Tracy Anderson 30 Day Method- Day 1 of 30

Hello everyone!


After eons of talking about starting bootcamp, being indecisive about bootcamp, etc, I finally took the plunger and just did it!


Some of you might not know what I mean by bootcamp. That's ok, I'll explain it.


If you don't know already, Tracy came out with a book in 2010 called Tracy Anderson's 30 day method.  It works in a very similar way to Metamorphosis- change your workout every 10 days. However, there are a few differences.




1. In the 30 day method, there are NO rest days. Hence, the term "boot camp" which she uses in the book as well.


2. Unlike Meta, the book actually maps out for you how to begin your TAM journey based on your current fitness level. BIG help!


3. You get a lot of background information, tips/tricks, etc in the book that you do not in Meta.




In short, I believe starting out with the book and THEN heading to meta would be a good choice for most people.  There is a lot more instruction with the movements, and you build up strength enough for the next level. It also makes the dance cardio a lot less intimidating, especially for beginners. 




Now then. How did my first day go?


I did my MS work 20 reps each move (every 1st day of a level you are only supposed to do 20) and I did 60 minutes of step touch cardio.  Mind you, you do not have to do this much. I did it because a) I am technically NOT a beginner with this stuff and b) I just felt up to it.  Remember, never go over an hour with your DC. Tracy says that both in the book and in Meta cardio. 




That wasn't the only movement I did today!  I have started taking my puppy out for 2 one-hour long walks a day to tire his butt out and so he gets the exercise a mini poodle needs. (They need at least an hour a day but he has pent up puppy energy he's gotta let go of) 


So yeah... I did quite a bit today.  I also took my weight and measurements.  I prefer to wait until 10 days have passed so I can give you a before and after(ish). 


Vlog should be up soon.  I am not sure if I have the energy to do it tonight, I think I might do them with a delay, like do yesterday's vlog today, etc.  Right now I honestly feel like nosediving into bed.




I hope you guys had a great Friday- and let's work for a productive weekend- at least workout wise!

Le Boot Camp Day 1!

Hello everyone!!!!!


Today was my first day of boot camp! Today I took it a little slow- I did 20 reps of each move (per Tracy's instructions for every 1st day of new level) and I felt it but I kinda felt like I could have done MORE.  Cardio I follow the "absolute beginner" which is 10 minutes today for the next 3 days, and so on. Lately I have been feeling my ankles act up (probably not TAM related but weather related) and I don't want to risk more injury.  Also I was never really good at jumping around so I think it's a much better idea to take it slow.  My goal during bootcamp is to do a solid 40 minutes or so of jumping and in meta I want to get up to an hour.

As for eating- I did pretty good! Here's what I had.

Breakfast


2 eggs cooked in fat free spray
1 cup of strawberries
Green tea

Lunch


Chicken/broccoli stir fry made with chicken, broccoli, onions, garlic and tamari soy sauce. (Gluten free)

Snack


a tiny amount of mixed walnuts and almonds
An 11 oz plain Vita Coco (coconut water) post workout

Dinner


My leftover stir fry somehow became a disgusting mess between 12-7 pm, so I had to toss it and eat a Creamy Peanut Butter Think Thin Bar.   I want to try to eat real food as much as I can but the bars and my shakes are good to have around for emergencies or when I am plain pressed for time.  Personally I LOVE the fudge ones but I am trying to get rid of my peanut butters (the creamys are good too but fudge is like the real thing- if I am not careful I could eat the entire box. :)


Tomorrow I am supposed to up my MS reps to 25 and do 10 minutes of cardio again.   Looking forward to it! :)

Have a great evening!

So far so good

Hello everyone!!!!

My ankle is slowly getting better- I can walk on it now and it only hurts a little when I point or flex the foot. I'll give it a few more days.

I have also decided I am going to STOP PLANNING STUFF. I keep setting myself up for failure. So. I will make WEEKLY plans instead of 6 months of plans.   Not only does all this planning make me insane, but it also makes me look like an ass when it fails. 

