Out with the old, in with the new!

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! (It's already New Year's Day in some parts of the world at the time of this entry!)

Today, even though I am not exercising, that does not mean TAM has been out of my mind.  I am spending some time today to plan out groceries and calendars for my workouts.

My diet- I am not going to stick to the book recipes exactly. I may make a few of the recipes and repeat them, also I am going to exercise strict portion control, more vegetables, more lean meats and more green tea. In the book Tracy does say changing your diet all depends on where you're starting from and to improve based on that. 

I will also be incorporating into my diet more Asian based food, mainly Korean and Japanese style, as well as their general rules for eating- they are some of the thinnest countries for a reason!  

Some of these rules-

1. Eat slowly and enjoy your food!

2. Eat until you are 80 percent full 

3. Red meat portions very small, since I cannot have fish, I will eat chicken more.

4. Lots of vegetables and rice (which is NOT fattening if eaten in proper portions)

5. Little to no sugar or desserts- Fun fact- Japanese people almost never take dessert and if they do, it's usually fruit.

6. More unplanned exercise (Outside of TAM) such as walking to the store, walking to work, etc.

7. More green tea drinking! I got a huge box of really nice green tea bags at Costco.

As for my calendars- I have all the way up until April 2011 planned- Boot camp for January (No rest days), then beginning the 10 day rotations between other workouts I have with Sunday rest days.  I like planning like this, I like to see in the long run how things will go.

As for tonight, since I am not going out or partying, I decided to splurge a little on myself and went to the butcher and got myself a prime grade filet mignon, which I will broil and have with mashed potatoes, asparagus, and a glass of merlot.  Then when it's time, champagne to celebrate the New Year and the future new me!

Almost the end of 2010- short update!

Hello everyone.

I have been going through a lot this week, lots of personal stress, disagreements with friends, and other general chaos. No mood for working out but today mentally, at least, I feel a bit better.  I have a lot to prepare for, boot camp starts Sunday!  

Also, this weekend is New Year's Eve/Day!  This is going to sound horrible but I am going to take a break from dieting up until Saturday because Jan 2 is the big day, and I won't be able to really eat "fun" foods for a while, or take a workout day off. Also what is New Year's without a bit of champagne?

If I don't blog tomorrow, I wish all of you a safe, happy, healthy and fun NY celebration!

Christmas Confessions

Hello everyone!!!

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas who celebrated.  Christmas is another time of year when my body seems to think I have a license to eat way too much than I need...

So I have a confession~

I ate so much food over the weekend I almost felt sick to my stomach. And no, it wasn't with family or anything, I actually went out to eat fast food a few times over the weekend with my friend. And exercise? Nope.  Guilty? A little. I'll admit.

However, today I have (so far) been eating much better and watching my calories. Workout soon, planning on doing Mat and at least 20 minutes of DC. Bootcamp starts in a week!

Enough Laziness!!!

Hello!

I am feeling a lot better than when I had my last post. (Turns out Aunt Flo came to visit and she wasn't and STILL isn't happy)

I actually did a morning workout- Mat DVD and not dance cardio, but a long walk. I walked to my workplace to pick up my paycheck (even though it's icy and snowy out) and back- about 40 minutes each way. Tiring, but I feel accomplished!

I am actually excited about Christmas coming, as well as Tracy's next holiday prescription.   She has put out several of these to help us get through the holiday season and still look our best.

Here is her most recent prescription, a raw vegan cleanse (which I haven't tried yet, I am not big on cleanses... yet!) 

Holiday Prescription Dec. 20-25

I admit lately I have been a bit lax still with my workouts and blogs... It's like I mentally want to have a final laziness period before I start boot camp on Jan 2- a little over a week away! I don't like it, to be honest- the laziness and lack of motivation that is.

Just not feeling it today...

Hey everyone.

So last night, I was all gung-ho about getting my workout in today, even went to bed early for it. Then I woke up.

I woke up to 3 more inches of snow on the ground (that I had to get up and shovel) and a complete and total lack of motivation to do anything but sit in  bed in my warm comfy pajamas, feel sad, and eat.

I blame this not only on the season (I tend to become more depressed and moody in the winter) but also other things I am going through.

- Christmas depresses me because I miss my parents, who are sadly no longer with us. 

- My body has apparently decided to give me severe PMS for Christmas. Thanks!!!

- Problems people are apparently having with me, other people's negativity, etc is piling up

And those are just the tip of the iceberg.

