. (yay walk!!)
•   Gathering in pillow room. Gave thanks to H & S for 23 years of nurturing us. Cried more. Another elm dance, then meditation in chapel.
•   Wrote.
•   Slept.

Sunday:
•   Woke.
•   Breakfast: scrambled egg, toast, peanut butter, grapefruit.
•   Changed bed linens. Packed.
•   Morning gathering
•   Went to art room and hand-copied several pages from Tomato Blessings and Radish Teachings
•   Event closing
•   NONsilent lunch! Made some new friends. Beautiful cheeses, salad, lentil soup, crackers.
•   Drove home. Stopped at Spirit Rock bookstore on the way to buy One Bowl and Mindful Eating.

May 18, 2009 8

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