Week 2 Weigh In

Hi Blog Friends! I’ve been away for a couple of days but I’m still pushing on. The last time we spoke, I was feeling a little under the weather but I’m feeling much better now. Thanks so much for all of your well wishes and encouragement!!!

I followed all of the advice I was given and I took a little break from working out. I rested for 2 days and then went back at full force. I feel myself starting to get a little sick again but I’m not sure if its really my body trying to tell me something or my mind trying to get my body out of working out. In any case, I’ll see how I feel after tonight’s workout. Tonight will be "Pure Cardio" with Shaun T's Insanity.  I’m still only doing ½ a DVD. I'm just a little crazy

 I'm not completely insane yet. I don’t know how people do the whole thing straight through!! Oneday....  Until then, I’ll take it easy and continue to do my 20-25 minutes of Insanity per day and watch what I eat. When that stops working, I’ll move onto the full workout.

Before I post my week 2 results, I'd like to start by sharing with you some things I did last week that impacted my weight loss. #1, I think I can show you better than I can tell you:

I present to you - Exhibit A

 

Funnel Cake....

I didn't have very much. I shared with my mother in-law. It wasn't really "worth" the calories. Instead, I saved them for McDonald's and cotton candy. I know... I know... bad decisions. I'll do better this week. I have to!! I KNEW I was going to "eat bad" while at Six Flags so I saved some calories during the week.  

By the way, here's a pic of the gang:

That's me in the center hiding 95% of my body. I SO can't wait until the day I don't feel the need to do that way anymore. 

OK, back on track now....

#2 - I skipped 2 workout days and took my allotted rest day so I didn't really have all the workout time in that I planned on having.

#3 -  I'm still not following any formal "diet" plan. Instead, I'm making sensible choices and reducing the amount of carbs I have. I'm detoxing off of junk food too.

With all of these factors, I still managed to loose 2 pounds!

While I should be thanking my lucky stars that I didn't gain 2 pounds, I'm disappointed because I know if I would have been a little more focused, I could have lost more, easy! Maybe I'll think about this the next time I decide to slack off.

A wise old friend used to tell me: "slow progress is better than no progress".  She was right. But I'm in this to win this for the long haul. So I'll take my 2 pound loss and update my ticker happily...

I started at 224 (this time around) and I'm down to 219 for a total of 5 pounds lost in 2 weeks. Next week's goal is 4lbs. I'm thinking seeing 215 again will feel good.

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!!!

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 Disc 4 - Completed!

I completed Disc 4: Cardio Recovery its it's entirety today. This is the FIRST time I've been able to complete one of these DVDs non-stop and without cheating. (Well, except for the Yoga stuff but my flexibility has improved already after only 4 days.).

Today's workout consisted mainly of stretching all of the muscles we've have been working to the max up until this point. It felt good. I know this sounds very cliche' but it's the truth so I'm going to say it anyhow: STRETCHING IS IMPERATIVE! The achy body parts I have been complaining about up until this point feel good. Yes, my thighs are still slightly burning and my bootie hurts when I climb stairs but it's bearable now and getting better everyday. I think the "booty on my back" is starting to fall off. If not, at least I know those stretches and muscle toning exercises today relieved some of the pain.

There were no crazy cardio moves today. Instead we focused more on toning and stretching. I even managed to do all of the plank exercises which required me to put my full body weight on my wrists and feet. The wrist is still sore but getting stronger. I'm starting to think that this physical thing is really a matter of you telling your body what to do and not the other way around. (Maybe I've been watching/reading too much Jillian Michaels).

While I realize that while exercise is an important part of weight loss and healthy living, nutrition is equally (if not more) important so I'll start to share some healthy snack and quick meal options along the way as well. However, my primary focus will be physical activity. I've learned that if you workout hard enough and eliminate small things such as regular soda, fried foods and vending machines - you'll will see results. I have no problem with the physical activity oart - I actually like it. My problem is the nutrition. I'm going to work harder on it. I promise. My 30th birthday is right around the corner and I'm trying to be 50 pounds lighter by November 30th.  I at least want to stop shopping in the Plus section/stores.

I'm terrified of what tomorrow's workout will be like. Today was just a little too easy. So I'm going to fall back, relax, play some poker online, watch a little TV with the family and rest up for tomorrow's Insanity adventure.

