A note...

Just a few more thoughts here.

I came home and went upstairs to change out of my work clothes and into my dog walking clothes. As I pulled my blouse up over my head, I gasped as I saw what appeared to be a huge blood clot looking blister just below the band of my bra. Good God...what the heck is THAT??? I gingerly touched it and with a little coaxing, it gave way.

A scab? No. It appears that I'm burning my energy up as I eat my protein bar. I'm eating it so freaking fast that I'm missing my mouth, not noticing pieces being flung about...falling down my blouse only to land on my tummy. A stuck piece of protein bar was what I thought was a clot.

Sadly, my next thought was...how many calories did I save by just wearing it on my tummy?

Another note...I'm officially off of coffee. I just don't enjoy it without Coffee Mate, so I've made the switch to tea. I totally committed by putting my pot in the garage and I've turned my bean grinder into a peppercorn grinder. My chicken tonight tasted a little on the Sumatra side, but it was still tasty.

And no, there isn't any chicken stuck to my gut.

Did anyone happen to find my energy?

I seem to have lost it. I'm not sure if it is B4L related or just weather related, as others that I work with are complaining about the same thing.

Yesterday was a crapper of a day regarding my food intake. I was eating protein like there was no tomorrow and then it would be followed by an intense carb craving. I'm hoping to rectify things with the minor adjustment of an added 200 calorie morning meal. So far, so good...but considering that I just ate said meal, I'm full and happy. We'll see how I am in another couple of hours.

I've added 10 additional minutes to my morning routine. So M, W, F I am doing 40 minutes of intense cardio and T, Th, S I am adding a 10 minute warm up on the tread mill before doing my floor work. My aunt tells me that by adding the 10 minutes to my cardio, it is like adding an additional 30 minute session due to "after burn". All I know is that my alarm clock is going off 10 minutes earlier. The first day that I did this, the alarm went off and I freaked out. My alarm clock is my television...did you know that Jay Leno is on at 3:50am? Apparently, they re-run his show at that hour, but I didn't know this and thought that I'd jacked up my clock.

That's all I've got for now. Sleepy, hungry, and confused. This is a great program!

Calories in, Calories out...right.

Still irritated by the scale, I thought that I'd log my daily intake to see just how many calories were going in this body of mine. I really didn't want to get crazy obsessed (like I normally do with these sorts of things), but I mean, what IF my intake was more than my output? I don't like being in the dark with anything, and my trust for this B4L program was quickly dissipating.

Results: On average, 1350 calories per day with nearly 100g of protein. Add in my "free day" and the weekly average comes out to equal POUNDS LOST. Hmph.

Life is too short to sweat the small stuff, but really, this is just simple math. Right?

End of week three...grr.

Well I'm totally miffed. I stepped on the scale for my weekly weigh-in and whaddaya know...the same. The same stinkin' number that it was LAST Sunday. And it isn't even close to the number that I want to see. I could totally be happy with maintaining for a week if I didn't have so many pounds ahead of me to lose. So I'm miffed, perturbed, aggravated, and more determined to shed a bucket load of fat by next Sunday. That will make for the end of my first month and I'll be taking measurements as well as weighing in. Hoping to see some big losses there. If I don't, I dunno what I'm going to do...don't let me get too close to any bridges is all I havta say about that.

Grr.

Mirror panic

I kept having visions of the mirrors flying off of the wall, due to a wagging dog tail or a bad Ellie rubbing her shoulder against a corner. These mirrors came from IKEA, and quite frankly, I wasn't trusting that Swiss technology. Sure, they can make a fine watch, but mirror clips? Dubious. Last night I made a quick stop at the hardware store to buy some Krazy Glue. I'm not the best with little objects and Grace is NOT my middle name...so me+Krazy Glue+little plastic clips+sheets of mirror=TERRIFYING. I dropped a few, clips that is, and have left a little piece of my left thumb on one, but lemme tell ya what...those mirrors are up there for good! I can work out without worry again. Good times.

Cardio today was strong, but I'm already tired of the music that I have programmed into my iPod. What was rocking my world two weeks ago has fast become routine and dull...I wonder if Comcast has a Cardio music station on their Guide. Hmm...something to look into.

The scale is still being stubborn, but I'm not going to let it get me down. Repeat that Kim...I'm not going to let it get me down. I'm not feeling the power of those words at this moment.

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

My workout room now has a mirrored wall thanks to IKEA and my friend, Barbara.