So, I have a plan for my first week back from my injury- I want to do the bootcamp workout, so for the first week back, I will do sequence 1 of the bootcamp workout and 40 minutes of step touch DC from the bootcamp DVD. (I am moderate beginner now, they start out like that) and see how it goes.

That's it for today, have a great Tuesday!

Metamorphosis Day 1

Hello everyone!

I decided to switch from boot camp to metamorphosis, and I began on June 13 (yesterday).  I also took my starting stats.  I ate all manner of foulness (junk food) over the weekend and it made me wake up and realize weight loss is REALLY about 80-90% diet.

Starting weight: 279.4 lb

Bust: 49 inches

Waist: 46 inches

Hips: 53 inches

Arms: L- 17 R- 16

Thighs: L- 30.5 R 31.5

Today I did all of my Muscular Structure work, 20 reps a leg and it KILLED me. As in body-felt-like-rubber killed. But it's not the horrible debilitating "I hurt myself!" pain. I did the DC for 30 minutes, step touching and really using my arms. I know my level (which is VERY IMPORTANT to avoid injury! Don't be a hero!!!) and I do work out hard enough to get tomato red and sweaty. If you can jump around easily (because you are far fitter than I) then go for it. :) 

Diet was day 1 of the Nutrient Boost week. This means that every day this week consists of eating:

Kale juice

Carrot Parsnip Puree

Sweet Potato Corn Pudding (Yum!)

Tomato Gazpacho (tastes much better with roasted tomatoes)

Tofu protein soup (or chicken)

Blueberry applesauce

Chocolate chestnut pudding.

Next week I get to eat solids again, but I am actually loving one part of the puree parts- I only had to cook ONCE. Now I have all the food I need for the week, no pots and pans, and it's just there when I need it. 

In the end, day 1 done! 89 to go!

Day 8 and a change of plan

Hello everyone,



I have come to a conclusion lately concerning my working out. I am really thinking of this weekend being my last Boot Camp weekend. Why? After having tried both Boot Camp and Metamophosis, I find Metamorphosis to be much better suited to my needs.

 1.I have found that although my weight on the scale has gone down, I attrtibute that much more to the diet than the boot camp workout. When I was on Metamorphosis before, I was seeing amazing changes to how I looked/measured as well as my weight. With boot camp, the looked/measured part is fairly minimal in comparison.


2.Time. I don't mind spending time cooking for myself, but 2 and a half hours of exercising is just a DRAG for me right now. Meta got me great results in an hour a day. Work days are VERY challenging for doing the boot camp workout.


3.I find the moves in boot camp to be a little much for me (sequences 2 and 3) because of my weight (extra body fat does not allow for easy movement!) , and lack of flexibility, the workouts involving the chair are really awkward and weird for my body. Perhaps when I slim down I can come back to them, but right now it would be just plain insanity. (I have tried them out of curiosity. Hilarity ensued). Meta is on all fours, no chair, and I can focus on form and blast the lard off of me.

I will still be doing boot camp until Saturday, then I will start Omni Metamorphosis level 1 and I of course, will be following the diet.

That said, since I am still on Boot Camp until Saturday, here's Day 8!


Day 8 was not the best day. After I got home from work, my apartment lost power (as did my whole block at least) because a big tree branch fell, downed a power line and landed (and damaged) someone's car. Not helping the fact that it was in the 90s, no power = no air conditioning/DVD player/etc. I ended up not doing my workout.


My diet went well, at least until dinner. I had eaten all of the food I was supposed to eat, but then dinner came and I caved. I ended up eating 2 taquito roll ups from 7-11 and a diet iced tea. Ok, the tea isn't so bad but the roll ups are what I feel guilty about. However, this act deterred me from doing such things again because I ended up paying for it later by feeling run down and with a bit of a stomach ache.


