The Bootcamp chick sent me my Week 1 workouts yesterday. Pretty easy stuff since I told her to put me in the Beginner/Intermediate group :) The way the bootcamp works is that on the odd numbered weeks (1,3,5) I do 3 workouts that she sends me and one personal training session with her. Then on the even weeks (2,4,6) I go to 3 bootcamp workout sessions with the group. Of course, ToM arrived yesterday...perfect timing. Oh well!
Did a big, healthy grocery shopping last night to stock up on all the goods to do this thing right. I'm not much of a cook so its a lot of easy to prepare things. But, I tried to make it healthy! Whenever I workout a lot, I obviously get hungrier, so I'm going to try to not let myself get carried away with that and go crazy. It's easy to excuse yourself from eating a little too much because you worked out.
Other than that, not much going on! I'm working on two scarves right now that I've been totally meaning to post pics of. I love them both! It's really going to take some time management on my part to get them done in time for Christmas, but I'll have to find a way!
I drove to work today and parked in a garage that you have to be out of by 7pm. Since I get off at 6pm, the workout is going to have to be a quickie. I'll probably only do the cardio piece and double up on the weight training one day. This is how I think the week will shake out:
Mon: --
Tue: 30 min cardio
Wed: 30 min cardio, weight training
Thu: Personal training session
Fri: --
Sat: 30 min cardio, weight training (2x)
Sun: --
Wish me luck!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
This ain't pretty...
The numbers from my bootcamp Pre-assessment, I mean! Augh!
She pinched me all over with that little fat squeezer device and it came up with an ugly number! 30%!!! She did say that the margin of error was 3%...but that could also mean that it is 33%!! Not that I'm really all that surprised since my WW scale says I'm 28.something%, but still! So, my goal for bootcamp is to lower that by 4% over the 6 weeks. That would put me solidly in the "Fair" category. I've never really aimed for body fat loss so I'm not even sure 4% is a realistic goal...I guess we'll see!
Then came all the measurements. I can't believe I'm actually going to post these for the world to see! Yikes!
Shoulder: 39.5...got my daddy's broad ones :)
Chest: 36
Abdomen: 35...holy cow
Waist: 29
Hips: 41.5...I don't want to see any number in the 40's!
Thigh: 24.5...crazy that my thigh is almost as big as my waist! But, I've always had thunder thighs, no matter how small I've been, so that probably isn't going to change much!
My goal for inches is going to be to lose a total of 6 inches. I think that should be relatively easy. Or I HOPE it will be relatively easy :)
My confession: After eating fairly healthy yesterday, I had to run to the Whole Foods to pick up some greens for the bunny and ended up buying a huge cookie from Carol's Cookies. If you've never had one, they are enormous! My intent was to eat only half. Which I did. Until an hour later when I ate the other half :) Oops.
She pinched me all over with that little fat squeezer device and it came up with an ugly number! 30%!!! She did say that the margin of error was 3%...but that could also mean that it is 33%!! Not that I'm really all that surprised since my WW scale says I'm 28.something%, but still! So, my goal for bootcamp is to lower that by 4% over the 6 weeks. That would put me solidly in the "Fair" category. I've never really aimed for body fat loss so I'm not even sure 4% is a realistic goal...I guess we'll see!
Then came all the measurements. I can't believe I'm actually going to post these for the world to see! Yikes!
Shoulder: 39.5...got my daddy's broad ones :)
Chest: 36
Abdomen: 35...holy cow
Waist: 29
Hips: 41.5...I don't want to see any number in the 40's!
Thigh: 24.5...crazy that my thigh is almost as big as my waist! But, I've always had thunder thighs, no matter how small I've been, so that probably isn't going to change much!
My goal for inches is going to be to lose a total of 6 inches. I think that should be relatively easy. Or I HOPE it will be relatively easy :)
My confession: After eating fairly healthy yesterday, I had to run to the Whole Foods to pick up some greens for the bunny and ended up buying a huge cookie from Carol's Cookies. If you've never had one, they are enormous! My intent was to eat only half. Which I did. Until an hour later when I ate the other half :) Oops.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Down with Comcast!
I've been a little MIA because I disconnected my home internet service on Friday. I've had nothing but problems with Comcast and I've finally had enough! Why continue giving my money to a company who gives me nothing in return?! My internet constantly goes off-line and either they cannot figure out the problem or they send out technicians that never show up. I'm over it. I'm thinking of just paying more to have a wireless card and have access anywhere. I'm still researching though!
