Day 18 Metamorphosis

Hi everyone~

I'm so glad to almost be done with level 2. I have 2 more days left of it before moving on up to level 3!

When I did my MS last night, I was able to raise the reps per leg to 20 from 16. Not bad, hurt like hell, but it got done! Hopefully I can get the next two days done this same way.  I still feel it in my butt and thighs this morning.  

Cardio also got done- 35 minutes still. MAY change up to 40 next week. I am still feeling pretty sore from last night so I'm not sure. 

My second measuring day is coming up, I'm not so sure about my results this time, because of lower reps and skipped cardio. It would be NICE if the results were like level 1 but if they're not, there's always level 3 to work harder on.   My eating this level also hasn't been the best. Working on being good from now on, this past weekend as I've said was full of indulgence.

Alright- everyone have a great Monday and get your workout in!!! 

Day 13 Metamorphosis!

Hello everyone!

Day 13 of Metamorphosis- aka the day that almost wasn't.  As in I almost didn't work out. Almost. I finally mustered up the strength and determination to do my MS at 11 pm. 

I did not up the reps- because I was really tired, my 15 were a lot harder but I pushed through.  Also the matburn on my elbows is lessened, always a good thing. For day 14 I still might stick with 15 reps because the moves in level 2 are pretty challenging still, especially the planks, and I want to work everything out equally. 

No cardio last night, no energy and it was late.  I nose dove into bed, without even showering or anything because I was so exhausted. 

I can't wait for level 3- from the looks of it, there's no planks and I can measure myself again after 20 days! I love seeing my progress. 

As you may know there is also a program for when  you are done with metamorphosis called Continuity- a subscription service that gives you new material every 90 days. I might try that after a couple of rounds of Metamorphosis. I want to see if I can lose most of this fat before starting the newer stuff.


Have a great day and DO YOUR WORKOUT! <3

Day 11 Metamorphosis!

Hello!

I began level 2 of Omnicentric Metamorphosis and it was actually easier than it looks but still quite difficult.  The arms are faster, as are the standing abs but that wasn't the problem for me. Floor abs were the same speed as before, but with different movements.   Now the legs... The first two moves are pretty harmless. The first one involves you having one arm behind your back while moving the leg on the opposite side. No problems there, that one was pretty easy.  The next one was easy too, having your working leg crossed over the supporting leg and lift it into a diagonal.  After this is where it gets to be a pain. The two plank moves- being in a pushup position for one while moving one leg and the other plank involves being on your forearms and moving your leg.  These really challenged my arms and abs more than my leg.  Then, the worst one for me- having the arm and leg on one side supporting you while your other arm and leg are in the air. I could only do this one about 5 times before I just kept toppling over.  She says in the video the main goal with this move is to challenge your balance. Tracy, you have NO idea.  The last two moves are actually not too bad.  One is laying on your side and doing a variation of the frog kick (for those of you familiar with the moves in her book) and a side plank- but it is done on  your knee and you come to the ground after each time. It's not as bad as it looks!

The thing with me and legs, the first couple of days I do struggle because I am still getting used to the new movements but over the 10 day period, I am usually able to build up to 25-30 reps. Let's hope I can do it with this level!

Skipped on cardio for day 11 because it was late and cardio disturbs the neighbors. The goal for day 12 is to do double the cardio- probably using the beginner dance cardio because freestyling is getting a little boring to me and I always watch the clock and put myself through mental hell when doing it.

Also I want to perhaps start doing my workout before breakfast on days I don't have to be at school at 8 am (Monday, Wednesday, sometimes Friday, and Saturday.  Sunday too if I don't use it as a rest day).  Supposedly that helps burn more fat.

Eating dinner now, and off to do my day 12 workout!  Hope you all have a great weekend!

Days 5-7 Metamorphosis

Hello all!

Sorry I'm late~ I've been really busy over the weekend but I HAVE been sticking to the program!

Friday, 2/18

This would have been day 5, but instead was my first rest day. (I don't count rest days as having numbers)  The previous night, I got very little sleep, about 3 hours max.  I then went to my job and almost fell asleep at my desk (Fun!) Afterwards, I went to dinner with a friend and came home, thinking "I'll take a 2 hour nap and then do my workout". Nope. I ended up just sleeping straight through the night, from 7 pm Friday to 11 am Saturday. 

Saturday, 2/19- Day 5!

Today was day 5 of my Metamorphosis, I was able to keep my leg reps at 23 and did my 30 minutes of cardio.  I also began to notice that my shins have begun to start hurting.

Sunday, 2/20- Day 6!

I know what you're thinking- Sunday is your day off isn't it? Not this week. Friday and Sunday switched places this week.  I squeaked through my MS with 24 reps on legs.  I did my cardio, but could not go as intense as I'd have liked because of the pain in my legs. Better to be less intense than not done at all.