As for motivation- Nothing is helping!!!! I went to the facebook groups, watched the YouTube videos and even read other people's blogs. Nothing doing.  I really hate this and I hope it doesn't happen when I start bootcamp in January. 

If I DO feel up to working out, you guys will be the first to know.

T-minus 19 days til boot camp! Morning blog~

Hi everyone!

Just want to blurb quickly about my morning. 

I am starting my cardio in the AM and ms in the PM. Otherwise I have no energy to do both and it has a higher chance of both getting done.

Also, I am doing my cardio in the morning on an empty stomach, as per recommendations from friends. Supposedly this gives maximum fat burn, and to be honest, I am more energetic when doing it like that. Food seems to make me sleepier.

I tried doing beginner dance cardio, did combos 1-2 including the learning, thinking that would be it. Nope. After a brief rest, I turned on my ipod, and freestyled it for 11 minutes and boy was I ever able to perform. I feel like I do a LOT better at DC when I am just listening to my own  music and having at it.  I feel like watching the dvd kinda mentally trips me up, and I bumble trying to match what they're doing on screen, and I sweat but not that much.  When I tried freestyling it, (with tracy's moves just at my own music pace and as I feel like it) I was tearing up the living room.  I had to stop because my lungs started hurting a little- my little sign to tell me I did well and high impact.  Looking forward to it tomorrow too! 

Tonight- Mat DVD here I come!

T-minus 20 days til boot camp!

Hi everyone!

Sorry I've been a bit lax about posting- my last day of finals is today, then back to my usual scheduled programming!

Good news-  I lost 4.8 pounds since last week! (about 2 kg)

Last week: 266 lb/121 kg

This morning: 261.4 lb/119 kg

Today is my day off from working out, but today is also my last Monday rest day.

Also, I have been forced to curtail my rebounder exercising due to neighbor complaints. Apparently it sounds like heavy pounding on their ceiling. Bah. So, beginning January 17, I will be hitting the gym and doing my cardio on the treadmill. Also, I will be bringing my book with me to do my MS at the gym. The walls are all mirrors too so that helps! The only thing I worry is that I will be on sequence 2 of boot camp- what would I do about a chair? 

That's about it for now~

12/8/2010 T-minus 25 days til boot camp!

Hello everyone!!!

Ill likely be posting entries here a day after it happens. Just to avoid confusion about when I did something, etc. 

So, Yesterday was dec.8, T-minus 25 days til Jan 2 when I start boot camp with quite a few other lovely people!

My workout yesterday.... Meh. I could have done better. I don't know what was wrong with me but I just felt like a dead brick.

I did my Mat workout, which I can usually do 20 leg reps through without really stopping, but after every section I had to stop, sit down, yawn, lay on my bed, etc... and I was only doing 15 reps. I must have been in some kind of funk, really.  Lately we had our first snow, it's been bitter cold outside, and neither of those makes me want to get up and work out, much less get up to begin with. 

I think I need to slow down with the Tracy rebounder stuff- not ready for her Tel Aviv stuff yet, however, there is a beginnerish version she put out a while back.

So I will start with this and build up from there.  Most (thinner than me) people say it isn't quite as sweat inducing as dancing on the floor, but being bigger, I highly beg to differ. I tire out just regular jumping after a few minutes. Also, wearing my nice new shoes, I have bad foot pain in them.  I think it might be because the sole is thicker. I'll perhaps give it a shot with my Asics Gel Insipre (Funny how both shoes I have are different brands but have the word Inspire as their name.) because I don't want to mess up my feet doing it barefoot. I injured my ankle last September and it hasn't totally been the same since.   I'll let you know!

I'm at work today unexpectedly, so I will see about doing the rebounder again tonight, and for longer. Also if I have time, I will do my MS. I have a term paper due Saturday, so the priority is cardio.

Day 2 pre-BC

Hello everyone!!!

I am simply exhausted.  I just tried doing Tracy's Boot Camp cardio on my rebounder... 10 minutes in and I'm already feeling simply done.  I realize now how weak my legs actually are. However on the plus side- I am feeling more like I actually "worked out", I feel so many muscles burning that I didn't feel burning just step touching on the floor.  So, I realized the trampoline is a good way to efficiently build up my strength for dancing.  

What made me want to get back on the rebounder?  Tracy's recent post on her site-

http://tracyandersonmethod.com/holiday-prescription-dec-6-dec-10/

I am NOT coordinated enough to jump as elaborately as Tracy, even on the boot camp dvd, the one leg moves aren't happening... Yet. However I can do the jumping jacks, side twists, etc. The goal is to build up to an hour on it.