Oh... my best friend's daughter is having a birthday party tomorrow so that will be my first challenge. I have a weakness for birthday cake, particularly the icing. I'll be sure to count calories and have only 1/4 slice of cake. I'm a firm believe that complete deprivation of the foods we love only causes us to binge and I've come to far to go back there again.

Until I write again, I'll "get fit or hurt trying". Thanks again for all of your support!

Insanity - Disc 3, Part 2

Today started out pretty rough. My thighs and hip flexor are killing me and I still have this mysterious wrist pain. Nevertheless, I kept my promise to myself and did Insanity anyway. I came into the exercise sore and actually finished up feeling a lot better. I somehow managed to work my glutes and back out really well.  I also did my own stretch before even starting the DVD. Otherwise, I tend  to start cramping during the warm up and barely make it to the stretch.

Disc 3 allows a lot more water breaks and only had one excercise that irritated me - Power Jumps. I enjoyed the push-up work because I remember a time when I couldn't do one push-up. Today, I did just about as many push-up as the fit, skinny people in the DVD. Yeah, I was feeling myself big time!  And I still have a sore wrist. I'll try to ice it before going to bed tonight.

In addition to the power jumps, there were more squats, hurdle jumps and something called globe jumps, I liked those. Once again, I was tricked into doing mountain climbers. This time he called them floor sprints. It was a milder variation of the worst move in the world and  I can see myself doing this in lieu of them going forward. There was also an exercise very similar to the basketball suicide drills where we were iinstructed to "hit the floor" continually. I had trouble performing this because of my gut but I hung in there. I hit my ankle and a few time made it down to the floor.

Anyhoo, tomorrow is Friday - the real test. Fridays and Sundays used to be my rest days. So it's going to be a struggle to workout but I'm committed to "get fit or hurt trying". LOL

Insanity Disc 3 - Part 1

Well... I got off to a late start tonight. I got a surprise (but much welcome) visit from my brother. He said he was going to try Insanity with me but he chickened out. I know he's probably going to read the first three sentences and claim that he wasn't scared but Blogger World, I'm telling you the truth: Baby Boy was shaking in his boots. Instead of working out. we laughed talked, ate dinner and even visited our Dear Ole' Dad. But I have a goal and a plan to reach that goal so I headed to the basement at 11:00pm to do my daily workout after all the fun was finished. I decided not to let my workout stop my life and not to let my life stop my workout. (But that's another post for another time).

I originally planned on doing the program twice a day with half in the morning and half in the evening but Disc 2 left me too sore to get out of bed without limping let alone work out early in the morning so I decided to just go at my own pace and workout twice a day when my body permits. I could have done the whole 40 minutes tonight but I wanted to quit while I was ahead and save some energy for tomorrow. I'm praying that my hips, glutes, calfs, and wrists have time to recuperate by then. I will begin stretching more throughout the day in hopes that this will alleviate some of the pain.

The first 2 minutes were what Shaun T. called a "warm up" but it was a workout for me. I didn't enjoy it as much as yesterday's routine but I stuck with it anyway. Yesterday's was more difficult but today's repeated Power Jacks. I don't like those but I did it anyway. There weren't any other noteworthy moves in this part of the disc but I can say it's tough on the knees so don't slack on the stretches. I actually stretch before the routine because the stretch takes place after you've already used the muscles. I'm not the most fit person in the world so I stretch first preferring to be safe early than sorry later.

The stretch was awesome!!! I know I complained about the Disc 1 stretch but it must be because I've grown accustomed to the Active 2 (Wii Game) stretches and the Jillian Michael's stretches. We did a lot of the same moves that I originally hated the other day but they felt good. I guess I didn't appreciate the stretch before because my muscles hadn't been used with such intensity until the past two days.

It's time for me to hit the shower and play a few hands of Live' Holdem'. I know this is only my second day (or technically my 1st and a half) but I'm enjoying this. Next time around, I hope not to need to break the routine in half. But even if I do, who cares? This isn't about Beach Body, Shaun T or anyone else. This is my journey so I'll make up the rules as I go along. But I will continue to press on. We all have to start somewhere and I'm starting from where I'm coming from and if you've been where I'm at, you understand. If not, you probably think I'm just rambling. I am but there is a method behind my madness. Thanks for reading!

I'm signing out on my quest to "Get fit or hurt trying" :)

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...