I will continue to eat the boot camp way and do some exercise until Saturday, then I will do my shopping for week 1 of meta and doing my pureeing (I am going to make my week 1 food in batches since its the same thing every day) on Sunday. Very excited!

Boot Camp Day 7

Hi everyone!


I have stuck with it for an entire week!  Out of curiosity, I weighed in.

Starting weight 280.4 lb
Day 7 weight: 269.5.  10.9 lb LOST in a week! I am sure a lot of it is water but still, weight is weight.  I also notice I fit in some of my clothes better.


My exercise: I didn't get all of the workout done but I got the important part- CARDIO. 30 minutes of cardio step touching.  It's been hellishly hot here where I live, and I live in an un-airconditioned place aside from my bedroom.  So, in my room I did arms and abs (no room for legs with my bed there) and then braved the oven that is my living room to do my cardio. I did take a water break every 10 minutes so I wouldn't pass out.

Diet again was good-

Breakfast- Mushroom Omelet Roll up

Vegetable soup with white beans. Again this recipe says to puree. Still, tasted good. Almost the same as puree of broccoli soup. 9/10.

Snack- Cucumber Relish (used old pic) Didn't put mint on it, much better. 8/10.

Dinner: Ratatouille and Escarole Salad. I finally found out what a ratatouille even was. Delicious.  And for a recipe for one this is a HUGE portion, this is on my big dinner plate. Escarole was blech, it's really bitter raw. Splashed it with lemon juice and it helped a little. Entree- 10/10, Salad 6/10

3 more days and I move on to Sequence 2. I can't believe time is flying.  I'll be back on Omnicentric metamorphosis before I know it!

Boot Camp Day 5

Day 5:

Exercise: I did 30 reps of all of the MS moves!  I love how I am getting stronger! I also did 20 minutes of step touch cardio dripping with sweat.  Feels amazing!

Breakfast: Tropical Fruit Salad- My version has honeydew (leftover from the other day) with kiwi slices in it. Yum! 9/10.

Lunch: Roasted Root Vegetables- Parsnips, and Carrots seasoned with cayenne and lemon juice. AMAZING. 11/10!

Snack: Kiwi Dessert: Instead of orange juice to mix with it, I used remaining juice from cutting the honeydew and it was really good. 9/10

Dinner: Grilled Tofu with Kale and Snap Peas- Not bad, I actually kind of like kale, this is  my first time having it. A little bland, but pretty good. 7/10.

New Appliances! YAY!

Hello everyone!

Today was a horribly tiring day, I was asked to come in 4 hours early to work (more money yes, but tiring just the same) and work got totally insane especially toward the end of the day.

However, I came home to 2 new friends on the doorstep!  Mr. Blender and Mr. Juicer! I tiredly, yet excitedly carried them up to my apartment.   I only got so far as taking the two boxes out of the main shipping box because I have to make room on the counter to put them (Damn you, small kitchen!)   I also got myself a few more things for Boot Camp- an 8x8 baking pan for my lasagna (the only baking pan I had was a huge turkey/roast sized roaster) , some olive oil spray, and a couple of jars of organic pasta sauce. Couldn't find sugar-free pasta sauce, but this is at least organic and it was on sale too. Organic cane sugar was one of the last ingredients, (Compared to other brands when it was like, the second or third ingredient!) so I feel a little better about my choice.

I will take pretty pictures of my 2 new friends when I open them up and give them some nice counter space. 

I hope you all had a great Friday (Some of you might have gotten paid- Lucky ducks!) and have a great weekend!

Tracy Anderson 30 Day Method COMPLETE Vegetarian Ingredient List

Hi everyone!

Finals are done done DONESKI!  

Tonight- I go to my local fruit market (which I have never been to!) to go pricing! How am I doing this?  I went through and wrote down in painstaking detail every ingredient I will need during the 30 days. Not amounts, just the name of the ingredient.  

