The Results are in (for me anyways)

Well I had my final weigh in for the six week challenge that I just participated in.  It was a good challenge, the exercise routines were different, the support was great and I had fun.  The only difference was that my trainer no longer looked at my meal plans so I definitely stopped writing down everything I was pass through my lips. 

Therefore, I cheated on my eating a few times.  Ok like two or three times in the last four weeks per week.  Seriously it wasn't a great thing.  But my break down didn't look to bad either.

I lost 7 pounds or weight.  In that weight loss I lost 2% body fat and gained 2% lean muscle.  I ended up losing 8 inches in total from when I started although my mid-measuring said that I had lost even more, but it's just with different people measuring so you have to take the good with the bad. 

I feel good about what I accomplished, and I know I still have some more work to do, but I am enjoying going to the gym.  It's really my only out of the house time I have so I take what I can get.  I am going to continue going to the gym until August for sure, after that I will have to re-evaluate what I am doing since I may not have a job in September and the gym is a little expensive.

However, I am seeing results and I don't feel I am working to exuberantly hard.  Just enough to get my energy up and my weight down.  I am loving it!!!!

Creature of Habit

I never thought I was to addicted to always doing the same thing with the same people, but as I grow older I have come to realize the I often find things I enjoy and I don't like them to change. I like consistency.

This is especially true when it comes to my working out routine.  I have struggled with stay  active consistently for my entire life. I definitely workout in spurts.  There are periods of time when I workout consistently active on my own for six months or more, generally through winter I find this easier as I like being indoors in the winter.  But then the weather will change or circumstances will change and I will lose my routine and then it's back to the weight gain and loss yo-yoing that I struggle with. I am not one of the fortunate few who can eat whatever they want but I love food, so if I am not active then I will gain weight. 

I have found that I really enjoy my FIT Camp classes at one to 1.  I have really enjoyed working with the girls in the class and my instructor was great.  Wait did I use a was?  Yes I did, because last Friday we found out, and I didn't actually find out until Monday, that Trevor had been fired.  I know that as a client I don't really need to know the ins and outs of an establishment, but I signed up to work with Trevor at One to 1 in his fit camp classes and now he's not there.  I feel a little disconcerted, and I don'tt know how the rest of my workouts will go.  I know I will stay until the end of this six week challenge, because I AM going to win, that way I can get the honeymoon I deserve!!!!

But I am a creature of habit and I am worried that if I do not like the new trainer, then I may not continue with One to 1.  That's the honest truth of it, I may just leave and go to another gym, or just get a collicut pass and work it into our schedule that we go the same times I was going to One to 1.  We will see what happens at the end of this six weeks though. 

Trevor was a good trainer and I hope he gets work soon, and I, as one of his clients, am saddened that I have lost him as a trainer.

Working out Outside

I am so HAPPY summer is finally starting to come into existence.  It has been a long, uncomfortable winter, way to cold for this Cali girl.  (I know I grew up in the prairies but I am sure my being born in Cali has made it so I do not acclimate very well to these horribly cold winters)

Two nights ago, Mr. A and I went to the steam baths for a relaxing evening. It was something we hadn't done in a long time. Before going there though I was determined to get a run in, as I have made a resolution to be active everyday that I don't go to the gym. I am trying to get some extra cardio in so I can lose more fat weight, and not gain so much more lean muscle mass.  So out for a run I went around my neighbourhood.  It took me 30 minutes and I ran 3.04km.  Which I feel isn't bad for the first run of the season.  After getting home and changing it was off to an evening of relaxing.  It was a great steam, well except where they turned the lights out on us in the steam room.  That was a little frightening.

Then yesterday, Trevor decided to provided us with our first outside workout.  It was not as bad as I thought it would be.  We had to do 15 push ups, then lunges across a field, 15 overhead squats with a medicine ball, then lunges again, 15 medicine ball slams, then lunges again.  When these were complete we went for a .60km run.  I was able to complete this 3 times.  So my next goal will to be complete this 5 times.  It was nice out last night, not to hot just the perfect temperature for making the blood pump outside.  The only issue with working out outside are those pesky mosquitoes.  Man I wish they would spray for them, they are a complete pain, everywhere. 