I have my bootcamp "pre-assessment" today. That should be absolutely horrifying! But, at the same time, it will be good for me to be scared straight :) I'll let you guys know what happens!
In trying to prepare for my office Wellness Challenge, I've been going through my bookshelves and realized I have a ton of health books! Books about diet, books about vegetarianism, books about running (LOTS of those!) and then a million fitness magazines to boot! The one I really found myself looking at is the American Heart Association's No-Fad Diet. The book is written in simple, straight to the point terms. They also give you a few options on how to cut calories and how to get active. One that I really liked was the 75% method. Basically, you just keep eating what you usually would, you just get rid of a quarter of it. That way, you don't feel deprived and you don't have to go through extensive planning or preparations to make the adjustment. I do realize for a chocoholic like me, this may not be the most healthy option, but it definitely sounded like the easiest! For example, if I usually consume 2000 calories a day, cutting out 25% is 500 calories. That is a pound a week!
So, I'm still planning and prepping for this challenge. I want to offer a "seminar" each week that would be about a different avenue of health and each attendee would get points for the week for attending. Other than that, I would just be the coordinator and be on a team myself. Oh yeah, and be the prize finder :)
I have my bootcamp "pre-assessment" today. That should be absolutely horrifying! But, at the same time, it will be good for me to be scared straight :) I'll let you guys know what happens!
In trying to prepare for my office Wellness Challenge, I've been going through my bookshelves and realized I have a ton of health books! Books about diet, books about vegetarianism, books about running (LOTS of those!) and then a million fitness magazines to boot! The one I really found myself looking at is the American Heart Association's No-Fad Diet. The book is written in simple, straight to the point terms. They also give you a few options on how to cut calories and how to get active. One that I really liked was the 75% method. Basically, you just keep eating what you usually would, you just get rid of a quarter of it. That way, you don't feel deprived and you don't have to go through extensive planning or preparations to make the adjustment. I do realize for a chocoholic like me, this may not be the most healthy option, but it definitely sounded like the easiest! For example, if I usually consume 2000 calories a day, cutting out 25% is 500 calories. That is a pound a week!
So, I'm still planning and prepping for this challenge. I want to offer a "seminar" each week that would be about a different avenue of health and each attendee would get points for the week for attending. Other than that, I would just be the coordinator and be on a team myself. Oh yeah, and be the prize finder :)
Saturday, September 20, 2008
For a Good Cause!
I went to the office microwave to heat up my Lean Cuisine a few minutes ago, and as I was impatiently waiting for the 3 1/2 minutes to go by, I started reading the meal box. Lo and behold I saw the cutest thing and for a good cause too!
These adorable little thermal lunch totes! They are only $9.95 and $5 of that goes to the Susan G. Komen Foundation! I couldn't help it! I totally just ordered the patchwork one! So, check them out if you are a frozen meal junkie (like me!) at leancuisine.com. Total cuteness :)Thursday, September 18, 2008
I Need Your Help!
So, I have been thinking about starting a Wellness Program at my office for the longest time and I'm finally ready to get this show on the road! What I really need is a little input from people. I want to kick it off with a team based competition. So, people would be in teams of 3 or 4 and have a weekly check in where they would get points for various things such as eating right, drinking lots of water, exercise, getting enough sleep, etc. Each person would set a new weekly goal, as well as a overall performace goal and get points for meeting those also.
But, being that I have no money in our budget for this little ditty, I'm gonna have to charge a fee to participate. Although, I did get money put in for next year! Yay me! So, if you'd answer a few questions with your opinion, I'd be very grateful!
1) How much would you be willing to pay to participate in this challenge?
2) What do you feel is a good duration for the challenge? Long enough to feel you really made progress, but not so long that you lose interest.
3) Would you expect the Wellness Program (basically me!) to provide you with opportunities and resources to succeed with the challenge or would you think it was okay if you and your team were solely responsible for meeting your goals?
4) Any other ideas or advice on how to make this a success?? I'm really excited!!
Thank you for your help!
On another note, the boot camp is now officially official! I have an appointment on Tuedsay to do my "pre-assessment". Yay. I have a feeling this is going to include getting my fat pinched in areas that I do not want to be pinched! Ew!
But, being that I have no money in our budget for this little ditty, I'm gonna have to charge a fee to participate. Although, I did get money put in for next year! Yay me! So, if you'd answer a few questions with your opinion, I'd be very grateful!
1) How much would you be willing to pay to participate in this challenge?
2) What do you feel is a good duration for the challenge? Long enough to feel you really made progress, but not so long that you lose interest.