I will then go to the market and write down the unit prices (price per lb, each, etc) of each ingredient to help me plan better the costs, since I will only be buying what I need, using measurements and unit prices to approximate costs.

And if you want to follow the vegetarian plan, here is the excel sheet I made- for you to print out and use. 

http://uploading.com/files/daff9b9d/TAM%2B30%2BDay%2BIngredients.xlsx/

I may or may not do the regular meal plan list also. Depends on  how much time but it's likely I will do so even though I am not following it.  Anything I can do that will help you guys is fine by me!

I will put up my prices and tentative cost per week soon! Off to work for now, I am actually excited to be going produce window shopping. 

Have a great Friday!

First draft of the shopping list

Hi everyone!

I was looking through the foods listed for the first week, and I came up with a basic shopping list so you get the idea of what you'd need to buy on the vegetarian plan.  I may have missed an ingredient or two and I did not list amounts. I will make a better one later but here is the idea:

Eggs

onion

String beans

Spinach

Wax beans

Vegetable Broth (low sodium)

Bell Peppers

Cucumber

Apples

Chickpeas

tomatoes

cayenne pepper

Black pepper

garlic

tofu

Mushrooms

Oranges

Grapefruit

Broccoli

Sweet potatoes

Edamame

eggplant

organic sugar free spaghetti sauce

Part Skim Ricotta Cheese

Shredded mozzarella

Parmesan

Honeydew Melon

strawberries

escarole

carrot

celery

Spinach

semisweet chocolate chips

cooked chestnuts

unsweetened cocoa powder

dates

Pineapple (canned)

papaya

kiwi

Kale

Sugar snap peas

beets

Kefir

Banana

cannellini beans

Zucchini

turnips

parsnip

pearl onion

 I wrote an email to Tracy's people asking the following questions: 

1. Is it OK to repeat meals? I see some recipes and the amount made indicates there will be leftovers but that said meal is not repeated until much later (Such as the Eggplant Lasagna). I was wondering if it would technically be OK to have those leftovers as a meal the next day in place of what is prescribed, to avoid wasting food, etc.

2. The book says no diet soda, etc (totally understandable!) and on Metamorphosis (which I also have) Tracy says we can have drinks like Neuro, G2, etc.  Are these kinds of drinks OK on the 30 day method as well, like for a post workout drink?

3. Does the Metamorphosis meal plan have a vegetarian option as well? I do not particularly remember seeing one when I looked over my materials.

If #1 is OK, I will definitely be repeating meals to save money and time.  If #2 is ok, that's great too because propel zero helps me feel a little better after working out.  #3 I think I would have to just make book meals and alternate with the puree weeks. 

I sent the e-mail today, I hope I hear back soon!

Tomorrow is my first final exam of the semester... Wish me luck! 

Hope you had a great day!

Rethinking again...

Hello everyone!

Well, I decided to try a day in the life on the Elimination diet from Dr. Junger.  I hate to say this and I hate to sound like a copout, but...  No bueno. I'm not even cleansing and I felt awful, headaches, had to sleep more, the whole deal.  I think I will put off the clean program until I slim down a little and get used to changing my food habits. I never was one to do well on anything cold turkey.

I also decided that since I am starting her 30 day method on June 1, I want to also follow her vegetarian meal plan.  Why vegetarian? 

1. I do notice that meat sometimes makes me feel icky and tired. 

2. Cost. I hear 1 week of the meat-included diet plan is about 100$ in groceries. The veg plan is at least half that if not less.  Also the vegetarian food looks easier to make and delicious.

3. In the past when I have tried more vegetarian options of food, (TMI alert) my bowels acted a lot better, no constipation or any of the stuff that normally happens to me. 

Also this week when I get paid, I am ordering a snazzy new juicer and a blender off of amazon!  They are both inexpensive models that got rave reviews from consumer reports (only better ones were the 200+ Brevilles and Vitamixes).