Monday, 2/21- Day 7!

Today was a bit disastrous.  The day started out great- I went to the mall with a friend of mine and we walked around for a couple of hours and had some lunch. Later that night, however, disaster struck.  My landlord came upstairs just as I was getting ready to exercise to tell me that there was water dripping down into their apartment. My kitchen drain pipe had sprung a leak. So that resulted in people being in my apartment asking things of me until about 10 pm.   I was so irritated that I was close to just not working out, but I ended up doing my MS at a new high- 25 reps per leg.  Cardio didn't get done for the sole purpose that 11 pm is too late at night to be jumping around, especially when the landlord was just upstairs. 

I think I am all caught up now.  I weighed in this morning and was a little disheartened.

Last Thursday- 269.0 lb

Today- 270.2 lb.

However, considering the time of the month that it is for me right now, that really isn't bad. I actually feel quite bloated and "that time" could start any minute. Usually the weight gain is a lot worse, so I'll check back after my body is finished doing what it's gotta do.  Also I am not only gauging my progress by weight but by inches too, which will be measured on day 10. I do see visual stuff happening, my belly is starting to deflate and I'm seeing the dreaded old man wrinkle skin.  Weight loss, especially at the level I am trying to do it, is one of those things that looks worse before it looks better.  On the plus side- when I saw my friend, I took off my jacket and she saw my arms and said "wow". She asked how long I had been working out exactly and I nonchalantly said "Oh, 6 days..."  Maybe I can make her a Tracy convert!

For the rest of the day- I get to finish up my class day, write a paper and go home and do my meta!

Have a wonderful day!

Day 2 Metamorphosis

Hello everyone!

Short post today-

Day 2 of metamorphosis went well, I think even better than the first!

MS work: Abs and arms went the same- except abs were a little more challenging! I am still sore especially in my upper abs now. As for legs I have made great improvements!  I think my body just had to get used to TAM moves again, because I was able to do ALL of the leg moves 21 times- my goal is to try 1 extra rep a day until I can get to 40. 

Cardio: Still tough but I still did the 30 minutes!

Diet: 2 slim fast drinks and bars, and had spaghetti (whole wheat) with sauce- total calories: 1350

Yesterday and Today,

Hello everyone!

I woke up this morning and the first thing I realized is Ow. My. Ass. (the muscles, that is) Also, the terror known as Aunt Flo has retreated... For now.

Yesterday: Still was weakened from it, but managed to crank out 20 reps of the leg webisode, except for the last move, only 10 reps. I always had a problem with moves involving lifting my leg to the side, I think my hip muscles are a bit weaker.  Arms, was almost able to do all of it. Cardio- a 10 minute brisk walk after because I was feeling pretty exhausted after my MS.

Today:  Due to the soreness of my ass, I decided to compromise with my butt and do 15 reps instead of 20. I was already feeling the burn at 10. Did the abs webisode and arms too.  Cardio I have not done yet- I am at home today and will probably get my beginner dance cardio on in a little while. 

Also- an update! My Metamorphosis will be here (hopefully) on Thursday!!!! SO excited!  I will probably spend the weekend watching all of the workouts and looking at all of the material thoroughly and then explain it to you guys, which should be helpful to those of you who haven't ordered it yet and want to see what you get before buying. 

That's it for now!

Boot Camp Day 3!

Hi everyone!

I can't believe I made it three days now without even cheating just a little. AND having my monthly visitor (My number one excuse to not do ANYTHING). Craziness!

Today, had some more oatmeal, vegetables, chicken, and more vegetables. I feel like I'm getting used to the eating part. I've noticed some non-weight related benefits too. I also notice I seem to be digesting this stuff better than the fast food processed garbage I USED to eat.

Exercise... I just was able to do my cardio because I wasn't feeling well in the morning and had a time crunch. Cardio is most important when you're trying to lose weight. Got my combo 1 step touch done, and was pretty pooped when I was done.  Didn't have time at night to do my MS  but I got home at like, 10:40 pm and just wanted bed. Sweet, sweet bed.

Advice- If you have Tracy's other DVDs- for a warm up I do PD1's warm up section before my mat work and BDC warm up before my cardio.  I like following the warm ups to a DVD too and the boot camp dvd doesn't have this.  The book does but I prefer working out to the DVD. 

Another thought... Since I have a lot of weight to go... Thinking of keeping up boot camp for a second consecutive month... Or should I follow the same guidelines but instead use the other DVDs- Example- sequence 1 is PD1, sequence 2 PD2, sequence 3 is PD3, etc.  What do you guys think?

Boot Camp Day 1!

Hello~

It appears that day 1 went over rather well!  

