The Zigs and Zags

I haven't blogged in almost 3 weeks. I've been struggling a bit with a few things; particularly eating well and keeping my mindset positive.

When I last posted, I was a bit discouraged and had a minor "blip". I reviewed my challenges from the previous week and adjusted. The adjustments proved fruitful as the following week was successful. I lost another 2.5 lbs and my measurements were stellar!

The end of week 5 however was not as good in the results department. I actually gained some weight back. Now I don't know if this is really because I gained fat back or what, but I was a bit demoralized after I weighed myself.

After a few days of venting to friends and reflecting upon my results - more specifically my behaviours from the past week - I am ready to face the facts and get back on track. If I have learned anything from some of the self-image literature I have been reading is that the way to a goal is a zig-zagging path and that you should not define yourself by your mistakes. So there you have it, I will not let my mistakes define me. Here's an image that summarizes how I am adjusting my way to see success:

So just like last time, I am going to make some small adjustments to my routine to get back on track:

No. 1:  Get enough sleep. I've noticed that during days when I am most tired, I tend to reach for extra food that is not necessary. On top of that, I know that my body needs sleep to repair the stress that I am putting it through during workouts.

No. 2: Eat according to plan. The instructions we have received from our trainer and the dietitian is to FOLLOW the plan. I will do this as much as I can. BUT, in the event that life gets in the way, I will eat foods that correspond to the plan. For instance, if the plan calls for chicken and veggies with oil and no carbs, I will eat a lean protein, veggies and some sort of oil (no carbs!). Also, I will be mindful of portion sizes. This piece of my commitment is absolutely pivotal for my success.

No. 3: Drink plenty of water. There is no doubt, water is essential in getting fit and losing weight. A dehydrated body doesn't perform well and doesn't burn fat well. I will continue to drink at least 3-4 L per day and limit my caffeine intake. In fact COFFEE will no longer be on the menu at all.

I also will continue to incorporate more exercise into my week. More cardio to be exact. Every morning, I will go for a 30 minute walk before I eat or have a shower. Hopefully the walks will turn into jogs soon as the ice on the sidewalks melts away!

So there you have it. These are my goals over the next little while. Things may zig and zag, but it's the way I get back to my goals that counts. I will persist to the end and achieve my ultimate goal: live a healthy lifestyle that gives me energy and allows me to remain at a healthy weight.

Thank you for those that have helped me this week hash these things out - directly or indirectly - you know who you are ;-)

Special thanks to Joy for this next image - I was inspired by this saying that was in her blog :-)

Minor Blip = Back to the Basics

My weigh-in tonight was a disappointment. I actually gained 0.8 lbs :-( ACK! I could make lots of excuses, however, the fact of the matter is that I strayed from some of the good things I had been doing during the first two weeks. First though, I need to reinforce what I have been doing well!

What have I been doing well:

1 - I have been getting my water in!
In the morning right when I get up, I have been drinking my water. I have also been sipping my water throughout the day. 

2 - I have been preparing all of my meals. 
This is a big one for me! Prior to this program, I was eating IN and preparing lunches for work less than 25 % of the time. I have stayed on course with meal preparation and I'm pretty darn happy with it. 

3 - I have been moving a lot more. 
Taking walks either in the morning or at lunch, playing volleyball, and of course the BL6 workouts. Additionally, my workouts have been more intense and I've really pushed myself. 

4 - Logging all of my food and completing my gratitude journal. 
Yes, it can be a pain in the ass, but studies have shown that people who log in what they eat are more successful at losing and maintaining their weight! This is a habit that I am building for life!

Ok, so not bad at all! 

So what can I do to improve this week?

1 - Eat according to plan - Measure portion sizes. 
I have a feeling that my portions have been creeping up a little in size (i.e., 2 cups of beef soup has become 3), so for the following week I commit to measuring foods that need measuring.

2 - Make sure to get enough sleep. 
Again, studies have shown (I WILL dig out some of these studies and reference them at some point I swear!) that sleep is essential in weight loss. I have not had much sleep in the past week for a variety of reasons, but mostly cause I am staying up to work :-S I commit to 7 hours of sleep per night this week.