The other wonderful thing that the city of Red Deer has funded are outdoor gyms.  Throughout the city there are multiple locations where these gyms can be located.  They are a resistance training gyms that use your own body weight and they are set up as a circuit gym.  If you can't afford gym equipment in the summer all you have to do is take a jog to the nearest outdoor gym area and you can workout until your heart's content.
So if your city is like mine find these gyms, and if not proposition your city council to help make your city a healthier city by installing these gyms!!!

May 2 to June 15th

For the next six weeks I am going to be on a strict diet and exercise regime. AGAIN!! Yes I have seen results but I want to see more results especially since my wedding in basically in 4 months, less than 4 months.

So no sugar for this girl, lot's of water and lot's of protein.  I am not cutting out carbs, but cutting down on carbs.  I am planning to adhere to this diet with the utmost conviction. I want to win this challenge, but there are a few people that are even biking to the gym before working out, I'm not doing that, so I have to bring my A game every other day of the week.

No more excuses no more!!!  Gotta do this up right and if I do I will win a $1000 travel voucher that will by my gift to Adrian and I for our wedding.  Have a goal now let's get to it!!!

The Results are IN!!!

Ok so I am going to provide everyone with my results and explain what my next step is in this process.  I am very excited about all this.

To start though let's go back to where I was 6 weeks ago.  On January 9th, 2009 I had my first weigh in and measuring.  At that point my weight was a whooping 200 pounds, my impedance (resistance) was 502, and my measurements were: Neck 33cm, Shoulders 108 cm, Abdomen1 89cm, abdomen2 102cm, glutes 114cm, right thigh 64cm, chest 96cm, calf 39cm, and bicep 35cm.  My body fat percentage was 37.3% which calculates to a total of 74.3lbs of fat on my body (gross!).  My lean body mass was 124.7 meaning I had a 1.7:1 ratio of lean body mass to fat ratio.  That being said the calculations show that I had 11% excess fat on my body.

My goal was to go down 20lbs.  I didn't quite make that, but I did drop 13lbs in my 6 weeks.  My long term goal is to get down to 169lbs and 26% body fat for a healthy body.  I would even like to drop down to 160 lbs, but that could change based on the muscle I gain which may keep my weight up, so I am not as concerned with the number on the scale as I am with the size of my wedding dress.

So my weight was down ~13lbs( this weight fluctuates during the day, so at the time of my weigh in I was at 191).  my measurements read like this; Neck 33 cm, chest 89cm, abdomen1 81cm, abdomen2 95cm , glutes 108cm, thigh 61 cm, calf and biceps were the same, shoulders 103 cm.  That equals a total of 15 inches lost during the 6 weeks. My body fat percentage is now 31.3% for a total of 61 lbs of fat which means I lost 13.3 lbs of body fat but I did gain 7 lbs of Lean body mass.  So I am now down to 5% excess body fat on my body (yeah). 

So there you have it those are my results and I am very happy with them.  I can now fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes, so I am looking forward to continuing my lifestyle change to fit into those other clothes that I was wearing when I first started dating Adrian.

I plan to continue with One to 1 fitness doing the group work out classes, as I get closer to my wedding date I may look into changing my workouts so that I can work one on one with my trainer just so that I can keep on my path to healthy living.  I am very much enjoying this journey that I have taken, I am so glad that I did and the trainers at One to 1 are amazing.  If you are in Red Deer and looking to make a healthy change, stop in and join my class you won't regret it.  I look forward to sharing more results with you in the future!!!  I will post some pictures soon!!

Last week!!

OMG I can hardly believe it, I have one week left in my six weeks to a new you. Do I feel like a new me, well I feel more like the old me then I have in a very long time.  There are definitely some changes that I still have to work on but some of the changes have come very easily and I am enjoying incorporating them into my life and into my families healthy living.

So next Monday I go for my final weigh in and measurements, so that is when I will post my final results and then I will hopefully have some links to send you to see my video interview or some first time pictures with last week pictures.  It's going to be exciting.

