Day 74 Metamorphosis

Hi everyone!

As some of you who are on my facebook have seen, I decided again to start dabbling in Asian eating, not just the types of foods, but the habits too. I started today and did well! 

Breakfast:

1 cup of rice mixed with 1 egg and soy sauce

Coffee (no sugar)

Lunch:

1 cup of rice

1 cup miso soup

2 hard boiled eggs   (I have my nifty Japanese lunch jar that keeps my portions small and my food toasty warm!)

Dinner:

1 serving of cold soba noodles (buckwheat = Junger approved as is the rice!)

Ponzu sauce (cold soba is usually dipped in some kind of sauce then slurped up)

Dessert:

1 piece of coffee roll cake (from Japan, looks like this:)

Mine came in 4 individually wrapped slices like this with 170 calories per slice. Also the sugar contents of them are fairly low, they are not overly sweet.

According to my calorie counting/food tracking app, I only ate 1,414 calories today. NO hunger. I was satisfied physically at each meal despite the small portions (probably due to the complex carbs and protein). I know I was a naughty girl and didn't eat my vegetables today but I will try to tomorrow.  I also have been guzzling water and barley tea (common in Japan like green tea) instead of soda. 

Exercise: Walked for 30 minutes outside, I took a chemistry exam today so couldn't fit Tracy in as much as I wanted to. I have her penciled in for tomorrow and Saturday though!

Day 72 Metamorphosis

Hi guys!

Day 72 didn't go quite as planned. But it wasn't a total bust. 

I didn't do my MS. I know. BAD ROXY. -hand slap-  I was studying for a test (which was supposed to be today but got postponed). However I did get one runthrough of Beginner DC. Cardio ALWAYS takes precedence when I am short on time!

Tomorrow I have all morning to work out. And work out I will! This week and next week I will be doing BDC one runthrough, then the last week (the week before I start Boot Camp) I will work on a double runthrough, which is about 50 minutes of dance cardio.

On an unrelated note, I read an article about 2 new eating disorders they discovered.  One is when an adult only eats a few certain kinds of foods, like a picky eating child.  The other, called orthorexia, is when the sufferer has an obsession with eating healthy foods. 

http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/new-eating-disorders-are-they-real

I just thought this would be interesting to read, I had never known obsessive healthy eating was a "disorder".

Have a good night!

Day 71 Metamorphosis

Hi everyone! 

Today is day 71- but I did not do my MS work.  However, I did do a runthrough of Tracy's beginner dance cardio, both the learning and the uptempo parts.  I got through 3 hours of sleep last night so I figure something is better than nothing.

More good news:  I lost more weight- I weighed in this morning and I now weigh 269.9, a total of a 7.2 pound loss since last Thursday. Happy times!

Tomorrow I am off during the daytime so I will be fitting in my level 7 MS and perhaps a double runthrough of beginner dance cardio.  I have a test tomorrow night but screw it, I am going to work out before I take it. I have to. 

Today was a short blog but I hope everyone else starts the week off right!

Day 60 Metamorphosis

Hi everyone!

This is day 60- 30 more to go!!!  I know days 40-today have been on the shit side especially in terms of working out. But this week I've been cracking down on the eating at least- I weighed in again today and lost 4.9 lb!  Went from 277.4 on Tuesday to 272.2 today. Happy face!

I can't do my workout today- having a major spring clean going on and all the stuff I'm trying to sort through and/or throw away is all over the living room and cleaning today in itself made me sweat!   

I will however, put my 100 percent into the remaining 3 levels of meta I have to do. The full out Boot Camp. I can't wait. I really can't. <3

Also I signed up for my fall and summer classes- all at night so I can do my TAM in the daytime like a normal person!  This spring sucked because I had a lot of my classes during the day and it blocks my TAM (Because really, I hate working out at night. I really do.) 

Monday begins level 7 and me meaning business once more!

Day 59 Metamorphosis

Hi everyone!

Things are looking up a little for me weight wise. Despite not working out much lately, this week I have been counting my calories and minding my portions and I am seeing some pleasing things happening. 

Tuesday (4/19): Weight: 277.4 lb

Friday (4/22): Weight: 273.0 lb.

Lost about 4 pounds just by keeping myself to 1500 calories a day and this is without exercise. I am now really curious about what would happen when I get back on the wagon with my workouts.   Also I am really learning to recognize what real hunger feels like- It's more salivating and a sensitivity of the throat- NOT stomach growling! I found out that the grumbly tumbly is actually your stomach finishing digesting the last of the last meal you had.

I also can't believe it's almost time for me to start level 7!   I gave it a preview and I didn't see any weights in the floor section this time. Hmm.

I hope everyone has a great weekend! So glad it's Friday!

Days 57-58 Metamorphosis

Hi everyone!

* TMI ALERT! * If you don't like reading about other people's periods don't read further!