Also I read in the book that Gwyneth even had to start out on the rebounder so I don't feel as bad! Better to build strength than to jump in and destroy my legs. 

As for MS- might do Mat tonight... I feel pretty tired now so not sure. I may also give the bouncing another go!

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!

Old-Year Resolutions!

Hey everyone-

Feeling a little depressed today.  Looking back, this week, I have been less than great about my workouts. Even the small goals (like working out 4 times a week) seem to be just slacked off.  I need to stop this!!!! I also need to really re-evaluate what I eat, it seems when  I count calories, then the weight seems to budge. When I don't, nothing happens or I blow out like a Goodyear blimp.

On a side note about my health, a friend of mine suggested I may have hypothyroidism, which is also making my weight gain harder, as well as other symptoms. Going to the doctor soon to get that investigated. Will update later. 

I really need to make a change- I need to train up to be able to do Boot Camp again (hopefully for January to kick off the new year!)

I also think this winter weather really affects my motivation to do anything.  I've been sleeping in a lot, which ruins my day because then I don't have time to do anything. 

So the goals- which I really have NO EXCUSES not to do because I am at home most of the time-are:

1. Cardio 6 times a week. Deciding to mix it up depending on my mood between boot camp and Beginner DC.  

2. Mat Workout 4-6 times a week, before the cardio, aim for 5 more reps on legs each time I do it.  Gotta push all that stuff to the surface to be melted away!

3. Calorie limit- 1000-1300 calories a day, lower on days I do less exercise.  This has worked well for me in the past.

4. Mondays will be the new days off until winter break starts for me (no work, and no class during this time, where it will be reverted back to Sunday) since I currently have 2 big obligations on Mondays. 

5. Be more consistent with my  blogging.  I see I've been slacking a bit lately.  Sorry guys!!!

I call these my Old-Year Resolutions. It's the last month of the year, hence the name. Boot Camp will be the New Year kickoff! So excited. I think that if I keep up the Old-Year goals, I should be strong enough physically to do the boot camp. (Of course it will still be hard!)

Do you guys have any old-year resolutions?  What would you do to change before the new year starts?

Quickie little post

Hello!

Yesterday I mentioned that I was only able to get through 30 minutes of dance cardio, then needed to take a nap for an hour.  I was supposed to do my MS last night, but I was so exhausted by the end of the day that I just fell asleep when I got home. 

Today, however, I am about to go attempt doing both my Mat dvd and my cardio. I hope it goes well- no napping afterward!

Post-holiday weekend- back on the wagon!

Hi everyone!

The weekend is over, that means it's time to get back down to business!  Unfortunately, "business" kicked my butt this morning.  

Let's just say I LOVE my  new shoes (And apparently so do Tracy and Anna). Best workout-related investment (aside from the TAM stuff) of my life.  I wish I knew about these before. Very lightweight shoes, and I was able to withstand a little extra bounce in my dance.  My old shoes were noticeably heavier and hurt my arches and knees.  I jammed out 30 minutes, still low impact but I felt tired on a whole new level- which is what kicked my ass this morning.  :D

I couldn't do more than the 30 this morning, my body decided enough was enough and demanded a 1 hour nap before work.  Still not too bad considering I was horrendously lazy Thursday-Sunday.

As for my MS- (I always seem to be an MS avoider rather than a cardio avoider...) That is on the list for tonight, after class and after work.

More blogs later, just thought I would shoot out my Monday morning update!

Cleaning out my closet, and my belly!

Hi guys!

I hope everyone is having a good weekend. Last night, I decided to look through my old clothes.  I came across 3 pairs of jeans- one in a juniors 13, 15, and 17 respectively.  I haven't worn jeans in so long, so I decided to try and put on the 17s. The didn't even go all the way up to my hips. they stopped just below my saddlebags.  Therefore, my first shrinking goal (after fitting comfortably in my XL Juicy Couture track pants which are the equivalent of a US Misses 14, but being that they're sweats, there's a lot more room in them than jeans) will be to fit into those again, comfortably, then the 15s, then the 13s.  (Junior sizes are a little smaller than Misses/Women's sizes, a junior 13 is like a misses 11-12)  I have always worn junior sizes because they are a bit more slim in the hips (I'm not a really curvy girl under the weight).  I hope to fit in the 17s a lot better by Christmas or New Years. 

My ultimate goal dress is a long, dark green Chinese dress in a size 34 (I'm guessing that's a European size because it's tiny!).  I did some research and it's close to a US 4 or 6. (I think- there was a lot of different info on this!) 