Juicer:

http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-67650-Mouth-Extractor/dp/B000FHQJ6C/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2U02NLOSYKJG1&colid=N5DAVD1D8M4Y

Blender:

http://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-5-Speed-Blenders-Polycarbonate-Jars/dp/B000CSNVDS/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3OUH6ET4TL5EN&colid=N5DAVD1D8M4Y

Lastly, since I am totally inept at accurately measuring my body with a regular tape measure (because I can't seem to ever hold it straight), I am also going to pick up an Accumeasure Myotape-

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110409337273&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I know a lot of people bash Tracy's diet, but I really want to "try it before I knock it". Also she does say you can eat more as in bigger portions if your body is telling you it's hungry. 

Ideally, I want to do what a friend of mine did when she did boot camp- daily videos and pictures of her foods.  I don't really see why I can't do that.

In preparation for the bootcamp, I will start walking almost every night for 30-60 mins depending on how I feel (tired, sick, etc) to start building up some stamina and maybe even shed a few pounds before starting. 

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Day 3 Report!

Hi guys!!!

Completed day 3 yesterday- and I have good news~~~ It DOES get easier!

For days 1-2 I was stuck at 15 reps on everything but my abs, which were done with 10 reps.  For day 3 I was able to raise the reps a little. I did 20 on my body and 15 reps on my abs.  And for those of you who know the moves- I was able to do that horribad connection push up (I was hardly able to do it at all!) for the full recommended time- 10 reps per knee and 10 reps both knees. 

As for cardio- day 3 was my last day to just do combo 1 step touching.  I actually feel that I am ready to go for both combos this time.  It's funny how on Sunday (day 1) doing just combo one made me feel totally exhausted, now it's much easier for me. 

As for my eating- I have been keeping with my calories- I am eating more calories than the boot camp diet because I am heavier.  

I posted a link in a previous entry to where I got my info- Calorie Calculator

I haven't weighed in yet but I am seeing a little shrinkage going on- in  my belly and my thighs, and a little on my arm.  

For day 4- I will try for 25 reps!

Boot Camp Day 1!

Hello everyone!!!

Yesterday was my first day of boot camp!  And, I actually thought for a moment yesterday that my workouts wouldn't get done... I was incredibly busy!

Starting weight (according to my scale that can't seem to make up its mind) 270.4 lb/123 kg.  Yuccck! 

Measurements- didn't take them yet but I have (horrifying) before pics. 

So what made me so busy yesterday?  I actually went grocery shopping at my local Korean market, and I found that all of the foods I plan to use as staples in my diet were on sale!  I got tofu for 99 cents a package (at the American grocery  by me tofu is like, 5 bucks a pack!) and got about 30 of them- they don't expire anytime soon and they can be frozen. Miso paste, lean sliced beef (almost 0 fats on it), kimchi (very healthy but for some it's an acquired taste), and some fruits.   The really fun part was carrying all of this up the stairs.  Very heavy and already made me think "How the hell am I going to get my MS done if I am tired from this??"

Next, I had to wash my mountain of laundry, another up and down the stairs with heavy stuff adventure. 

By the time I got home from doing these things I felt pretty much spent. Then the little voice in my head started screaming at me- "Um, you know there's something ELSE you better do!" So... I dragged my butt off the chair, put on my dancing shoes and hit it. 

I did my MS- 15 reps and that killed me.  (Still feeling it today) and as for cardio I thought I would be able to handle the moderate beginner plan. Nope. Still on Absolute beginner which means that I did 10 minutes of cardio, just step touching it (and still performing) and it kicked. My. Ass. 

So, I am glad to say day 1 is over, looking forward to day 2!

Day 1 of pre-bootcamp training- Morning Edition!

Good morning everyone!