Regrettably, yesterday (day 57) and today (day 58) are exercise-free. Not because I got lazy, not because I made up some lame-ass excuse (like I used to), but because I have been having a monster period. And I mean monster. Bleeding through the highest absorbency tampons I can manage every 2-3 hours and cramps that could kill an elephant.  I've had this problem before and when I went to the gynecologist I was told being overweight can really do a number on one's period.  I'm heavier now than I was then and I am paying the price.  I would have gone to the gyno already but I do not have health insurance until July, so I am dealing with it as I was told to before- heavy period = no strenuous activity.  I hate this because I really WANT to do my workout. More than anything. I was all revved up and ready to do it today (since bedtime last night, thinking this would die down by then) but no.  I am actually really upset. This issue and my school issues have put a big fat dent in my progress, which is why I am taking this meta as a learning experience and doing it better over the summer when I have no such obligations, and hopefully I'll have seen the doctor about my feminine issue and start straightening it up.

I may take a walk today but that would be kind of pushing it.  I REALLY hope I am able tomorrow! Come on body, I'm doing this for your own good. COOPERATE!

Sorry for my rant but I want you all to know I am not slacking by my own choice. I hate it. 

Have a great day today and get your workouts in for me.

Day 53-56 Metamorphosis

Hi guys!

I've been absent again because I haven't been feeling well- this month's Aunt Flo is really bad this time.  However I wasn't exactly inactive this weekend.  Saturday, I did a lot of walking, I went to two malls to go buy some new clothes for work. I ended up walking around for a long time, at least 3 hours. Sunday, I went to the mall again because I had to exchange something, but had to do other errands and clean up a little bit.  Yesterday (Monday) I really wanted to do my TA workouts but there was a physical factor that made that pretty much impossible. (TMI alert!) Really heavy flows caused me to have to take a sideline for the day, but I did eat sort of carefully considering. (Even though I finished the day with pizza I was good during the daytime and drank a lot of water).

On a side note: TA is supposedly hosting the Self Facebook page and included an article showing some moves.

http://www.self.com/healthystars/2011/05/gwyneth-paltrows-arm-and-ab-moves-slideshow#slide=16

These are moves from the book, if you do not have the book then this would be a good preview for you! 

Have a great day and I will try to get my workout in also!

Day 52 Metamorphosis

Hi everyone!

It's Friday- THANK GOD. Ok, these past two days I still have been eating horribly. However I did get some activity in! Not what I intended on doing but still getting off my butt at all is better than nothing.

Day 52- had ONE MORE little exam! I took a short walk and did meta level 6. OH THE PAIN.  Those moves on the floor with the weights just kill me. I'll admit, I am pretty sore right now. Doing the workout really makes me regret my haphazard, runaway-train eating habits. Its like I feel like I did all this hard work, but I ruined it by eating too much.  I have been drinking more water these days but that's not enough in the end. 

I think the main cause of my bad eating is that I eat emotionally. I feel sad, I feel like a snack. I'm bored, I end up at the fridge.  I have been doing some research and I have found that when these feelings hit, think about WHY I feel that particular emotion and do something NOT food related to cheer it up/resolve it.  

Do any of you struggle with emotional eating and if you do, how do you manage and cope with it?

Day 51 Metamorphosis

Hi everyone!!

It's been a few days since I last posted, I have been up to my ears in books, studying, and junk food. I deserve a great big slap on the hand.

Today was SUPPOSED to be my 51st day of Meta- level 6 day 1 but alas, it didn't get done today due to testing.  Boo.

I also have been food journaling as I said I would be, but I am not proud of what I put in there.  Very little healthy food, mostly junk.

There is some good news.  NO MORE TESTS THIS WEEK! -crowd cheers-  This means... I can get back to my workouts and eating as usual!  Keep in mind I am not going to make up missed days in levels this time.  This is just a "getting the feel for it" round of meta.  I am hoping to have my eating and cardio level worked up by the time I start bootcamp on June 1.

Keep posted, will blog tomorrow!

Day 48 Metamorphosis

Hi everyone!

I had a really busy weekend, so again, only my MS got done.  Cleaning my house took a lot out of me, doing laundry, cooking, etc.  I did manage a walk in the evening as we had nice weather, but I don't feel that it was very effective.  Also, my eating sucked again this weekend. Starbucks and popcorn and burgers, oh my. 

I have my food journal all set up to go starting tomorrow. Now the hard part is remembering to write in it every time I eat. My friend told me I am to record EVERY morsel that enters my mouth. 

On a side note, I previewed Omni level 6. There are STILL planks and this time she incorporates weights into the leg/floor work. I start this on Wednesday, but I like to preview the torture I am in for next, haha. 

I need to get to bed, it's Sunday night and I have a busy week (as always) ahead. Good night!