Anyone else have any "goal clothes" to measure their progress in?   I'm getting back on the Tracy wagon full force on Monday. I saw on her twitter page she'll be posting new stuff on Monday! I hope it happens!

Post-Thanksgiving Aftermath... And shoes!

Hi guys!!!

I hope all of you who celebrated yesterday had a lovely Thanksgiving.  I cooked dinner at my place, and like most other people, I have leftovers.  This has been totally dangerous for me all day, as it seems like today I can't stop eating! My god, this is ridiculous. I have almost half a mind to throw the rest of it in the garbage. 

Another thing- I GOT MY NEW SHOES~!!! (yay!)

I got my Mizuno Wave Inspire 6s- aka the shoes Anna is wearing in this video (I just realized it!)

So far, walking around my house in them, they feel amazing. VERY supporting yet at the same time really lightweight too.  If you order them, try a half size bigger than what you would normally order for running shoes.

I ordered mine at Zappos- free overnight shipping!

http://www.zappos.com/mizuno-wave-inspire-6-white-shocking-pink-anthracite

(and yes, I got the pink ones. )

For the free overnight shipping you have to become a VIP at Zappos- which they are letting people get- for free- for a limited time- as of this blog- 5 and a half hours left!

http://vip.zappos.com/d2/tistheseason

After I dance in these a few times, I will review them further!  Hoping that will be tomorrow.

My thanksgiving plans... AND a new video from Tracy!

Hi guys!!

Well, tomorrow is the big day for Americans- Thanksgiving Day which  means we are going to be around a lot of food.  What are my plans for tomorrow?

I am going to be cooking!  While it won't be the healthiest, it's one day, so no need to stress.  I'm making a roast ham, stuffing, and a few vegetables on the side.  If anything, the killer (and arguably the best tasting of this) is the stuffing, which I will be making from scratch!  Old family recipe and I only make it once a year, and I will try my best not to overindulge.

Knowing I will be eating this lovely stuff, I did a little extra exercise than normal.  I am actually quite proud of myself!  I had to go pick up my paycheck, but instead of driving my car, I decided to walk there and back instead, so I got in a full hour of walking (30 minutes each way) and even though it's pretty cold here, I was sweating when I got home.  After that, I did my Mat workout- 15 reps a leg, walking really burned my legs! and 40 minutes of boot camp dance cardio (step touching).

Speaking of cardio, lately I have been feeling pain in my arches of my feet, my knees and my hips, and I think it's definitely because of the shoes.  Hopefully tonight, I will be ordering a new pair of Mizuno Wave Inspire 6 *recommended by Tracy among a few others* online tonight and having them overnighted to me so I can hopefully use them on Friday when I am working off the yummies. 

Last, but definitely not least- just in time for Thanksgiving, Tracy released a new webisode on YouTube- a short leg work section and a new dance cardio routine!  Enjoy!  I want one of those Tracy tank tops they're wearing- super cute!

Have a lovely Thanksgiving, enjoy friends, family, and food- and get back to work on Friday!

Weekends... I love you, I hate you. Also, Thanksgiving,

Hello hello!

Well, this weekend I feel like I probably gained back all the weight I lost last week.  If I wanted it, it went in my mouth- including but not limited to: Starbucks caramel brulee coffee, caramel nut coffee cake, gummy bears, cheese, spam *which is only good cooked* and -ack~!- white rice!  I think my period is on the way. Yikes... And no exercise all weekend aside from cleaning up.

Ugh. I'll do better, swear.

Now then- a big holiday coming up- Thanksgiving day- aka another excuse to stuff ourselves silly!  What's a dieter to do?

One thing you better NOT do- starve on Thanksgiving on your own will!  You won't gain 10 pounds of fat on your body from one day. I promise. (Unless you eat 35,000 calories over your metabolic rate which I DOUBT)

I say- enjoy Thanksgiving and enjoy the food!  However, little things you could do-

1. Squeeze in a workout if you can.

2. Eat until you're content, NOT stuffed like the turkey sitting on the table. 

3. Try to make dinner your main meal, keep breakfast and lunch light.

Hope these help- I plan on following at least #2-3. 

I will be weighing in today... Scared to, but gotta. Then going to work and class.  Also adding at least some cardio today, perhaps Mat after class. (Just no time for both in the morning on Monday, and cardio at night is a MAJOR no-no here.)

Ouch....

Hi guys!

Sorry for the delayed post.  My past 2 days have been sore, but I am already seeing results!!!