My starting weight- 264.4 pounds / 120 kg... Damn.  My goal is to be half that!

I didn't do the meal plan from the book but am following similar guidelines.  Breakfast- a bowl of steel cut oatmeal sweetened with stevia, lunch was a salad with balsamic vinegar on it, I had strawberries for a snack (almost a whole package, I was ravenous!) and for dinner a grilled chicken breast and steamed broccoli.  There was temptation though. At work- the coke machines (for me, diet coke) calling my name all day while I sat there drinking my water.  I miss my diet coke, but even more surprising was there was also a pizza party at work which I did NOT partake in! So proud of myself!

As for the exercise- I was able to do 20 reps of all of my muscle work EXCEPT that damn connection push up.  I think for now I am going to skip on that one or just do like, 3 because that's about as long as I can hold myself up.  Being really overweight has always made plank-type exercises for me hard to near impossible. When I was my younger skinny self, it was a cinch.  I was also a good girl and did my cardio.  Step touching to the first combination but hey, it made me sweat and I think for my fitness level it was just enough.

Advice- There are going to be a lot of moves she does that are almost impossible to do without jumping. DON'T do it. Instead, step touch to the side, or do those side kicks (or any move you like that doesn't jump) and USE YOUR ARMS! It will make it burn that much more and that's what you want! Even though it's low impact on your knees, it's not on your heart rate!

So to my fellow bootcampers (and everyone else) keep it up! If you can do one day, you can do 30! 

Day 23- 8/24/10

Hello-

Last night I had a terrible time trying to sleep... I tried EVERYTHING- shower, soft music, darkness, watching TV, etc... Except eating~ and I didn't fall asleep until 4:30 am... Woke up at 8:30 to force myself to be up for the day so I can tire out and sleep at a decent hour.  We'll see how that goes...

Breakfast-

Brown rice and an egg

Midmorning-

1 protein shake and a hard boiled egg

Lunch-

1 Tbsp of peanut butter on a slice of bread

Green Beans with olive oil

Mid afternoon-

Protein shake

Dinner-

1 cup of whole wheat pasta, 1/2 cup of sauce (I have a lot and I literally just have one serving each. It fills me up too!)

Exercise-

I did do my PD1 despite my tiredness, by the time I worked out I was pretty awake.  I do notice one weird thing- My left leg is noticeably weaker than my right, the leg sequence is MUCH harder on my left than right.  My right leg can do 20 reps with little (but some) difficulty, but my left leg struggles.  I am not going to up the reps until my left gets more caught up. I don't want to have one side that much stronger than the other...  Also, my right side is my tighter side. Stretching out my right hamstring is a living hell. It's getting easier but it's tough. 

No cardio, when I was done with PD1 I wanted to pass out, and I didn't want to fall over while dancing.

Day 22- 8/23/10

Hello!

It's Monday, so you know what that  means- another weigh in!

Last week: 251.4 lb/114.27 kg

This week: 250.0 lb/ 113.64 kg  total loss: 1.4 lb/ 0.63 kg~ I'm glad it's starting to go down. I am now lighter than even when I first blogged- by 0.1 pounds but still, a loss is a loss!  Next Monday is a measurement Monday!

Breakfast:

1 bowl of brown rice with a hard boiled egg and a splash of soy sauce

Midmorning:

1 protein shake (My protein shakes have 140 calories with 26 grams of protein each, and I make them with water unless otherwise noted.  Out of milk or I would have used that for some extra healthy stuff!)

Lunch/Post workout snack:

Another protein shake (brown rice keeps me shockingly fuller than regular...)

Dinner:

Whole wheat spaghetti (1 serving like it says on the box) 

1/2 cup of natural spaghetti sauce (with some added olive oil)

Dessert: 

1 small container (single serving size! Didn't want people to think I meant a big whole container) of strawberry yogurt

Exercise: PD 1 still with the 5 rep increase from last time.  I swear, every Monday workout feels like I haven't worked out in weeks, only after 1 day of rest.  I am noticing my posture improving a little and when I was out today at school, a glimpse of my reflection in a window and I saw I am looking thinner but my butt seems a little bigger and lifted up.  I read on the Bar Method site that bulking up MAY happen before slimming down and I think that's happening. (Remember how I gained weight at first?) 

A link to that article can be found here in case you haven't read it, and I found it relevant since BM is a lot like the TA Method:

http://blog.barmethod.com/ExerciseBlogBarMethodcom/bid/26360/FITNESS-TIPS-WHY-YOU-MIGHT-JUST-BULK-UP-BEFORE-YOU-SLIM-DOWN

As for cardio, I did no cardio today.  I have no idea why, I just didn't.  That means it is DEFINITELY in the cards for tomorrow~ I have to build up that endurance!