I can give you these results though. I am definitely feeling a change in my body at this point.  I have more energy, I am not as tired as I was.  I still like my sleep and can still go to bed early but if I stay up an extra hour or two I am not a walking zombie the next day.  I feel healthier and I am not getting sick even though everyone around me is catching every cold and virus that is floating in this environment.  My clothes are fitting better, I even wore a pair of guess jeans I bought back when my dad was still alive in the hospital yesterday that I hadn't been able to put on since I bought them because I had gained weight after he passed away and I gained more weight because then I got pregnant.  Now two years later I am getting back down.  Next stop is to get back into the pants I bought when my dad was in making his big mistake 8 months prior to his death. 

I hope you are all looking forward to my results as much as I am.  Soon maybe I will be comfortable posting bikini pictures too!!! lol

New results

I have now officially lost 11 pounds, and a total of 11 inches!!!  I am so excited about this turn of events.  There are two weeks left in my program and I need to work extra hard to lose those last 9 pounds to reach my goal and then I will be half way to my long term goal. 

I was a skeptic, I will readily admit that, I didn't think the diet component would be that big of a deal, but apparently it is.  So after struggling with it for a bit, I have adopted it into my new routine and things are going well.  I still would like to indulge every once in awhile and have some tasty treats, but I am refraining for now because I want to win the competition but also because I am determined to see this through.  My treat after the six weeks will be a night out to have a decadent dessert.

But I will keep up with the food plan and the diet plan.  I think that will definitely help, but I will have to adopt some extra workouts to do at home if I do not win this competition to work out with a personal trainer.  I can always continue to sign up with the group classes, but I think in April for sure I want to be working out hard core for April, May and June so that I can be in my best shape and learn to maintain my weight, because that's going to be my next big challenge. 

I have lost weight in the past, but it's keeping that weight off and down with which I struggle.  I mean I can't even blame everything on the pregnancy, I gained a bunch of weight before I got pregnant and then my eating when I was pregnant didn't help matters.  So the next habit I must teach myself is moderation and not doing things in excess.

Any ideas how to do that??

UPDATE!!!

As many of you have read (I think it's only two or three people but hey it's a start I guess) I had begun a six week workout session with a personal trainer at One to 1 fitness.  This six week program is designed to help you loss weight by changing eating habits and doing some amazing workouts.  I know if my trainer reads this it may go to his head, but I vowed to be honest in my blogs and the workouts are hard, but I am able to push myself through them and I am seeing results.

When I had my initial consultation I was asked to give a short intreview in a camera to tell everyone why I signed up and what my goals were for the six week program.  I told everyone that I had signed up because I wanted to lead a healthier life and I wanted to have a healthier body and lifestyle.  My goal for the six week program was to lose 20 pounds.  It seems like a lot of weight, and I will admit that it is but it was half of all the weight I essentially want to lose by June.  By June I hope to be down to my ideal weight and then I will spend June to August and further on maintaining that weight.  They also asked me to identify my biggest obstacle in my weightloss journey.  That was easy, it's my eating habits, the snacking and junk food that I would eat. 

I have had quite the wake up call to the food I am ingesting.  I enjoyed those Fibre One bars, and cereal bars and those things, but they are not that healthy for you.  I have survived kicking sugar out of my diet, and I haven't had many cravings for sugar,  there have been a few, but I have been able to distract myself from eating anything that is high in sugar.  I thought it would be hard, especially with two children at home and a husband, or soon to be husband that was not necessarily interested in changing his diet plans. He still likes junk food, chocolate milk and his beer.   I have not been drinking anything since this started, and I may have a night or two where I drink and stuff, but I am going to be very conscious of my decisions.  Everything in moderation and really some things should be limited.

I really thought I would struggle more with eating, and there are a few times when I do struggle, but the biggest change that has happened, well the two big changes that have happened have made things easier than I expected.  The first change was cutting the processed sugar from my diet, that's all those corn syrups, fructose, glucose sugars that are manufactured and not really healthy for you.  I have supplemented in Splenda for those times when I have to have a sweetener on a product to be able to ingest it.  I tried to eat oatmeal a few times without sugar and I thought I was going to choke on it, I could barely swallow it, it just did not taste good.  But they have brown sugar splenda now so that makes things much better.  The other change has been the cutting back of prepackaged food.  I don't eat very many frozen meals or frozen meat products anymore.  We eat more fresh prepared food that is homemade.  It's been a big change because we were completely a family of convenience.  The funny thing is, when we make a meal from scratch it really only takes an average of 20 minutes longer to prepare and then we have so many leftovers afterwards for lunches and stuff that it is very much worth those extra 20 minutes. 