Monday- had a stressful, long, tiring day that I was totally unprepared for, but managed to squeeze in the Mat workout with 20 reps a leg and just about all of the rest, using my legs only for some of the ab work *not strong enough yet!*  I had no idea how badly 20 reps would kick my ass.  I did this on Monday, it is now WEDNESDAY and I am still really sore. I think next time I do Mat I will keep it at 20 because that was a real struggle. 15 is when it starts to be really hard.   Doing Mat made me realize how much I missed weighted arms. I know the recent stuff has a lot of work on all fours which works out the arms in a similar way but this just has a different feeling.  

Tuesday- so sore I could barely walk, much less do the Mat workout again. Hell no!  I slept like a baby, then took ANOTHER nap during the day I was so tired!  I didn't feel ready to do dance cardio for fear that I would be in worse pain, or worse, hurt myself or bump into things and wreck the living room.  Therefore, I took a good brisk 30 minute walk.  It sort of made my butt and thigh pain worse but got a sweat on regardless. \

My thoughts- No way am I going to do Mat workouts 6 days a week... Yet. First my goal is 4 times a week, then build up.  Cardio 7 days if possible, even if it is just a walk.  The main goal is to burn off this lard, and cardio is the main way to do this. 

As for  my diet- I am still keeping it pretty clean, and around 1000-1200 calories a day.  Also, I ordered a body fat caliper so that even when my weight on the scale isn't budging, I want to be sure the fat is. 

Today's goal- do 40 minutes of the cardio from the book- step touching it. Even though I don't go high impact, within a couple of minutes, I'm sweating. Depends on how I feel- I MAY do my Mat work too.  I have class tonight so at least cardio will happen.  Tomorrow, my goal is to do BOTH since I have nothing to do that I know of. 

Keep up the great work everyone!

Pre-bootcamp training final thoughts

Hello all!

After falling off of the bootcamp wagon due to my physical inability to go further than sequence 1, as I  mentioned before, I am going to be starting with the basics.  If I was lighter, bootcamp would have been much more doable I think. 

I decided to give my old friend, Mat Workout another go. I remember it being doable, but very challenging. In a good way! I also only remember being able to do about 10 reps on each leg. My goal- do 40 easily!

I also remembered the fact that I have the Tracy Anderson Connect abs, butt and arms webisodes. I have never actually DONE these, and so I gave them a watch.  Looks like a similar workout to the Mat workout without the chair and I think this will be my next transition after I master the original Mat workout. 

One thing I do miss that the older Muscular Structure work has that the new one does not is weighted arms. I remember when I first ever tried Tracy's workout, I saw results in my arms much faster than when I was doing PD1.  Also a huge plus that Mat has against PD series is the standing abs are easy to follow along with after watching it once or twice.

Last, but finally  not least, I have noticed myself tightening up in a bad way- loss of flexibility.  When I can squeeze it in, I will steal my roomie's P90X Stretch DVD- a whole hour of good stretching.  I want to get my hands on Ballet Boot Camp's stretch DVD as well.   Stretching time would be before bed, something about stretching out before bed makes it a lot easier to fall asleep. 


Going to weigh in before work tomorrow too, on the GOOD scale. The tricky part will be subtracting clothes weight.  My home scale is loopy, every time I step on I get a different result. At my job, the gym has a scale that gives consistent readings! 

Alright, enough rambling, time to go to bed. Got a busy day ahead!

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.

Days 10 and 11... Disappointment.

Hey guys. 

Today I totally fell off the wagon as did yesterday. Ugh. 

Day 10- didn't exercise, had no energy, and I craved (and ate!) chocolate like it was going out of style.   And if that doesn't make me feel bad enough...

Day 11- Was SUPPOSED to be my first day of sequence 2. However, those chair workouts in my current fitness level just don't seem to want to happen and I had started thinking of an alternative, or lose weight doing other of Tracy's stuff before attempting boot camp.  My flexibility and everything is SHIT compared to when I was slimmer, probably because I didn't have all this fat in the way.

What I am thinking of doing, at least until December, is still work out daily but going back to basics- the good ol' Mat DVD and work on that until I master it, doing Bootcamp cardio after it, since at least THAT part seems to sort of be going well.  

Pennies for thoughts are always appreciated.

Days 7-9 plus a recipe!

Hi guys!!!

Sorry about the really late blog post- yesterday wasn't feeling too hot. 

Day 7-

Went as normal, got my exercise in, ate right, nothing out of the ordinary.