Today is my first day of operation Old Year Resolutions!   Being that today is Monday, it is my day off of exercising. (I have work and class today- and a final exam! Need my energy!)  However it is NOT a diet "cheat day".  Still watching those calories. Speaking of, I found out how many I need per day here:

http://www.shapefit.com/calorie-intake-calculator.html

I weighed in this morning- about 266 pounds/121 kg, I'm 5 feet 5 inches/165 cm tall and 25 years old. Added that in the calculator.  For activity level, I selected "Little to no exercise/desk job", to be safe. (Didn't want to overestimate calories and I think by exercise level, I think they really mean are you active during the day, which I generally am not other than TAM) I am following the "extreme fat loss" section, which allows me 1437 calories a day on average.  Now there is a link below that that says "7 day calorie cycle (zig-zag)" I clicked that, and I am shown how to vary my calories throughout the week.

Why would I do this?  Supposedly it is supposed to keep the body guessing, to prevent plateauing, just like how TA says to vary your muscle work every 10 days.  I will also re-calculate my calorie needs every week, especially if I lose significantly.  I will also be following this method of dieting when I begin Boot Camp on Jan 2, 2011. 

That's it for now, still waking up! Have a great day everyone!

Boot Camp on a Budget!

Hi guys!!!

A common complaint I hear about Tracy's bootcamp diet is that it's expensive, time consuming, etc. Well, generally, yeah, they're kinda right!   I decided to take a quick look through the recipes again to see if there was anything that can be made without finding really exclusive, expensive ingredients and I did find quite a few!

Now to do bootcamp on a budget, the key is to make meals like these (or if there are other ones you like that are convenient and affordable for you) and eat them more often.  Repeating meals instead, in my opinion, can help make the diet portion of the Boot Camp easier and possibly more bearable taste wise.

Off the top of my head, here are some that seem fairly wallet friendly:

Chicken Protein Soup

Balsamic Chicken Salad

Pepper Onion Egg Wrap

French Chicken and Braised Leek

Grilled Chicken with broccoli/endive (skip the endive possible)

Grilled Flank Steak

Baked Sweet Potato

Corn and Sweet Peppers

Pea Mash

Roasted Root Vegetables

Roasted Vegetables

Steamed Broccoli

Roasted Carrots (if you can't find the purple/white ones, I'd just use orange carrots)

Steamed veggie plate

Apple with peanut/almond butter

Again this is just a general list, if you do it this way, your choices may be different!  Starting the Old Year Resolutions Monday! 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Day 12~

Hi guys!

Well, I decided to not knock sequence 2 quite yet so I made another attempt.  All was going great until I did my one side of legs, then on the left side (which I always do second) came the move where you stand up on the chair.  Then disaster struck.  

Not doing the workout, but the clumsiness of me coming down off of the chair.  I guess when I put my right foot on the floor first, I felt a sharp pain in it, not like a break but like I pulled something, so I am staying off of it for the rest of the day.

I would have thought of this normally as a failure, but instead I see it as a challenge. 

My challenge is to work on and master the original Mat DVD until I can do 40 repetitions of all of the leg work, and doing 40-60 minutes of the Boot Camp cardio, even if it is just step touching. Hopefully this melts off this extra fat that is getting in the way of a lot of my movements and impairing my balance, as well as building up stamina.  Ideally, I'd like to go back into the Boot Camp more full on, perhaps using different, more advanced cardio from the beginning of it.

Mind you I am NOT QUITTING- I am just re-evaluating and doing it differently until I can feel a little more confident in my own body.

Bootcamp Days 4-6 in a nutshell!

Hello!

Sorry for my epic lateness. My internet has been being a real slacker.

Well, these past three days have been a living hell for me. Not because of my exercising. Not because of the diet I am on. Because of my damn monthly visitor REALLY misbehaving and trying to derail my progress! However for the first time in my life, Brain wins~!

Examples:

Brain: I have to exercise.

Period: I wanna go to White Castle, get a sack of 30 and eat it all in bed watching TV!