Day 46 and 47 Metamorphosis

Hi everyone!

I am a bit disappointed in myself these past two days. Remember day 45 when I woke up early?  Turns out that was a fluke.  I tried to wake up that early both following days. Didn't happen! I was still sore from that one day. Really disappointed. Even more disappointed in my eating habits the past couple of days. Hot dogs, beer, candy, cokes, steak, etc. NOT good for weight loss. Once a week is ok but for 2 days straight it definitely ISN'T. I now feel bloated and awful even though I did my workouts with so-so cardio sessions. 

A friend of mine who I confide in about my eating suggested something that should have been a no-brainer for me. Keep a food journal.  Write down what I eat and how it made me feel physically and mentally. 

Also I am NOTORIOUS for not paying attention of what I stuff in my face. If I did, I wouldn't be here, at least not as a weight loss blog but a weight maintaining blog.   Keeping a food journal, I found out online, has many benefits, and according to this article, in a study, people who kept a food journal lost twice as much weight as the subjects who did not. 

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20080708/keeping-food-diary-helps-lose-weight

So, I went out and got myself a pocket-sized notebook so it can be small enough to go everywhere with me.  I will be writing what I eat, how much, and how many estimated calories are in it and will copy what I wrote in it for the day here on my blog, even when I do not have an exercise day scheduled.  I feel like with dieting I really need the accountability or I will fall off and fail. Again. I haven't been blogging about what I've been eating because I haven't kept track and a lot of it was junk. 

I really think that my eating is ruining my results because I still feel bloated and fatter and it CAN'T be the workouts. No way in hell! So let's see how this goes!

Have a great rest of the weekend!

Day 45 Metamorphosis

Hi everyone!!!

Today has two important fitness-related milestones for me. 

1. I woke up at 5:00 am for the first time ever and exercised!

2. It's day 45! I am HALFWAY through Meta!!!! (wooooo!)

I got up on time, early today to do my MS.  I got it done but only 15 reps.  Working out without breakfast makes said workout a BITCH to complete. After my MS I took a nice shower, then went to school and used the school gym to do my cardio (this will be my general plan unless I am home all day).  I did 30 minutes of walking fast/treadmill dancing.  I haven't done treadmill dancing in quite a while so I took today to get used to it, just keeping it to skipping and sometimes double skipping. No sashays, leaps, etc like I used to ages ago.  I burned a lot of calories doing it too, My average heart rate was 157 (it ranged from 151 when walking to 175 when skipping, when that happened I slowed it to a walk. When it was low enough I would skip again. I want to lose weight, not have a heart attack!) and I found a calorie calculator that estimates your calories burned based on heart rate. It's not perfect but it's more accurate than the calorie counter on the machine.

According to the calculator I burned about 350 calories in 30 minutes. Not too shabby.

Calories Burned Calculator

I would really like to get a heart rate monitor watch in the future, I'd like to know what I burn doing MS and cardio together. 

I also started dieting for real.  Paying more mind to my food not only by calorie but how good it is for me.  I'm not perfect at it yet but I see my eating plan now as a hybrid of Tracy's plans and Dr. Junger's plan.

Today's menu!

Breakfast:

Steel cut oatmeal sweetened with Stevia. 

Lunch:

2 hardboiled eggs

4 cups of salad greens

2 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar

Snack:

1 can of Slim Fast (I know that sounds naughty but I have a bit of them to drink up still and they are almost equivalent to something like a Think Thin bar in liquid form. I have those too but I want to get rid of the slim fasts and just keep getting my Think Thins. <3) 

Dinner: (Tentative but should go something like this today)

Grilled chicken breast marinated in lemon, olive oil, garlic and organic oregano

1/2 cup of brown rice

1 cup of cooked carrots (Or 1 baked sweet potato. I'm stuck here at school until 8 pm so the carrots look more likely- less time to cook!) 

I am weaning myself off of the diet sodas. I am reserving them for when I have absolutely nothing to drink when I am out, or when I just need the fizzies with a taste.  Usually I will  be drinking barley tea, green tea, water, and San Pellegrino (Thanks Costco!)  I do want to try those Neuro drinks Tracy keeps talking about as well as Arctic Zero.  Amazon has them but how the hell do they ship ICE CREAM? 

And because I am in a good mood, here's a random video. Well, it's sort of relevant, she has green juice and she wants you to drink it!

Have a great day today and I hope to have  as good a workout day tomorrow as I did today.

Day 44 Metamorphosis

Hi everyone.

Day 44 ended up not happening because, as I said, I was preparing to wake up early and do my workout.  That ended up not happening because I'm the idiot who set the clock to 4:45 pm, not am. 