Reality can suck...especially at 4am. Seeing one's full length reflection under a bright light at that early hour is harsh. Even worse, is using said mirrors to check one's form while doing the exercises that are in the B4L book. That is why I put the mirrors up in the first place. This morning, I was doing my lower body workout. If you've been following along with my blog, you'll remember that my hamstrings suffered greatly with the lunges that I did for the first time. Well, now that I have a mirror, I can SEE that I've not been going down far enough! Whoa Nelly! The mirrors are going to increase the intensity of my workout for sure.

Can't wait to see how my upper body workout goes on Saturday!

Day 17...

My arms are sore. A good sore. A result producing sore.

It is Administrative Professionals Day today and my wonderful superiors that I report to had a gorgeous bouquet sent to me. I asked my friend to snap a picture and when I went to look at it, the first thing that I noticed was that my arm looked to be "toned". Yeah Baby...that's what I'm talkin' about! Then I noticed that I had flat hair from wearing my hat on my walk today...but that didn't bug me as much as it would have if I had a flabby arm! So the results are are coming...and I'm sore.

Rough Monday

Here it is Tuesday...I survived the Hungry Monday. Day 15 proved to be the first difficult food day for me. I will take the "I'm a girl and the hormones got to me" plea. This is why I'm following the Body for Life for WOMEN program. The doctor/author incorporated our monthly cycle into the program...she has a "Chill Meal". This would be a meal of chocolate. She also says that we should aim to be 80% perfect. I have been 100% perfect with my food intake up until yesterday. I've figured out the math and it seems that with yesterday, I'm at about 90%. Approved! This doctor was smart to know that us perfectionist women would need the "okay" to fall off.

It's good to be a girl.

Starting week 3 of 12

Sore calves is how my day started...worked 'em extra hard on Saturday morning. I'm not sure why I focused on them, because my calves are not an area that I want to see increase in size. I've got man-calves...why do I want to emphasize that? Anyhoo...today was the first time in a while that I didn't jump out of bed to git 'er dun. It was a struggle. And to top it all off, I am hungry today. I've had an extra protein bar in hopes that it will keep me satisfied until lunch. When's lunch???

Making it work!

Day 14 of 84

I weighed in this morning and dropped a whopping .5 pounds for the week. POINT five. Half a stinkin' pound.

Yes, I'm disappointed with the number, but I am NOT disappointed in how I'm looking. My stomach is flat again and there is great definition to my arms. So the program is working to transform my body and that is goal number one. Goal number two is to drop some pounds. It will happen, I just need to be patient. I am not good at patience. The Universe puts me through these little "tests" all of the time. Daily lessons in how to be patient.

I'm a slow learner.

Total loss of pounds in 13 days = 8 pounds.

Workout related news: I have a new LCD TV for my exercise room and it will be hung on the wall Wednesday. I've replaced the cat condo (which held all of my media) with a basic black stand from IKEA. It looks terrific and there is now "order" to that space. I like order! I've also moved the stationary bike to the garage and will be posting it to Craig's List. I've never liked the stationary bike...a form of torture for me. Time to pass it on to someone else that will likely come to hate it. While at IKEA, I picked up some mirror panels and once they get on the wall, I'll be just about complete with the remodel of the room. The mirrors are very much needed, because I know that my form sucks on some of the exercises that I've been doing. The final step is to find a rack for my dumb bells.

It's my second "free day" and, like last week, I'm mostly happy to be giving my body a break from intense exercise.

Day 12...

I'm feeling great! After doing my cardio this morning, I'm certain that I'll need to ramp up my levels come Monday. I went from sloth to strong in two weeks. Perdy dang good if ya ask me.

I pulled the Lucky Jeans off the hanger to see if they were willing to work with me today...success! The only reason that I even attempted this was because I had to cinch up my fanny pack last night when I went on my walk with the dogs. Inches lost BABY! Two weeks and there are visual results. Awesome.

My energy level is rockin...and I've even cut way back on my coffee. It's just not fun to drink it black. I tried pouring my Vanilla Protein Shake in as a creamer substitute and that wasn't a pleasant way to start the day. Shake is a shake, creamer is creamer...don't confuse the two.

Official weekly weigh in is on Sunday. I'm crossing my fingers to see a total of 10 pounds gone for the two weeks!

Pain and Protein

Upper body workout this morning.

I think that the Thursday workout is the toughest! I wake up feeling the burn of the Tuesday workout (this week was lower body) and then I shred my now healed upper body, as the last that it was exercised with weights was on Saturday. I'm back to hobbling around. Oh, and I'm hungry! I have made a change to my breakfast routine to compensate/fix things to work better for me. I now have a Myoplex lite shake immediately following my workout. 20g of protein will have my muscles repaired in no time...a hot tub would be good too. Full body massage? Vicodin? Wine! How about all of the above? Add a piece of dark chocolate and I just might pass out.