3 - Swap out coffee for green tea. 
For some unknown reason, I decided to have coffee this week (after having given it up for the first 2 weeks of the program). I commit to substituting coffee with green tea this week.

4 - Morning walks. 
Although our trainer clearly indicated that morning walks - before even eating - are great to rev up your metabolism, I have only been completing them on weekends. Going forward, I commit to walking for 30 minutes every morning before breakfast. 

Well, I've got my plan - goals have been set and I am ready to rock this week! 

On a side note, but ever so important, I must say that I am finding so much strength and inspiration within the group of Biggest Losers that are with me on this journey. All 20 people have their own stories, their own struggles, their own dragons to slay. 

Just tonight, one of the participants told some of us that in 3 weeks, he has brought his blood sugar down from 8.8 to 4.9 - an amazing feat! This man's goal is to reverse his diabetes and get off his medication, and I am absolutely certain he will do this. 

These types of interactions lead me to ask myself what drives me fundamentally, what will keep me on this track for the weeks to come and for the years to follow? 

I guess it's a question that also leads back to what Adrian is trying to get us to discover in ourselves : our greater purpose and our life's "mission statement". 

I'm working on this every day :-)

Heaven is... Chocolate Avocado Pudding!

Results of my second week at the BL were better than I expected. Three more pounds lost! Woot Woot! And I'm still in the running I would say (fell down to 3rd place, but just by a smidge!). I am pretty pleased with the results, as I did not have the best week ever, eating wise and missed a workout. 

Yesterday was probably my best workout thus far. I felt healthier than I have since the beginning of the program - my bronchitis is finally in check - and I was able to really push myself. The trainer (Justin) assigned us a circuit of different exercises, increasing our sets as we progressed thru. We did this for about 40 minutes and my partner and I completed 10 sets for each exercise! It felt so great to sweat like that (plus ball slams were on the program - I actually LOVE throwing down those medicine balls... allows for a bit of agression).

In addition to a great workout, I came home to a treat of deliciousness: a new discovery called avocado chocolate pudding! This has been on the meal plan from the beginning, but being a little put off of avocadoes, I had not made this recipe yet. Finally made it yesterday, saving it for an evening snack. 

Oh. My. God. I never thought I would like it this much, but this decadent dessert is heaven, and chockfull of healthy nutrients to boot. I will most definitely be making this one again. Had a bit of it with a banana last night, and it really hit the spot. Here's a recipe: http://janetandgreta.com/recipe/april-2013-newsletter-chocolate-avocado-pudding/

Tomorrow night, we have a second mindset seminar followed by a workout. I hope to gain more insight on how to keep this motivation going and of course, I am looking forward to sweating up a storm! 

Eating well on the road : Mission impossible?

I missed my second workout tonight - not too happy about it. I have a meeting in Burlington tomorrow am that I had to fly out for. I was hoping to get a workout in at the hotel but my flight got cancelled, and I am just getting settled in now. On the upside, I ate very well today - and this was a change from what I usually do when I travel for work. In fact, I frequently have work meetings that are catered, and stay in hotels with room service... and in the past I haven't always made the best choices. 

I guess that in the past, I would have had a glass of wine on the plane, and then maybe another in the room - with a burger and fries. Tonight, after my flight was cancelled, I went to the different restaurants in the airport to check out the menus and see what I should eat. I made a realization that it really isn't that easy eating well when eating out (I am really looking forward to our eating out night with the BL to gain some pointers from A&A!). So I decided to get one of those little packages at Starbucks with hummus and veggies. I also got some dried apples (no sugar added!). Then on the flight I opted for water instead of my usual wine. Feeling pretty great about my choices! 

Now I'm cozy in bed, and hoping that I am on the mend. With 2 different bronchodilators and antibiotics I should be fine soon RIGHT??!! Because I really want to go hard at my next workouts!!! 

Have a good night everyone, and stay warm!

Week 1 - 2nd place overall!!!

The week started pretty well with the first workout and adjusting to the new eating plan. However, by Wednesday, for workout #2, I was starting to feel pretty sick. I was starting to cough and wheeze. I still went to the mindset workshop and the workout. 

The mindset workshop was AWESOME. Coming from a psychology background, I thought a goal-setting workshop would be kind of lame, but Adrian really came through with some concrete visualization exercises and other pointers. 