3) Would you expect the Wellness Program (basically me!) to provide you with opportunities and resources to succeed with the challenge or would you think it was okay if you and your team were solely responsible for meeting your goals?
4) Any other ideas or advice on how to make this a success?? I'm really excited!!
Thank you for your help!
On another note, the boot camp is now officially official! I have an appointment on Tuedsay to do my "pre-assessment". Yay. I have a feeling this is going to include getting my fat pinched in areas that I do not want to be pinched! Ew!
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Boot Camp, Here I Come!
Notice that I didn't update my ticker with my gain? Yeah, that's me in denial :)
So, this morning I officially signed up for the 6-week program being offered by the gym here at work. I figured for 6 weeks, I can somehow manage to fit it in! Plus, I know how easy it is to get lazy in the winter so this is probably a great lead in to keep me moving during those cold months!
On a totally different note, I just signed up to be a volunteer at the Mile 5 water station for the Chicago Marathon, hosted by Breast Cancer Network of Strength (formerly Y-ME). I've been the captain of a team for BCNS for the past 4 years at my office so this is exciting to do something with them other than their annual fundraiser and walk. Plus, since my friend is running the marathon, I was gonna have to be out there anyway! Now, I can be out there and help too! And with it being Mile 5, we should be all closed up and done way before the race if over so I can still see him somewhere else on the course or at least see him finish!
Not sure why I'm so excited about this, but I am! :)
So, this morning I officially signed up for the 6-week program being offered by the gym here at work. I figured for 6 weeks, I can somehow manage to fit it in! Plus, I know how easy it is to get lazy in the winter so this is probably a great lead in to keep me moving during those cold months!
On a totally different note, I just signed up to be a volunteer at the Mile 5 water station for the Chicago Marathon, hosted by Breast Cancer Network of Strength (formerly Y-ME). I've been the captain of a team for BCNS for the past 4 years at my office so this is exciting to do something with them other than their annual fundraiser and walk. Plus, since my friend is running the marathon, I was gonna have to be out there anyway! Now, I can be out there and help too! And with it being Mile 5, we should be all closed up and done way before the race if over so I can still see him somewhere else on the course or at least see him finish!
Not sure why I'm so excited about this, but I am! :)
Monday, September 15, 2008
A Gain
Darn it, darn it, darn it! But, I knew I was off track all week and although I everyday I swore that "tomorrow" would be the day I straightened out, it never happened. But this is a new week! A new start! No more evil biscotti lurking around the kitchen. Beautiful weather in the 70's all week. I will eat right and get this tushy moving!
I'm really thinking about joining some sort of fitness group. But why, oh why, do they have to be so expensive? One of the running groups here offers a Winter Warriors training group. It's 13 weeks and trains you for a half marathon. That is a distance I know I can handle since I've already run that far or farther on many occasions. But it costs something like $180! Then there is the gym upstairs. They are offering a 6-week program that includes 3 personal training sessions, 9 sweatshop classes (whatever those are!) and a daily fitness plan. That only costs $100. I've worked out with the trainer up there before and she kicked my butt! Only problem is that her hours don't really work very well for me.
I definitely feel like I gotta sign up for something to get me motivated though. I work better under pressure!
I'm really thinking about joining some sort of fitness group. But why, oh why, do they have to be so expensive? One of the running groups here offers a Winter Warriors training group. It's 13 weeks and trains you for a half marathon. That is a distance I know I can handle since I've already run that far or farther on many occasions. But it costs something like $180! Then there is the gym upstairs. They are offering a 6-week program that includes 3 personal training sessions, 9 sweatshop classes (whatever those are!) and a daily fitness plan. That only costs $100. I've worked out with the trainer up there before and she kicked my butt! Only problem is that her hours don't really work very well for me.
I definitely feel like I gotta sign up for something to get me motivated though. I work better under pressure!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Oops...forgot!
Forgot to hold myself accountable for what I ate yesterday. I did exactly as I had planned until after dinner. I made biscotti for a co-worker and ended up eating about 3 pieces and a spoonful of dough. Augh.
Finding Time to Workout
I had a very interesting conversation with a friend last night about finding the time to workout. As many of you may know, I have tried to do my workouts in the morning. But I'm just not a morning person. I hate getting up. HATE IT. And then in the evening, well, although my intentions are usually good, most of the time it pans out to nothing.
Why is that?
