Weekly Results: Habit and routine...

Results

• Loss -2.4 pounds (Total of 30.8 pounds!)
• 77,475 steps = 36.7 miles (Pedometer broke - step count is not accurate.)
• Gluten free, sugar free and still vegetarian
• Week 14 of working out.
• Week 10 of eating right.

 

Thoughts
I had no real deep or profound thoughts this week about fitness... I then realized that in and of itself is somewhat profound. Fitness and eating right have now become so routine that I no longer really have to think about it all the time. I can walk into the store and I know what I need to make healthy vegetarian meals without too much effort or thought.

 

Going to the gym or going to the track is so routine that getting myself off the couch to go and do it is just not a problem any more.

 

These changes, eating right and working out, have become not just something I am doing to lose weight, but they are well on their way to being lifestyle changes! YEAH for routine and habit!

Weekly Results: We are on the same team now...

Results:

• Loss -5.4 (Total lost 28.4 pounds - There was something wrong with my spreadsheet. The loss numbers have been wrong the last few weeks. This is corrected.) YEAH!!! All the gluten is gone, plus more!
• 105,033 steps = 50.74 miles
• Gluten free again, still vegetarian, ate chocolate this week so not sugar free
• Week 13 of working out.
• Week 8 of working out and eating right

Thoughts:

I spent some time serious time looking in the mirror this week. I took the time to notice changes. I took the time to really see and appreciate the strength and the beauty. I tried really hard not to let any of the negative thoughts creep in that are so typical of women in general. I just wanted to love what was there right then in front of the mirror.

I really started to hate TV as stood there looking at myself. I googled it. The average woman celebrety is something like a size 2 while the real average American woman is a size 14 and I would guess in reality that down here in the South average is more like a 16 or maybe even an 18. If beauty is always portrayed as this wafish, anorexic, stick person and that is the only message that is sent to us no wonder we are so critical. Size 2 certainly seems to be what many of the women in my life are shooting for...

As I stared at in the mirror I realized that no amount of working out is going to change my actual shape. I'm sooooo pear shaped. I am one size on top and another size on the bottom. Its a good shape to be and while I did not always love it in the past I am learnign to appreciate it more and more. The pear shape is so womanly. It feels strong. I like having hips. I am starting to own my feminenity more. (Down here in the South the pear shape is an asset. The J-Lo booty is HAWT and I get picked up on a lot by guys which always makes me laugh.)

This week I gained an overwhelming sense of gratitude for my body. I love how strong it is becoming. I love the things that it can do. I am starting to feel like my body and I are on the same team these days. We both want to climb Timpanogos even if there is a ton of snow...

Weekly Results: Gluten...

Results:

+3 pounds... Total lost 25...
93,800 steps = 44.38 miles
Not gluten free yet, vegetarian still, sugar free

Thoughts:
I unknowingly ate gluten all week long! Clearing it out of my system is going to take awhile... Anytime I eat gluten my body responds by retaining crazy amounts of water, I get super tired, and I will avoid sharing the long and detailed list of the other gluten signs...

Last week was a busy week so I did not cook. I went to Whole Foods and bought various salads. They had basalmic quinoa salad, marinated tofu and vegan borracho beans... Half-way through the week I started freaking out because the number on the scale jumped like five pounds in a day. I knew I had not eaten five pounds worth of food... The next day three more pounds... In two days the number on the scale jumped 8 pounds and I was super tired.

Yeah, Whole Foods borracho beans have fakin bacon in them which has wheat in it... So annoying. It will probably take another week or two to recover from this. I can't believe I did not figure it out sooner. Ridiculous.

Weekly Results (Late again! I was traveling)

Results:
Lost 4.4 pounds this week. Total lost so far 28.0 pounds
85,548 total steps = 40.47 miles
Gluten free, vegetarian, sugar free

Thoughts:
My steps total leaves a lot to be desired this week! I knew it would be low though because I was on vacation and did some serious socializing instead of my normal three hours of working out each day. About 25 of those 40 miles were super intense hiking in Moab, Utah. Every muscle in my body had been sore for about three days now.