So now here is the update on my results at the half way mark of my six week journey.  I am down 9 pounds from when I first weighed in at One to 1.  I have lost 6+ inches since starting with them.  Those inches have come from my chest (2), waist (3) and glutes (1).  So there have been some definite gains from this program. 

Last night I didn't want to go, I wasn't feeling well, but I dragged my butt down there and I did my work out, it was worth it! I am glad I did it and I felt better when I got home, so now for the next 3 weeks I am making a goal to be more diligent to my meal plans and to actually work out more then the 3 times a week with the group class.  I will let you know more results as I find them!!!

I am surviving on No Sugar

So after a horrible day on Thursday and  a not great evening on Friday I think my body is finally adjusting to the lower sugar intake.  Which is frankly amazing.  I am still getting headaches in the evening and I am not sure why that is happening, but I am going to ask my trainer tomorrow about that.

As for the rest of the training it's going really well. We had  workout last night and I push my group to finish two circuits of the training.  I was exhausted by the end and my muscles are starting to stiffen up today but I really felt good about completing the workout.  I really do enjoy working out in group settings so I think to keep myself active I have just maintain signing up for workout classes throughout the year.  That way my caloric intake can be a bit higher and I can have some of those snacks that I can't eat right now while I am trying to get my metabolism up. 

The results are in though, I have already got back to my pre- Christmas weight.  So there are pay offs for working out, and that makes me extremely happy.  This show is on the road and I am going to excel at it!!!!

6 weeks to a new me

I signed up for a six week make over with One to 1 Fitness in Red Deer.  I am in  a class with ten other people and I am on a new meal plan.  We are competing against each other for a chance to win a 3 month membership to the gym with a personal trainer.  It's a pretty cool prize but I don't know that I am in it for the prize per se. 

My motivation is coming from a desire to look my best and to feel my best.  Neither of which I am feeling today.  I am definitely going to struggle with this challenge, and the biggest struggle is going to be the eating component of this challenge. 

Seriously, I love food, and I especially love sugar.  So what do you think my meal plans consist of?  Yup, no sugar, good carbohydrates and proteins and some fats, but ZERO sugar. It is a struggle already. 

Yesterday, I had zero sugar in my diet, except for the naturally occurring sugar from the fruits that I ate and in the fruit juice I drank.  But other than that there was no sugar, and no artificial sweetener either.  Yesterday, I thought I was going to die. 

I made it until 4:30 and then I thought I was going to die.  I was nauseous, I had the worst headache in years, and I didn't have my full mental capacities with me.  I was detoxing or getting the flu.  But as I drove home from Basketball practice, everything got worse, I inhaled an orange on my way home and that seemed to appease the sugar beast within me for 30 minutes, enough time so that I could concentrate on the road, but I really shouldn't have been driving in my condition.  I was lethargic as well and just wanted to lay down to die. 

I got home and ate supper, if you can call a 1/4 cup of potatoes, and 1/4 cup of corn, that my youngest son helped me eat a supper.  Oh and one chicken wing.  Then I bathed my child and set him up to eat his bed time snack.  I then laid on my couch and watched Grey's Anatomy.  After Grey's at 8:00 I went to bed, I literally crawled into my bed attempted to read a book, but failed miserably, so I just laid down and I was out for the count. 

I woke up this morning with a minor head ache, not as debilitating as yesterday's headache but it's still there twitching behind my eyes.  I am subbing today and I have a Basketball tournament all weekend so it's going to be interesting how this new meal plan plays out.  Hopefully, the sugar monster will be beaten and I can get on with not feeling like a detoxing drug addict soon!!!

Monday is my next workout so look out world, here I come!!!