Insanity - Week 1 Weigh In

Thanks for checking in folks! A new blogger friend was kind enough to not only inform me that my settings weren't allowing certain people to post comments but she also told me how to fix the problem. I would have tagged her in this post but I didn't "clear" it with her yet. So, Audrey if your reading: Thanks!!!

Now I know everyone is anxious or at least curious to see how I made out my first week. I'm going to tell you in a minute but I want to share a few things with you first if yall don't mind. Is that okay? Thanks. No worries, I'll be quick.

On this weight loss journey of mine, I've read hundreds if not thousands of articles, books and tips on weight loss. There were a few restrictive consistencies that I noted throughout all of them that I didn't like. I'll admit, I've tried damn near all of them and will try some more before it's said and done. I didn't say that they are ineffective - I just said I don't like them because I want to eat what I want to eat when I want to eat it. (LOL) 

I started out (this time around) at a whopping 224 pounds. Keep in mind that I'm only 4'-11". That puts my BMI waaaaaaayyyyy up there and puts me at risk for a crapload of diseases and illnesses that I'm not trying to have ever - let alone at the age of 29.

Back to the restrictive consistences that I've noticed: I don't like the idea of depriving myself of carbs. Our bodies NEED these for energy so that we can burn fat. Granted, there are "good carbs" and "bad carbs" but many diets, (I won't name names... yall know which ones I'm talking about) require us to eliminate them completely in order to loose weight. It leaves me cranky, weak and tired. Besides that, I love baked potatoes and white bread. (Wheat smells funny to me but I will eat it).

Another trend that I've noted in my study of weight loss is that some diets tell us to eliminate all sweets and many of the things we enjoy. Again, I'm not feeling that. I've actually found that basic foods like rice (or in my case turkey cheeseburgers w/o bread) become "forbidden fruit" and we want it so bad that when we're finally all alone with "the fruit" we go buck wild and over indulge . So I do believe in reducing "bad foods" but if there is something I really enjoy, I'm going to eat it. Definitely not as much as I would like to but I'm not going to rob myself of anything I truly enjoy again (unless I'm weeks away from my goal date and just a few shy pounds short of the goal). LOL

Okay, okay... I'm wrapping it up. I'm going to tell you what I lost this week very soon. I just have a few more things to share that influenced how much I lost.

I had a binge night where I had too many turkey burgers (3), I had a bag of plain chips, a bag of pretzels, a bag of cheese fries and approximately 7 "grown up drinks" with diet soda (one every night) of this journey. I've also had white bread for lunch everyday on my turkey salami sandwich with mayo and regular cheese. I'm sure that violated tons of diet rules. LOL

I lost THREE pounds this week!!!!

Next week, I plan on eliminating some of the alcohol and sticking to my healthy snacks of sugar-free jello (5 calories) and maybe sugar free applesauce and pudding (all 60 calories).

I tell you all of this to tell you that all of our bodies are different. What works for some may not necessarily work for all. What works for us early in the game will not work throughout because our bodies are ever changing and adapting. That's why I love Insanity!!! This workout doesn't give you time to adjust to anything. I don't see a plateau in my future anytime soon.

I''ll most likely be avoiding "bad carbs" next week and may substitute the Cardio Recovery day with a 30 min. treadmill run and see if I can still run. My breakfast will remain Special K Red Berries with 2% milk. Lunch will either be a turkey sandwich on wheat with mustard OR grilled chicken salad. Dinner will be relatively "normal" except there will be nothing fried and no white rice but I AM going to have me a darn baked potato!!!

Oh... I will start using a heart rate monitor and posting calories burned in week 2 or 3. I've already told yall that I don't like numbers because they are so universal and we're individuals. 500 calories burned for someone my weight is easy to achieve in 30 min but a smaller person could work twice as hard and not even come close. So we have to be careful with numbers - even the ones on the scale. But this is another post for another day. I'm sorry for rambling. I'm still amped up from my vicious workout.

Thanks for reading and all of the e-mails, FB likes, phone calls, comments and text messages. I truly appreciate the support!!!