Living on sea-level and than going on vacation to Utah was interesting. I was working out at about 5000 feet above sea-level. It was such a strange thing to know that my muscles had the potential to work a lot harder than they were. I knew that I could walk faster and yet I could not get enough oxygen to make that happen. As the week progressed working out in the high altitude environment got easier and with my expanded lung capacity I am curious to see what I can do today back at sea-level again.

Despite the altitude if Timpanogos was not totally and completely covered with snow right now I think I could I hike it. (I have seriously no memory of the snow being this thick on that mountain before. This winter has been brutal in Utah.) I am basing this on how I did on the Moab hikes. So now the goal is not really to be able to hike Timpanogos. The goal changes to be more about how easy I can make it to hike Timpanogos.

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I am happy with this weight loss for this week. I ate out with friends six times on this trip and still managed to eat healthy. YEAH!!!!

Weekly Results (A day late. I did not have access to a scale yesterday.)

Results:

• Lost this week 9.8 pounds (total of 23.6 pounds lost)
• 118,015 steps/55.73 miles
• Still gluten free, still vegetarian, still sugar free and feeling fantastic!!!

Thoughts this week:
Did I mention last week that I was retaining water?! Jeez that 9 pounds surprised me!

This week I really focused on more intense exercise rather than distance. So rather than going an extra mile I did more stairs, more time on the elliptical, slower pace on a higher incline. As a result my butt, thighs and calves have been sore all week long... It worked! I am now a believer in your body's need to change things up.

I am home for a few days, traveling for a few days, and hiking this week. We will see how well I do with my routine completely thrown off. Luckily I can still go to the gym here. I joined one of those nationwide ones where you can go to any location.

Weekly Results: Fear of running

Results:

• Loss of .2 pounds this week… Total of 13.8 in four weeks.  (Yeah, I’ve been retaining water like crazy and ate nachos for dinner… I was expecting this number.)
• I walked 136,521 steps equaling about 64.69 miles.
• Still gluten free, still vegetarian, pretty much sugar free. (I started eating a piece of dark chocolate once in awhile. Dark chocolate over 70% cocoa is a superfood in small amounts.)

Thoughts of the Week:

I have  reached a point where it really does not matter how far or how fast I walk walking in and of itself is not intense enough to get my heart rate up high enough… This is not a problem on days that I go to the gym. On days that I go to the gym I just kick the incline way up or get on the elliptical machine. On days that I go to the track it is more challenging.

The logical next step is to start running, but running scares me.

I have a back injury that knocked me on my ass a few months ago. I was down for about two weeks and recovering for the next month. So six weeks of sharp shooting pains everytime you put on your socks or twist funny is enough to make anyone careful right?!

This injury flares up once in awhile but it has never been as bad as it was a few months ago. This episode is actually one of the reasons that I am prioritizing getting healthier. Being in better shape makes that injury easier to deal with and less likely to be so severe.

As I have begun to exercise my back has not given me any major grief but I have been careful to choose joint friendly, back friendly activities.

I think I am going to add my pilates DVD into the rotation for a week or two and then start running…   

Weekly Results: The skinny-fat girl and motives

Results:
Loss of 2.8 pounds this week. Total of 13.6 pounds in 3 weeks.
I walked 122,596 steps for 58.10 miles
Still gluten free, still vegetarian, still sugar free

Thoughts of the Week: 
Most of the ladies I work with are white, middle-aged and upper-middle class. If you have ever watched the cable show Weeds these are the people I am interacting with on a daily basis... Sometimes at work as I am sitting in the group that song from Sesame Street pops into my head, "One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong..." I actually love them all despite not understanding them. Their world-views and ways of life are completely foreign to me.