Day 8- 

Had a problem with my exercise... I was doing my Sequence 1 Muscle Structure work and every ten reps of the leg moves I had to stop and yawn, I was exhausted. All I got accomplished that day was legs. 25 reps. No abs or arms, I felt like I was going to crash for the night already and I still needed what little energy I had left to get through work and class. This lack of energy led to day 9-

Day 9-

NOT feeling well, my weakness the previous day probably led to this.  I didn't work out, I just let myself sleep as much as I needed to- until 2 pm.  I did feel guilty but friends of mine are right- take care of yourself so you're out for a day as opposed to a whole week! 

I also have a recipe for you guys- how I cook my chicken breast without using any salt, yet still tastes great!

It's really simple- I promise! It's a garlic lover's and lemon lover's delight.

My Greek-style chicken breast~

What you need:

Boneless Skinless chicken breasts

Lemon juice

Garlic powder (or garlic cloves finely chopped)

Oregano

Extra virgin olive oil

Step 1:

Rinse and pat the chicken dry and place in a tupperware dish, sprinkling garlic powder and oregano generously (to taste) on top of each piece (especially helpful if you are stacking the breasts on top of each other, so that the spices evenly flavor all of the chicken)

Step 2:

Pour enough lemon juice to cover the chicken. Place in the refrigerator at least overnight, shaking the container occasionally.

Step 3:

In a pan or on a grill, coat the cooking surface with olive oil (optional) and cook chicken until done on the inside and slightly browned.

Also good if you cut up the chicken before marinating, then it can be used in salads and such!

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 2!

Hello!

Day 2 is complete, and it was hard~!  I was incredibly tempted to haul off and eat junk food, because my monthly (asshole) friend decided to show up. 

Monthly friend: Oh hey Roxy~ I see you're doing a boot camp. Cool! Can I join?

I was really tempted to go pour myself a glass of rice milk and mix some chocolate in. But I didn't. I measured out 1 cup of orange juice for myself (which is better than chocolate milk of any kind!)   I still kept to my clean eating.  Steel cut oats and 1 cup of orange juice for breakfast, steamed broccoli for lunch, was a little indulgent for dinner- had some grilled chicken breast with a cup of whole grain angel hair pasta drizzled with a little olive oil. Delicious! Didn't feel like a snack, the broccoli did a pretty good job of filling me up. 

Exercise- I was definitely feeling it when I woke up, especially in my chest and bum area.  I did the same workout I did yesterday- 20 reps of the MS sequence 1 (I didn't want to push my body too hard, being that I was sore and everything) and step touched cardio combo 1.

My weight... I gained a pound, likely water due to my physical condition. I think I'll wait to really weigh in until Monday when the period monster SHOULD be gone. (I tend to retain a lot of water during that time, no matter how much I drink, so if I only gained 1 pound instead of 5, I'm doing SOMETHING right!)

Well, 28 more days~ Still haven't given up yet! :)

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. 

Countdown to Boot Camp- T-minus 2 days

Hi everyone!!!

Firstly I would like to thank my followers- I noticed this morning there's a little more of you!  I always appreciate your support even if I can't always comment back. 

2 days (including today) left before I begin bootcamp.  I finished reading the book- so I will share what I have learned and what I think.

My bible for the month of November. 

1. The only con- the menu is full of expensive ingredients that a lot of grocery stores don't have.  However there is a part where Tracy mentions eating clean, fresh, unprocessed natural foods, and there are so many foods like that that are commonly found and that aren't so expensive.  I am not following her diet to the letter this time, but I am going to be eating clean in other ways.  I have seen other who have done the same thing and still achieved great results doing this bootcamp. 

2. I love, love, LOVE the fact that finally, Tracy lays out clear-cut instructions for beginners, even those who are really out of shape (like me) and have never exercised before (might as well be me). She even lays out a timeline based on fitness level how to do your cardio to build up to 40 minutes by the end of the month.  A very important piece of advice- if you are out of shape and doing the dance cardio- NO JUMPING!  For the muscular structure, she says start with 20 reps and build up, but if you can't do that many even, that's fine, but build up the reps a little more each day until you are able to do 40. 

3. I like how the book is hard cover, so that I don't have to worry too much about my book getting all bent up and dogeared from reading it. :) 

4. I noticed in the book she mentions the kinds of people she helped while developing the method- notably one who had gastric bypass and couldn't afford to get a body lift.  Apparently Tracy's method worked to pull all that skin in, which is something I have been really worried about on my own body.  I am not just trying to lose 30 pounds.  Try 140 pounds. And I have always feared that when I lose all of my weight I will be left looking like a sharpei dog.

Cute on a dog, not on a woman!