Whoa. Got away from myself there. Yikes, look at what a slippery slope it is for me! I'll just stick with the pain and protein.

The scale moved a half pound this morning. Shitbuckets, that is like tossing a cracker to someone that is starving. "Don't do me any favors...whatever..." I think those were my exact words when I stepped on and read the number.

Then I kicked it.

More thoughts...Day 10 of 84

A new motivation to get out of bed has occurred. Now, when the alarm goes off, it isn't the thought of Mr. Peet's coffee brewing that propels me out from under the sheets. Nor is it the anxiously pacing dogs, hungry for breakfast, that gets my rear in gear. No...there is a NEW motivation and that would be to see the bright yellow walls of my exercise room. I am truly excited to start my day with a heart pounding, muscle testing workout! I've moved my iPod docking station up to that room and rock the house at 4am with old tunes like "Love Shack" and my new favorite, "Shake It". Never...EVER...have I wanted to exercise before work. Ever.

The scale is not moving as fast as I'd like it to. Evil. I'm sure that once my body is convinced that I'm serious and that this isn't a passing phase, it will give up the pounds. Burn fat, BURN!

One of the conditions for the B4L challenge is that I must use their EAS products. Understandable, as they've got a business to run and this is a great marketing tool for them. I chose the Myoplex lite bar, which wasn't too bad on the flavor scale. If you've had one soy nugget, you've had them all. I took notice that they are using High Fructose Corn Syrup as one of their ingredients. WTF? This is the Devil's Nectar! So, being me, I called their customer service department. The poor rep put forth a valiant effort to defend their product, siting things like palatabilty, shelf stability, yadda-yadda-yadda. I wasn't having any of it and was countering her with every statement. Finally, she said, "Have you tried our Zone Bars?" I told her that I did a while back, but quit using them due to the HFCS being an ingredient in their deck. She proudly boasted, "We've reformulated the Zone Bar and it no longer has HFCS. Maybe you should switch!" To which I said, "Does it still taste good?" She says, "YES!" I say, "Can I keep it in my pantry, or do I have to refrigerate it?" She says with enthusiasm, "You can absolutely keep them in your pantry. It's a great one to keep in your purse too, for on the go meals!" Then I nailed her with my closing line, "So, if you were able to reformulate it to do without the HFCS, then you could probably do the same for the Myoplex bar...right?"

Silence.

"Um...well...he-he-he...um...I guess you have a point there. I'll be sure to pass it on to our developers."

Kickin' off Week 2

Week number 2 of 12, day number 8 of 84.

This morning was the first time in a week that my body didn't hurt. I mean, it's pretty dang sad when it hurts to sit down on the toilet...ya know what I mean? So when I woke, I was very motivated to jump on the treadmill and get my cardio done. I loaded new music onto my iPod last night, so there was even more incentive to get going. There is one song (can't remember the name or artist...did I mention that my memory isn't what it used to be?) where they say "Shake it, shake it, shake it" I couldn't help but shake everything that I had which, in turn, got my heart rate up to 170. Fearing a heart attack, I quit that move. Could you imagine? I'd go flying off the back of that thing, hit the wall and crumble into a heap. Not a pretty sight or ending for this girl. So anyhow, once I got my heart rate back to the 115-120 area, I took notice that my equipment is dusty. Gonna have to get the Swiffer up there...or maybe I could coax the Goldens over and have 'em wag their tails a bit on my stuff. That might be difficult though. Ever since I fell off the balance ball, they've stayed clear of the room. As a matter of fact, they sort of figured out what my "fall zone" is. The three dogs lay about 15 feet down the hall, just to be safe. Wimps.

Yesterday was my "free day" and the foods that I consumed were those that I've been off of for a week. White carbs. I can't tell you the last time I ate a pancake, but lemme tell ya, I HAD to have one at brunch. With blueberry compote. And marscapone. Home fried potatoes. Champagne...two glasses thank you very much. I got quite sickly from the carb overload and ended up tossing my cookies in the car on the drive home. Not sexy and lesson learned. Day 7 will be very different this week!

Ciao!

Day Seven

For what it's worth, my body still hurts. Day seven is a "free day" and for good reason. I need to rest and recover. I'm not anxious to go nutso with my meals today, more just THRILLED to not have to do an intense workout. So far, the extent of my "free food day" has been an extra cup of coffee.

I did my official weekly weigh-in today. Down six pounds in six days. I don't feel any lighter on my feet, but can see that my form is already changing (which is totally cool). I stood in front of the mirror and did a full on exam right when I hopped out of bed. Hair all jacked up, crusty stuff in my eyes...I tried to focus. It seems that my waist is returning, so that's good. With the pain that my arms and legs have been in, I was thinking that I'd SEE more of a difference. Instead, I'm just FEELING it. Not a bad thing, just noting my observation.