Brain: HELL no! -beats up period who goes crying in the corner-

Let's just say my monthly visitor is my inner fat girl's total BFF.  I think they're even dating.  They all want the same things in life too. However, the skinny girl and my brain have been forming quite the team, thwarting the gruesome twosome at every turn. 

I will admit- it does feel strange now that I no longer have a desire to drink diet soda. All I drink these days is iced tea, water, and mineral/sparkling water.  I am also finding it scarily easy to say no to junk food. No more "just a bite", or "It's cheat day!" (Bootcamp HAS no cheat days!) 

As for exercise... I am now able to do 25 reps of my muscular structure work, it was hard but I think that if I am not feeling TOO badly, I will go for 30 tomorrow!  I at least want to get to 40 reps (even if it's a struggle) by the end of this month.  Fingers crossed, not promising.  Also I am noticing I am having lingering soreness in mainly 2 places-

1. Under my arms/behind my breasts (the pushup muscles)

2. My hips, inner thighs, and bum! (Or, the Thass)

I am also shocked at my ability to do MS AND do my cardio right after. Mind you, I am still keeping the cardio low impact which is still making me sweat within a couple minutes of starting. For me, it's like high impact, I do start to get a little tired toward the end of the second combination but I am seeing my endurance go up a little.

Another thing- I'm seeing fat disappear! From my gut, my arms, my thighs, my knee area, etc. With my monthly friend, I am not relying on weight right now.  Also, I think my scale at home is a tad on the broken side. I do go to my school which has a fitness center with a scale that anyone can go in and use. I think I'll start weighing myself when I go to work and class. So that would be like, a Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday weigh in all about the same time on those days so then I should be able to get better readings. 

I would have taken measurements, but I realize I suck at it. I measure myself twice in the same area and get 2 different numbers.  That's why I took before pics, so my progress can be seen as it is. 

Alright, tomorrow is my first Sunday that I would actually be working out on!!!

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! 

Countdown to Boot Camp- T-minus 1 day!

Hi guys!

First off, I want to wish all of you a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  

Alright, I have a list of things to do before the big day tomorrow. 

1. Take my before pics. Well, that fits right in with the theme of Halloween. Pretty damn scary~

2. Take my measurements.  

3. Perhaps make my little intro video, if not today then definitely for day 1. 

I have seen a lot of you guys who have done the boot camp before me get really good results- even those of us who were less "in shape" than others.  If anything this excites me more about starting.  I admit I am a little scared to start too. I am afraid I am going to start my usual bullshit cycle of making excuses, skipping workouts, then crying later how I didn't see improvement.  That's what I've got you guys for, right? :) 

I have my calendar all written out for November- both plan for muscular structure and my cardio.  I'm sitting here as I type enjoying some bratwursts and when I do laundry in a bit, going to have me a good ol' caramel frappucino from Starbucks.  After 11:59 pm tonight, there's no turning back.  In a way, not only am I doing this to lose weight and get healthier, but to prove to the people who have told me "Oh you won't last the 30 days. I know you. You always quit. You'll never lose weight. Being fat is part of who you are". (Yes, I HAVE been told this.)  I wanna be able to open a super-duper-economy-family size can of FUCK YOU on their asses! :D

Also I have found that I do have an inner skinny girl and an inner fat girl.  The inner skinny girl is itching to start, she wants to be free from this prison that my inner fat girl locked her into.  Skinny girl's almost gotten out a couple times, only to be thwarted by the fat girl.  Time to overthrow her! 

Also in another blog I've been reading, there's mention of internal radio stations KFUK (K Fuck- all negativity, all the time) and KLUV (K Love, the opposite of KFUK) and I admit, my brain seems to be a HUGE fan of KFUK because that's what the fat girl likes to listen to and it keeps the skinny girl hiding in her prison cell.  I personally think KFUK should be just shut down permanently so nobody has to listen to their crap. 

I know I'm rambling... Sorries.  This will be my final blog before giving myself over to Tracy Anderson.  Godspeed.