I am still really excited about starting this, especially seeing the results that others have achieved after just one month!  People not nearly as overweight as I am losing almost 20 pounds (a little under 10 kg).  I can only imagine how it will work on me, with so much more to lose. 

If you haven't bought the book yet, since I can't say for myself that it works or not (not yet!), I advise you read it somehow, borrow from a friend, a library, etc and at least give it a read. 

Also, I am taking this opportunity to enjoy junk food all that I can this weekend, since it's all going bye-bye after 11:59 pm tomorrow night.

BOOOOOOOT CAAAAAAAMP!!!! :D

Hi!

Today I had originally intended to go out and buy Tracy's book, so I gave a friend of mine a call and told her I wanted to go to the book store.  So we met up and we were looking around (I was beelining for Tracy's book) and I go to pick it up and my friend (who I hadn't noticed was carrying a bag) said "I got something for you. Put that back."  

My early Christmas giftie- My very own copy of the book!!!!!

She told me that she saw Tracy on TV and thought the workout looked pretty neat.  I then informed her of one little detail- That blog you keep hearing me talk about... This is what it's about! I've been trying to tell you for months! 

So now, I have a new recruit!  We will both be doing the bootcamp starting November 1.  We aren't going to follow her diet exactly THOSE recipes but (at least I) will be eating as clean as possible. I know it's going to be tough. No more fast food, no more diet soda... No more Sundays off, at least for 30 days.

At the end of the bootcamp, I will continue on with the PD series like it says but I will take my Sundays off, thank you.  She even mentions in the book for the bootcamp it has to be daily, but for the long term, DO take a day off a week.

On another note, I love how she breaks the method down by fitness level. Really good advice for beginners.  She has schedules for Absolute Beginners/People who are totally out of shape~ (like me!) to the super advanced~ Something for everyone!  

I will also be taking a new before pic, new measurements, new weight, and will start tweeting and video blogging all along the way. 

I do admit, I am taking this weekend to enjoy all the junk food I can (within reason) before I say bye bye for a whole month, at least.

If any of you are also starting boot camp on November 1, let me know!

YouTube Channel and Twitter!

Hey guys!

I decided it's finally time to go get Tracy's book!  I want to blog and vlog my way through the boot camp beginning November 1. 

YouTube Channel- http://www.youtube.com/user/teenytinyquest

Twitter- https://twitter.com/teenytinyquest

I'm really excited to be starting. I'm hoping to go pick up the book tomorrow.  Going to redo all my  measurements and everything. :) 

Just a quick post to let you guys know!

Exercise ruts and some ways to bust out!

Hi guys!

Many of you may know me from the Tracy Anderson Method group on facebook where I post fairly often.

One of my recent posts was about my exercise and diet rut that I seem to be stuck in.

As you can see I used to be very actively doing exercise and somewhat dieting.  This lasted about a month or so and then I got sick, and I took off from exercising.  This turned into over a month now of excuses and laziness.  I just haven't felt like exercising or eating well really. 

Giving it some thought, I thought of some reasons for my lack of motivation.

1. Lately my sleep schedule has been really off kilter.  When I was into the exercising, I woke up at a reasonable time and went to bed around midnight. Now its more like sleep at 4 am, sleep all morning until the afternoon, feel like crap for the rest of the day, repeat.   Today I woke up at 7:30 am, and have been forcing myself to be awake for the rest of the day in an attempt to get this back on track.

2. I have been feeling really stiff, bloated, and like I've aged 60 years.  Also my lady friend is all off kilter too. Both I believe are attributed to my first thing. 

3. Stress I don't think is too much of a factor, at least in the mental kind of way, but I guess the lack of sleep could be physically stressing.

So the bottom line- GET  MY ASS TO BED!!!!  Haha. All kidding aside, I got a lot of helpful advice and support from my friends in the TA group.  This advice really goes for any kind of exercise rut, not just TA.

- Choose a day to work out and just do it- with the mentality that next time will be easier. 

- Start small- build up the amount and intensity gradually until you are back in your old swing of things.

- If the reason for your rut is plain old boredom, switch up your exercise.

- (A funny one) Get naked and do yoga in front of the mirror- ew! Hahaha!

- Keep yourself accountable to someone- be it online or one of your friends. Preferably someone with similar fitness goals/type of exercise that you are doing.

- (For those who are doing TA like I am) Try her boot camp book that just came out. 

Speaking of book, that is the number one thing I want for Christmas this year, even if it's ALL I get. 