Their health views have been eye-opening. They lose weight solely to achieve a size or a number on the scale. They do not lose weight for the health benefits. They are all always on trendy fad-diets and talk about who is losing weight and how much they have lost all the time... Being the size they were in high school is the ultimate mark of success in this little kingdom on the bayou.

Over the course of about a year one lady has dropped about 60 pounds just through dieting alone. Yesterday I as we were sitting in a meeting I was looking at her arms and legs and was struck by how un-tone they are. She has lost all this weight but she has absolutely no muscle at all... That just does not seem like the right way to do this. I don't remember where I heard this, but she is "skinny-fat". She might be skinny but she is not healthy and strong.

The whole time we were sitting in that meeting and I was looking at her arms and legs I came to the conclusion that the motives behind our goals really do drive how we accomplish our goals. She is skinny that was her goal. Her motive was a size or number and she found a way to achieve it through eating nothing... My motive is to be healthy enough and strong enough to enjoy hiking to the top of Timpanogos. I am losing weight along the way, but losing weight is not my primary motive.

I share this story and know that it probably comes off as being a bit snotty... "I'm going to do this better than her..." Well, she got what she wanted and I am working towards what I want... Motives.

Weekly Results - Visualizing the mountain

Results:
I lost 3.6 pounds this week for a grand total of 10.8 in the last two weeks.
I walked 126,660 steps = 59.59 miles.
I am still meat free, sugar free, and gluten free.

Updates:
Front-loading the day worked. Eating more of my calories in the morning and mid-day solved my tiredness in the afternoon. I also realized I was not getting very much fat and started eating a bit of peanut butter each day and switched from skim milk to 2% milk.

This whole vegetarian thing is kind of tricky... Plus I can't eat a lot of the vegetarian meat alternatives because of the gluten in them. Because of the Celiacs Disease I don't think I will ever be able to give up dairy and eggs. It would be super challenging to get what I need.

Thoughts this week:
My mental focus has not been directly on my number of steps and amount of weight lost. I use these things to gage progress, but my mind is in the mountains. As I working out I find myself frequently imagining what it will be like to walk the trails to the top of Timpanogos. I am imagining the wild flowers, the feel of the sun, and the weight of the backpack on my back. I imagine how good it will feel to reach the summit. This is so motivating.

I live in tiny Southern town that lives up to many of the stereotypes of a tiny Southern town. Everyone is up in your business. Everywhere you go you run into people you know. So as I have started working out I have had countless people come up to me and comment that they saw me on the track or climbing the stadium steps. So we chat about the little hike I am going on this summer. Everyone is so enthusiastic about it. In the end this is going to be a great way to hold myself accountable. The town of Mayberry is watching and will want to know how the hike goes when I come back in August.

Making my fitness goal about this hike rather than strictly about numbers is going to be what keeps me going.

Weekly Results Post: Exercise as repentance

• Today makes exactly 1 month of exercising. YEAH!
• I am also now 1 week gluten free, sugar free, and meat free! All of my glutenous Celiac Disease bloating is gone from cutting the gluten again. Score!
• Last week I walked 123,276 steps which for me is 58.38 miles. 
• I lost 7.2 pounds. 

Notes from the week: 
I have been a little bit tired in the afternoons. I think I need to front-load the day and eat more in the morning and at lunch and make dinner smaller.

Thoughts: 
I have a lot of friends and family that jump on every diet bandwagon that passes through town. I have watched them put all of their fitness faith in these quick fix sorts of programs and they often do lose weight just to gain it all back when the program is over.

It seems so simple to me. Calories in. Calories out. If I eat it I have to burn it at some point. I really don't believe there is a magical way to burn a calorie. It takes some kind of physical work to get that calorie back out again...

I am NOT a religious person per se, but as I was walking on the track working on my fifth mile I realized that for the overweight person exercise is basically repentance. Repentance - making reparations for your past wrongs. As you exercise you are repairing the damage you have done to your body, you are freeing it from the weight you have put it on it, you are moving forward and working towards being a different and stronger person.