On to week 2!

Day six!

It's official. I'm OCD. Sure, I knew this...but when a girl wakes up at 5am on a Saturday and the ONLY thing that she can focus on is getting into the workout room...well, that's just a little bit "off". I'll admit it. I have a real problem, but am going to utilize it to my advantage through this journey. I bounced (maybe not so much bounced, as I did wobbled) into my exercise room and looked at my NEW weight bench with adoring eyes. "Good morning!!!" She was begging to be used and I was not about to deny her. I opened up my Body for Life for Women book and turned to the Upper Body section. Mind you, my legs were on fire with pain from the Lower Body workout that I did two days ago. The program calls for three sets that decrease in reps, but increase in weight. First muscle group was my chest. I laid back on my bench and began to do 12 movements with my 3 pound dumb bells. Then 10 reps with the 5 pounders, then finally, 8 reps with the 8 pounders. Feel the burn? YESS!!!!!! I worked out for more than 30 minutes (0nly because I had to look at my book for every rep...my form needs work...or my memory needs a boost) and PROUDLY walked down the stairs (maybe not so much proudly, as I did wobbled) to the coffee pot. Yes my friends, all of that before even having a cup of coffee.

Having the right equipment (the new bench) made a huge difference in the effectiveness of my workout. I tried doing all of these moves Tuesday using my stability ball as a substitute. After falling off three times with weights in hand, I figured that I was doing more damage than good. I didn't fall off of the bench once (I take that back, I did fall off as I was reaching to get a bigger dumb bell), and I was more focused on the movements.

Looking forward to having Obama arms!

Google...

Yesterday I worked my lower body. The muscle group called "Quadriceps and Hamstrings" were what caused me grief. As I was laying in bed last night, I realized that I wasn't quite sure where my Quads and Hamstrings were. (a wee bit embarrassed by this). The area that was throbbing was the back of my legs...this is the muscle that has been neglected. I made a mental note to Google these two words the minute that I woke up in the morning (it's good to be productive as one tries to doze off...). As I laid in bed, my hand was resting on the back of my leg and I was thrilled to feel it tighten up when I flexed my foot. Yes, it burned like a bugger when I did it, but beyond the pain, the pleasure of finding this muscle took the front spot. Flex...relax...flex...ouch...relax... Yep, there is something there. Cool.

This morning, as I promised myself, I did my research. SoooOoooo, it seems that my HAMSTRINGS are what have been neglected! Hello there new friends! I don't so much enjoy the implication that "ham" is involved with the back of my thigh, but I'll get past it. My Quads are just fine. Seems as though I've been letting them do all of the work. My thighs need to develop a Union. Equal work! Wait, am I getting all Norma Rae about muscles?

One more thing. Wait, I just forgot what I was going to type. Freaking perimenopause is a pain in my ass. Clear the brain, take a breath...nothing. I've got nothing. OH! It just came back.

The other thing that hit me last night was the fact that I'm not so much looking forward to my Sunday "Free Day". Why? Because it is the only part of this program that is without STRUCTURE. Isn't that a riot?!

Week 1

I've just completed day four of my Body for Life for Women program and am feeling really good about what I'm accomplishing. There are lots of rules and lots of structure...and I thrive on that. I am very comfortable with the food aspect and am learning about the exercise. Tonight was my first "Lower Body" workout and lemme tell ya, the quads and hamstrings have not seen much action in a loooOoooong while. I've been thinking that my flabby and rippled backs of my thighs were just something that I'd need to live with for the rest of my life. I hope to see a great transformation in this area after the 12 week program! Would it be possible? Could it be possible? I can't wait to see how it goes!

At the end of this journey, I will post my before and after photos. The "before" pics were a rude awakening! When did my ass get so big?

My hair stylist introduced me to this program and if I get the results that I have going on in my mind, I'm gonna kiss her when I see her next! The B4L program has been around for years, but the program that is more geared for women is only a couple of years old. What I thought would be the best part of the program was that the seventh day is an "off day". I thought that I'd be planning out my meals by now for that day, but in actuality, I'm not looking forward to it at all. I will enjoy the day off from intense exercise, but as far as the binge that I thought that I'd be having...not so much. Wine. There will be wine. Or Champagne. Maybe both. Okay, I guess I am a little excited. Sunday will be my day of rest, as well as my day of drinking! There ya go. I will also get my official weight loss for the week when I wake up that day. VERY much looking forward to this!

That's it for now. My legs hurt. My tummy is full. My mind is calm. Success!