Today's the Big Day!

Today is the big day. Today is the day I weigh in and see the fruits of my labor. I’m very excited. I initially weighed myself on my Wii so I kind of want to stick to the same scale. But working in a hospital, the temptation to go hop on the first scale I come across is very great- almost unbearable. I know I’ve at least lost some inches just above my obliques. I put on one of my favorite dresses today that was very tight in that area and I have space now. So that makes me happy.

I’ve been sticking to the Insanity workouts and trying to eat better but it gets hard with so many different things coming at you from so many different directions. I’m used to going to my favorite restaurant and ordering whatever I wanted regardless of how many calories or how much sodium it contained. All I cared was that I was feeling down and food made me feel better. The solution was obvious:  I was going to eat, drink and be merry. But I see where that’s gotten me.

Instead of resorting back to my old methods I decided instead to take all the aggression and aggravation I’m feeling at the moment and use that negative energy for a positive purpose – to burn off some of the fat instead of adding to it by emotionally eating. I’ve been doing pretty well with my food regimen lately but I know I have much more work to do. I hate the term “diet” because it sounds so restrictive but when I call it my food regimen I feel like I’m in control. I hope that makes sense to you… LOL

This week I’ve been eating Special K cereal for breakfast with 2% milk because anything lower tastes like breast milk (aprx. 150 calories), a sandwich for lunch (aprx. 350 calories) and mainly chicken and veggies for dinner (aprx. 500 clories) . Snacks are sugar-free jello (10 calories), pudding (60 calories) or applesauce (60 calories). I typically eat two jellos and (1) 60 calorie snack. I only drink water throughout the day. I like to save my calories for other “good-bad” things like adult drinks which I KNOW stunt the weight loss process but I’d much rather have 4 oz. of vodka with diet soda than a cheeseburger any day. It usually puts me to sleep and I’m too tired to get up and go “midnight munching”. LOL

So depending on the scale, I’ll continue to make sensible food choices and keep my caloric intake in the 1000-1300 range and keep my nightcaps. But if the number doesn’t represent all the hard work I’ve been doing – something has to go.

I am interested in dietary regimen to get a good jumpstart on my weight loss. Can anyone recommend any supplements or food plans beside Weight Watchers? They are great but I intend to do that program at a later phase to maintain. Right now, I have so much to loose (at least 50 lbs) and I want an overnight miracle as if I didn’t gain this weight over a period of time. What? Are you surprised that I know this isn’t as fast of a process as I wish it were? LOL

I’ll post my weigh in results later. There will not be an Insanity Review today because I’m repeating the Polymetric Cardio Circuit and I’ve already reviewed this workout. (I’m following the calendar only making modifications to cut the longer workouts in ½)

Talk to you guys soon and hopefully – no prayerfully there will be good news!

Insanity Pure Cardio (and a confession)

Insanity - Pure Cardio
Well, Shaun T. definitely gave this DVD the right name! This is the most intense cardio workout I've ever attempted to do but it wasn't as difficult as I feared it would be. I didn't do the 25 minute warm-up. I did that yesterday. Had I did the whole thing at once, I'd be making this post from the back of an ambulance. I'm not exaggerating.

Everything went really fast so I don't remember everything we did but from what I remember there was jogging, suicide drills, push-ups, plank-runs, high-knees, boxing, squat jumps and of course the "drills". The most difficult of the moves for me were the drills because it required a series of moves that reminded me of a "super" squat thrust. Now, I'm capable of doing them but not as fast as the people on the screen. "Keep your own pace" and "Know Your Limits" often flash across the screen and several of the athletes on the DVD had to sit down or were told to take a break so I don't feel too bad. Nevertheless, I hope to be able to keep perfect form and intensity someday. Until then, I'll continue to give it my best.