We made a very startling discovery during out discussion. On the weekdays, I really only have the potential to get about 3 hours of down time. I get up in the morning with just enough time to get ready for work and get out the door. I'm at work all day, and to be honest, I rarely actually even take a lunch away from my desk. Then I commute home and can plan to be there around seven sometime. Depending if I have errands or chores to get done, how much time does that really leave me to just relax? Do nothing? Enjoy just having time before I go to bed and do it all over again? Not much. I've been that gym girl who works out 5 days a week. Spends an hour lifting and then another 45 minutes doing cardio. Who gets home in just enough time to shower, eat something and go to bed. Right now, I'm finding it very difficult to be her.
And we also decided that there is an on and off switch. We get up, we go to work, we think about all the things we are going to do later in the day and it all seems very attainable. But then something tends to happen between the time I leave the office and the time I get home. The switch that was "on" all day and had me moving and going and planning, seems to get switched to "off". Thus, making it suddenly really hard to fulfill all those plans I had just hours ago. When I get home, I realize I have a choice. I can stay "on" and keep moving and shaking or I can shut off and just relax. And unfortunately, right now I seem to like being off.
So, how do you find that balance? How do you fit in workouts (and everything else that goes with it like getting there, showering, etc) and yet still have time to just unwind? I can't seem to do it...or more likely, I don't seem to want to figure out how to do it. What do you do? How do you find the time?
Why is that?
We made a very startling discovery during out discussion. On the weekdays, I really only have the potential to get about 3 hours of down time. I get up in the morning with just enough time to get ready for work and get out the door. I'm at work all day, and to be honest, I rarely actually even take a lunch away from my desk. Then I commute home and can plan to be there around seven sometime. Depending if I have errands or chores to get done, how much time does that really leave me to just relax? Do nothing? Enjoy just having time before I go to bed and do it all over again? Not much. I've been that gym girl who works out 5 days a week. Spends an hour lifting and then another 45 minutes doing cardio. Who gets home in just enough time to shower, eat something and go to bed. Right now, I'm finding it very difficult to be her.
And we also decided that there is an on and off switch. We get up, we go to work, we think about all the things we are going to do later in the day and it all seems very attainable. But then something tends to happen between the time I leave the office and the time I get home. The switch that was "on" all day and had me moving and going and planning, seems to get switched to "off". Thus, making it suddenly really hard to fulfill all those plans I had just hours ago. When I get home, I realize I have a choice. I can stay "on" and keep moving and shaking or I can shut off and just relax. And unfortunately, right now I seem to like being off.
So, how do you find that balance? How do you fit in workouts (and everything else that goes with it like getting there, showering, etc) and yet still have time to just unwind? I can't seem to do it...or more likely, I don't seem to want to figure out how to do it. What do you do? How do you find the time?
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
H2O
I'm going to make a daily goal: Drink my freakin' water! I do generally drink a decent amount of water throughout the day, but probably only about half of what they actually recommend. The problem is that once I finish off the bottle, I'm too lazy to go refill it. Lame excuse, I know. Well, this week I've invested in a huge mug to get me in the habit of refilling. I'm on my second mug-full already! Woo Hoo!
Furthmore, I think my diet is slipping. The scale seems to have frozen and after 2 straight weeks of seeing a steady decline, this is a bit of a shock to my system! :) So, to give me just a little accountability, I'm going to post what I've eaten so far and whay I plan to eat later. I'll compare it to reality tomorrow!
Breakfast: Medium non-fat mocha at local cafe. Seriously, I'm usually not one to skip breakfast, but this morning got a little rushed!
Snack: Fiber One bar...yummy
Lunch: Amy's Mattar Paneer frozen dinner
Snack: Banana
Dinner: I'm thinking eggsalad in a whole wheat pita and a little salad on the side
Snack: Maybe a string cheese
And if I could somehow manage to actually get a little exercise in, my day would be complete!
Furthmore, I think my diet is slipping. The scale seems to have frozen and after 2 straight weeks of seeing a steady decline, this is a bit of a shock to my system! :) So, to give me just a little accountability, I'm going to post what I've eaten so far and whay I plan to eat later. I'll compare it to reality tomorrow!
Breakfast: Medium non-fat mocha at local cafe. Seriously, I'm usually not one to skip breakfast, but this morning got a little rushed!
Snack: Fiber One bar...yummy
Lunch: Amy's Mattar Paneer frozen dinner
Snack: Banana
Dinner: I'm thinking eggsalad in a whole wheat pita and a little salad on the side
Snack: Maybe a string cheese
And if I could somehow manage to actually get a little exercise in, my day would be complete!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Sabotage Sundays
I keep sabotaging myself on Sunday nights! Remember last week when I ate a bag of gourmet popcorn & went to Cold Stone?! Well, this week it was a huge piece of stuffed pizza at 9pm on Sunday night! What am I doing?