Today (which will be day 45- the half way point!) I am not feeling myself emotionally. I feel like a failure for not waking up, I've already eaten junk for breakfast and lunch (forgot to pack up last night) and I sort of feel stupid for making a big deal about this in my mind and then falling through. Ugh. I am going to to at least my MS tonight, still feeling down in the dumps. Ugh.  When I get like this I can be VERY self-destructive especially with my food. I get in the "Oh who cares?" mode and just eat whatever I want, devil-may-care, the greasier the better. No good. 

I really want to start eating according to Junger's elimination diet, which are foods from this list:

Elimination Diet Shopping List

I also do have most of these foods at home so there's really no excuse for it, which is what makes me feel even worse when I slip up. 

Today I'm just needing lots of hugs and the like, I apologize for the depressing post. I hope things look up soon. I will try the morning wakeup again tomorrow.

Have a great Wednesday!

Day 43 Metamorphosis

Hello everyone!!!!

Day 43 made me feel kind of let down.  It was one of those days when I started out doing so well, then crashed and burned in the evening.  In the morning and afternoon, all was going well. Dietarily I was really good- steel cut oats, salad, blueberries and tea.  Then I got home. I ended up eating a few fried chicken tenders without even thinking and by the time I had realized it I had already eaten them. My workout was on the shitty side too- only MS. I felt so bogged down (probably because of the crap I ate) that after MS I just wanted to go to sleep. Which didn't happen. Which leads me to my next thing.

I think I need to suck it up, be a man and become a morning workout bunny. Why?  

1. I have a hard time forcing myself to work out after I've already been to school and work and just want to sleep.

2. When I work out at night, I have a hell of a time going to sleep.  When I work out at about 7-8 pm, I can't sleep until at least 1:30 am that night.

3. Getting it out of the way sounds so much better than #1.

4. I read in several articles that working out before breakfast burns more body fat, as opposed to burning off the food you just ate, THEN the fat.

Day 44 will be skipped so that I can get a nice early sleep tonight and wake up at 4:45-5:00 a.m. to get my Meta stuff out of the way. Omni level 5 and a runthrough of all 4 Beginner Dance Cardio combos. 

Have a great night, I already want the weekend here!

Day 41 and 42 Metamorphosis!

Hi everyone! 

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I started omni level 5, and everything was going well except for those damn planks. Ugggghhhh!!! Did 15 reps per leg both days.

Cardio: I started relearning Beginner Dance Cardio.  Combinations 1-3 I had already known from before, but combo #4 is the one I never tried.  I finally gave it a try and it is, in fact, easy. The total time to go through all of the combos with the video is about 25 minutes.  My goal is to be able to do it twice in a row, then do it for the twice in a row with the jumping/full impactness.

Back to the subject of MS- I really think that I need to push myself more. Doing 15 reps per leg is fine on day 1 of a new level, but I really feel like I should be pushing myself to do all 40 by the next day or two.  Sure, it will take longer but I really feel like I should push.  If I were working out with Tracy herself, she would push me the same. I feel my results slowing now that I've been starting to slack a little at the higher levels. But- on the positive side- I am almost HALF DONE. HALF. On Wednesday I will have done 45 days. 

As for food- I bought a lot of chicken breasts over the weekend, and cooked a few breasts last night to eat over the next few days to eliminate the "I don't have time to eat healthy" crap. I made a pot of brown rice too and put both in tupperware in the fridge.  I am still allowing myself a cheat meal a week. Not a day, a meal. HUGE difference.

I have your opinion on something because I am not sure what to do next:

I want to do another round of Meta with all 40 reps and an hour of cardio. I am also going to start Junger when I do this.  However, I had an idea.

Since everyone says Boot Camp (The 30 day Method book) is what you should be doing before Metamorphosis, I am considering giving boot camp a go and then go back to Meta. Being lighter by then the boot camp should be a little easier to do. I will also  be able to commit those 2 hours most mornings/days because I won't be in class except for Tuesday and Thursday nights. Also if I do boot camp, NO cheat days for that 30 days. 

It's either bootcamp between rounds of Meta (I want to lose most of my weight before getting Continuity). I'm cool either way but always open to suggestions. 


Have a great Monday and get your workout in!

Day 39 and 40 Metamorphosis

Hi guys!

I am soo sorry for the lack of posting these past few days. I have been holed up writing a term paper for my human development class. I had to choose three developmental periods and for each, pick a fictional character that shows the appropriate behaviors and one that is not accurate.  Harder than it sounded! But that's all over and done with for now.

As for working out, the last 2 days of level 4 I just did my MS because I had no time. I needed to get that paper done or accept a zero. 

I also came across a very interesting video. It's called "Fat Head" and is a documentary, the anti- "Super Size Me". 

To give it a look, click here.

Today I am supposed to be starting Meta level 5, let's see if I get that done. I have a lot of running around to do tonight. Over the weekend plan is to start learning the DVD dance cardio- the choreographed kind. More on that next time!

Have a great Friday!