I've only been doing this workout for 5 days but I see an improvement in my fitness level already. I'm excited to see how much I'll change by the time I'm finished. If I don't loose the weight I want to loose, it won't be because the DVDs aren't effective. It'll be because I'm still eating more than I'm burning. :(


Confession:
Part of the reason I started this blog was to make myself "accountable". I set these goals, put them in writing and formed a good plan to reach them. I did well all week long. But then I relapsed Saturday night going into Sunday morning. I took a good nutritious healthy food and ate far too much of it. That food was turkey burgers. Once I realized how bad I messed up by eating 3 (home made) turkey burgers, I further gave into temptation and ate chips and pretzels.

What does my food slip up have to do with Insanity? EVERYTHING. All of the hard work and energy I have been putting forth all week may very well be compromised because of bad choices I made in one night. SMH....

But... I'm not going to continue on this downward spiral. I messed up. It's nobody's fault but my own. That's what I get for depriving myself of everything I love. I think from now on, I'll allow myself something "good-bad" everyday but not as much as I normally would. The calories for this treat will come from my snacks. So I'm sure it won't take long for me to realize 1 bad treat is not worth giving up my 3 snacks a day. We'll see...

Insanity Day 1 - Part 1

So... I finally did it.!!! I finally stopped talking about doing Insanity and finally mustered up the guts to do Insanity. I decided not to do the Fitness Test. Instead, I started out with Disc 2: Plyometric Cardio Circuit. I already know I need to be in a LOT better shape than I am in now. As a matter of fact, that's exactly why I'm doing this. I want to become a healthier me. I’ll gauge my success by how much faster I can run a mile, larger my clothes feel and how much longer I can workout without needing a recovery period. Oh yeah… I wouldn’t be too disappointed if I looked good in a 2-piece either afterward but for now, I’ll take what I can get. As we journey down this road through Insanity and beyond, we must be mindful that no two people are the same so we have to use our own measures for our own goals. But that’s another post for another time….

Anyway…I was so excited to see what the big fuss was about that I hardly slept last night. I set my alarm for 6:30am and ended up getting up at 6:00am to start my first attempt. Armed with a towel, 2 litter bottle of water and a lot of guts I headed to the basement. I didn't use a heart rate monitor but will once I complete the program once without the pressure of having it. I think a lot of times we get so caught up on numbers (weight, heart rate, BMI, resting heart rate) and self-imposed deadlines that we neglect to take the time out to enjoy the stress-relieving benefits of exercise. Now maybe if I keep telling myself that’s why I’m doing it, I’ll start to believe it. LOL

I watched so many Youtube videos of people doing Insanity and read so many reviews that I can honestly say I was prepared for what Shaun T. was about to do to me. Within the first 3 minutes of (what I like to call) the warm-up from hell, I managed to work up a good seat and was in need of a water break. But I toughed it out and waited until the rest of the group was able to break too. The “warm-up” lasted apprx. 20min and my heart rate (manually checked) was well above my “safety zone” by this time. I think I sweated out my sewn-in weave…if that’s possible.

The warm-up consisted of a light jog, jumping jacks, jumping side lunges, mummy kicks, sumo squats, high knees, Heisman’s,  and a few other moves that didn't hurt me enough to remember what they were. Then we went into the stretch. I hated the stretch! I’d rather do the warm-up again than to do this awful stretch. The next time I do this disc, I’ll probably do my own thing during this time to target the same muscle groups.  I probably disliked it so much because I'm not very flexible, have very little core strength and have a little too much "insulation" around my belly to fully get into the moves. So forgive me if I’m too critical of the stretch. Perhaps, I’ll enjoy it once I finish the program.

Speaking of the stretch, I can’t understand why it was put in between the (2) 20 minute sections on the DVD. This is what made me thing I was done. Yall would have been laughing. I could have sworn I did something! Then I found out that was only the warm-up. Imagine the look on my face: I’m all out of breath, drenched in sweat and drank ¾ liters of water and that was just the warm-up! I definitely need this in my life!!! I managed to get through the first circuit but decided to finish up disc one tonight.  Supposedly, working out twice per day is better than once because it gets your metabolism going. But that’s another post for another time. I’ll post my experience with the next circuit tonight along with my stats, weight, and before pic.

Be back soon...