I must say that I was VERY nervous for the workout, given my feeling sick and coughing. So I was VERY VERY happy that there were no kettlebell swings in the program!!! However, we were introduced to box step-ups and burpees - alternating for 20 continuous minutes!!! Here's a gif for those of you that may not know what burpees are:

(Don't know why she is on a sketchy rooftop - but hey, she is a good burpee model!) 

I felt pretty good after this workout - I thought I had vanquished the cough that was creeping up on me before, but the next day it was back full blown. Ughhhh! What a bad time to get sick... Right in my first week of the program!

Anyways, fast forward to Friday - I went to the clinic and got a diagnosis of bronchitis. Got some antibiotics and an inhaler. Given how I was feeling, I decided to skip out on Friday night's workout. Too bad, because it was a night to bring someone from your inner circle to workout with us. I had invited my friend/volleyball partner Sophie - she got off the hook though ;-)

The whole team weighed in last night after their workout - I saw the results online. The leader lost 4.89% of his body weight in a week! Amazing! 

Adrian agreed to meet with me today to have me weigh-in and turn in my food logs from last week. GUESS HOW I DID??? I placed 2nd overall with a weight loss of 3.65% of my body weight!!!! I am so pumped :-) 

Andddd, I am hoping that the antibiotics take effect quickly so that I can get back to working out hard. In any case, I am very excited to continue on this journey at the 180 Fitness gym. 

Ode to the "Kettlebell Swing"

Today was the first day for it all: food, training session, logging and a bunch of new rules!

So many changes in one day can be overwhelming, but I was holding up pretty well I would say. 

The meal plan allows for lots of great, whole and healthy foods, so I was feeling pretty satisfied all day. I think my stomach is wondering what is going on though (I had a bit of a sore tummy after eating so much roughage, etc.). But overall, the meal plan seems pretty manageable. I just have to keep remembering to log every morsel that I eat, as I will be submitting this log for review on Friday!

The real kicker tonight was the workout. I'm not going to lie; given that I have exercised frequently in my life before, I was a tad overconfident in my abilities... ooooops! We warmed up, doing squats, jumping jacks, stuff like that, and then we got to.... DUM DUM DUM... the Kettlebell. 

Our trainer Adrian demonstrated the "Kettlebell Swing" - looked easy enough- and we all started doing it. After about 5 minutes of doing this move, I swear I thought I would throw up :-S My lowerback was in major pain. I kept trying to do it but I just couldn't do anymore!!! The Kettlebell Swing schooled me and made me realize just how out of shape I am. And of course it made me realize I need to be humble and respect the Kettlebell - duly noted!

In any case, I recovered quickly enough before our circuit, which involved large ropes, punching bags, rowing machines and many more (that's me below on the rower in black)!

All in all, I am pretty satisfied of my first day.

Mr. Kettlebell, I will be ready for our next rendez-vous!

Biggest Loser Weigh-In and Meeting

Late this afternoon, the participants of the Biggest Loser were greeted by Adrian (our trainer) and Andre (our dietitian), to kick off the 12-week program. 

The coaches were incredibly well organized in getting us weighed-in and measured, and introducing us all. The group is comprised of a majority of women (15-16 women) and a few good men (3 were at the meeting). I would say that the majority of participants are in their thirties, like myself, but there is one contestant who is close to 60 years old, and at least a few in their early twenties. I'm pumped to get to know them all a lot better!

Something that struck me during our meeting, is just how many women in the group have young children (2 had babies under 6 months old!) at home and/or are working full-time. I can't imagine making such a huge commitment like this when having so many things/people to take care of! So much respect for the ladies that were there tonight making such a commitment to themselves and to their families, despite being so incredibly busy.

Adrian and Andre had prepared binders for us, with the starting ground rules (4 basic rules for now!), a meal plan for our week, and a journal to use as a food log (to be submitted at the end of each week to our coaches). We also received a t-shirt - a black one or a red one - I ended up on the black team. 

So there you have it! That's the gist of our first meeting! My meals are pretty much ready for tomorrow (I made a black bean salad after the meeting). I'll talk more about the diet in the next posts. 

Right now it's time to get a good night's sleep! I have a feeling tomorrow's training session will be B-R-U-T-A-L!