 Today I am going to take a walk outside and stretch. I feel too stiff and weird to do TA today, especially in my hips. Ouch!  I think I will hit the Tracy Wagon full force by  Monday, taking today - Sunday to stretch myself out and re-calibrate my sleep.

How do you guys get out of YOUR ruts? 

My apologies for the sporadic posts this week!!

Hi guys!

I haven't posted much this week (which is actually pretty unlike me) because I  have been having some really annoying problems with my internet connection.  It's still not 100 percent fixed, but at least I can  get on, for now anyway. :)

So far this week with weight watchers has been really good,  I did eat all of my flex points but nothing over that, and I am getting better at staying within my daily points range.  

I did receive a question from a reader- are the journal pages helpful? 

For me, they are.  What I did was copy the format of the journal pages into a blank notebook I had laying around. 

Here's the link to where I got my format-

http://www.starling-fitness.com/archives/2007/06/15/weight-watcher-form/

Click the first link (for the excel file) and that's what I use.  

Also Weight Watchers is making me realize I actually did eat way too much.  I have 33 points, which may seem like a lot, but it somewhat isn't, especially when it comes to eating out, or eating something not-so-healthy.

Starting the Tracy Anderson exercises again on Monday, yesterday I was out running errands and walked about an hour, today I walked a lot too.  My goal is to do Tracy at least 4 times a week, building up to 6.

I'll blog again later tonight about how my day went in more detail- (it's not over yet!) 

Back to the drawing board.

Hello-

I'm a bit disappointed in myself.  These past couple days I have been totally feeling out of control of my eating, and I totally wrecked my diet for the rest of the week.  I used up all of my weight watchers points and THEN some. Today and yesterday I was just feeling like I was stuck on an emotional roller coaster- mood swings galore! (my monthly buddy is on the way, and this time he's acting out~!)

I decided to take these few days until Monday to prepare to begin Weight Watchers again, clean slate. I even dug up an old empty notebook I had.  I looked up online what exactly is in Weight Watchers journals, and as of now, wrote up journal pages for two weeks beginning October 25, which is this Monday.  

I am going to try to calm my body down over the weekend.  I feel SUPER bloated (which isn't helping matters) and from what I have read, drinking more water and green tea is a great way to flush it out. So attempt I shall!

Earlier today I was feeling pretty hopeless, like can I EVER start dieting and STICK WITH IT?!  I hope this next time isn't such a misadventure as this past month has.  

Your support here and on facebook is also greatly appreciated as always. 

The new Day 2- 10/12/10

Hey everyone!

Today was a half good, half bad day.

Bad news first- I overate a teeny bit on my diet.  My friend and I went to 7-11 and decided to try some new treats.  And, I snacked a lot during the day. Then again that time of the month is very very near so I am not going to beat myself up.

The breakdown-

Breakfast-

Oatmeal- 2 points

Snacks-

Lemonhead candy- 2 points

A lot of rice cakes- 5 points

Deli salami (I was really craving this today and I ate a lot of it... ) 7 points

Lunch-

1/2 of a ramen bowl- 4 points

3 ounces of roast beef- 5 points

Dinner (or "Dinner")

2 corn dogs- 16 points

1 pizza roll- 7 points

1 can of regular coke- 3 points

Total points today... 49, 16 over my 33 limit.

However, all is not lost.

Weight watchers allows an extra 35 points during the week for slipups, or to save for eating out.  But before I took off points for that....

We have what they call Activity points- extra points earned from, you guessed it, activity.

My activities for today-

Cleaning my apartment- -1 point

Tracy Anderson Beginning Dance Cardio- -6 points

Points are calculated based on your weight, intensity, and how long you did it.   Also as a rule, only eat 4 points worth of these activity points max, then deduct the rest from your weekly points. 

So the end result: 33 daily, 4 activity (eaten), and 12 weekly points gone.  On a side note, weekly points are purely optional, as are activity points. The extra 4 points you can eat are if you WANT to have a treat.  However,  you should always eat all of your daily points.  (I hope this makes somewhat of sense...)

On the subject of exercise:

I accomplished doing BDC through the warmup and combos 1-3. I do take breaks between songs but then I go back at it.  And yes, I do tire now and then, especially during the up tempo-with music parts, in which case I do sidesteps and grapevines back and forth to the music engaging my arms until I am ready to get back into the actual routine.  I would have done combo 4 but it's late, and I don't want to pester the neighbors.  I do feel it in my lungs still, for sure!  No Perfect Design today, but tomorrow morning/afternoon I aim to do PD1 first, then get through at LEAST combos 1-2 of BDC.