I did good all week long and then I blow it right before the weigh in on Monday! So, I refused to get on the scale yesterday :) I knew it would be up, but it wouldn't really be the right weight. Today I did weigh in and while it was still a bit higher than where it had been all last week, it was still showing a loss. That is much more acceptable!
This week has got to include more exercise. That is totally what was lacking last week. I got a very inspirational (slightly taunting) text from a friend this morning about getting the job done. He has lost 30 pounds in the past 7 months when he didn't even think it was possible to lose that much. He was trying to get it through my head that anything is possible. And I know it is. I need to have faith!!
I did good all week long and then I blow it right before the weigh in on Monday! So, I refused to get on the scale yesterday :) I knew it would be up, but it wouldn't really be the right weight. Today I did weigh in and while it was still a bit higher than where it had been all last week, it was still showing a loss. That is much more acceptable!
This week has got to include more exercise. That is totally what was lacking last week. I got a very inspirational (slightly taunting) text from a friend this morning about getting the job done. He has lost 30 pounds in the past 7 months when he didn't even think it was possible to lose that much. He was trying to get it through my head that anything is possible. And I know it is. I need to have faith!!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Holy Thai Crunch Salad!
I've been promising my department (okay, me plus one) that we'd have lunch out on the house...well, on the company. So, today, as it was raining cats and dogs, we actually ventured out to do it! We ended up at the California Pizza Kitchen around the corner cuz, well, one umbrella between the two of us wasn't gonna get us too far!
I ordered my usual Thai Crunch Salad, minus the chicken (I'm a vegetarian) and avocado (I just don't like the stuff). OH YUM. I love this salad! I was very close to ordering the Margherita pizza, but then I mentally kicked myself in the bootie for even considering ordering myself an entire pizza. Like I could actually have that much self control!
I managed to eat just over half at lunch and pack up the rest. I'm now munching on that other half at my desk. It's not exactly crunchy anymore, but oh well. I'm loving it!
I ordered my usual Thai Crunch Salad, minus the chicken (I'm a vegetarian) and avocado (I just don't like the stuff). OH YUM. I love this salad! I was very close to ordering the Margherita pizza, but then I mentally kicked myself in the bootie for even considering ordering myself an entire pizza. Like I could actually have that much self control!
I managed to eat just over half at lunch and pack up the rest. I'm now munching on that other half at my desk. It's not exactly crunchy anymore, but oh well. I'm loving it!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
I feel skinny
And unfortunately, that isn't good!
Why, you ask?
Because once that belly gets to feeling a little flat and the pants start feeling a little loose, it becomse so much easier to say, hey, what's just one more cookie?! Yes, it always goes down like this for me. I start to feel better and like I'm making progress and therefore become more lax about my diet and activity. It's a bitter, vicious cycle :)
So, how am I going to break it? That is a good question! I guess I need to first throw all my jeans in the dryer and shrink them a size! :) I think that's a good start. Nothing like a tight pair of pants cutting into your waist to make you feel great! Beyond that, I think I better just make more of an attempt to get outside and moving while this weather is good. Temps here went from 90's this weekend to high 60s/low 70s this week. As long as Gustav doesn't drop too much rain on us, I'll be in good shape!
On a different note, the bunny had to be rushed to the vet again yesterday. I'm totally drained by this whole ordeal. I just want my healthy, happy bunny back! 2 more weeks until her next check up, assuming there aren't anymore emergencies. My poor baby!
Monday, September 1, 2008
I survived the weekend
Actually, I had done an excellent job of watching what I ate all weekend...until last night, that is!
After making good choices all weekend, I ended it with some caramel & cheese popcorn that I got in a goodie bag as a fundraiser I had attended Saturday night and then some ice cream at Cold Stone. In my defense, I got the smallest size and didn't finish it. Okay, I left about 3 bites :)
All of this watching my diet resulted in a 1.5 pound loss! Yay! Now, I just gotta keep it up!
After making good choices all weekend, I ended it with some caramel & cheese popcorn that I got in a goodie bag as a fundraiser I had attended Saturday night and then some ice cream at Cold Stone. In my defense, I got the smallest size and didn't finish it. Okay, I left about 3 bites :)
All of this watching my diet resulted in a 1.5 pound loss! Yay! Now, I just gotta keep it up!
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