No More Nonsense!

Hello everyone!


After doing some serious thinking, I have come to a realization that I really need to stop overthinking and overplanning my workout process.

All that crap about "Oh I should do this first, I should do that first" I realized does not work for someone who is as easily distracted as I am.  (I have ADHD. Seriously, I do)  What I need is a concrete, laid-out plan for me that's easy to remember and not hard to stick to.   Otherwise, my brain just starts running all over the place like a headless chicken.

What's the result of that? Many ideas, NOTHING getting done!

What's the solution? Suck it the fuck up and do Metamorphosis.  It's only one hour and requires the least equipment (Until you get into continuity but I will worry about that later) and has the least opportunity to make excuses about  why you "can't".

I got inspired and gave the commercial another watch.


You know what was keeping me from doing it again? My brain's idiotic need to be perfect. To do ALL the reps perfectly, every time.   Again, that kind of thinking gets people nowhere.

So, I decided to just do it. Every day, six days a week, even if I can only do 5 reps of a move.  As long as I've done as many as I can, that's good enough.  That still makes changes in the body.

Also I looked back at the last time I did Meta I got to level 5 and I was seeing great results from it despite only doing maybe 20 reps per leg instead of 40.

Which leads to the next thing: Screw counting reps. Counting reps does for me what weighing yourself every day does for some people. You get obsessed with a number. It drives you crazy.  You don't make the number you hoped for? "Fuck it! I'm done with this! I quit!" Those are the kinds of thoughts I am trying to avoid.  So, I am going to do what someone on the Tracy Community online told me to do: Do as many as you can in the time allotted with no stopping.  That is how you become stronger.

By the way, I absolutely love the community on Tracy's site (and of course the Facebook pages I am part of) and I will be a much bigger participant.  If you want to look for me, my username is the same as this page: teenytinyquest

As for the diet: I will loosely follow it- I am striving to be vegan and limiting my grains to rice. (Due to allergies) Also no puree weeks. I just don't have time and I do not want this to be any more complicated than it needs to be. 

Now, there is ONE adjustment and additional DVD I will be doing- I will be using the Dance + Cardio DVD for my cardio instead of the DVD that comes with Metamorphosis. It's still very sweaty without messing up my knees.  It allows for low impact but can also be high impact if you make it so.  Very easy to adapt it to your fitness level. It also allows me to work up to one hour of cardio without being bored because I won't be just repeating the same stuff over again for the second 30 minutes. I again, am one of those people who needs to be engaged in it- Repetition bores the hell out of  me.  Also, balls to the wall cardio could be counterproductive: What I mean by that is going too hard usually results in me needing to take DAYS off which is NOT what I want. Nope. Not at all.

Also for length of time of cardio... Whatever I feel energetic enough to do on that given day, but at least 30 minutes. (Or at least TRYING. Something is better than nothing.)

So, Monday, June 2 I will be rejoining all of you ladies doing Metamorphosis.  My main goal is just to get it done daily, no matter how bad I suck at it.

See you on the mat!

Days 2 and 3 of the Juice Cleanse

Hello everyone!


Sorry for the late post, but previously, I had posted about being on a juice cleanse and I wrote about my first day- sluggish, tired, and feeling like crap.  Here is how days 2 and 3 went!


Day 2:

My energy level was MUCH higher. Not through the roof, but higher for sure.  It seemed like my body had gotten used to being on a liquid diet.

This next part is going to be a bit nasty.


Now that I had been consuming nothing but liquids for a whole day... Let's just say what goes in liquid comes out liquid too.   If you juice cleanse, be absolutely sure you can be near a bathroom at all times.  It will hit you. It will hit you SUDDENLY. (At least it did for me)

I looked forward to that cashew milk even more.


Day 3:

My energy level still pretty good, considering that I got my period on the same day.  I had actually  began to think about how I will miss these juices once the day is over.  I felt good, my skin felt softer and I haven't had stomach issues like I had in days.  I got through the day, and that final cashew milk was savored. I nursed it for about 30 minutes, taking it sip by sip.  I had finished the cleanse without any slip ups, and this really made me feel good.


So, the big question: How did it affect my weight?

Well...

On the first day, I weighed 309.5 pounds, on the third... 302.3 pounds (140.7 kg and 137.4 kg respectively)

A 7.2 pound, 3.3 kilogram loss. A loss that 4 days after finishing, I am proud to say that I am maintaining!

I also changed my diet and lifestyle since the cleanse.  I will be starting Precision Toning and that will be next time's post.

So there you have it- The results of my juice cleanse!

First Day of my Three Day Juice Cleanse

Hello everyone!

Previously, I had mentioned that I would be doing a juice fast/cleanse this weekend.  I began, and here's how the first day went!

The juice cleanse I chose to do is made by a juice bar near me called Peeled in Evanston, Illinois. 

They offer a variety of cleanses, they had a special on their classic 3 day cleanse. (http://peeledjuicebar.com/collections/the-cleanse/products/the-classic-cleanse) 

How it works is this: Drink one of these bottles every two hours (they tell you which order) for three days.   I was also told if I absolutely need caffeine, then plain green tea only. No coffee, no soda, etc.  If I absolutely MUST eat, then fresh fruit or vegetables ONLY.  I was told to try to avoid this as much as possible. 

So what's in these bottles of magic?

The green bottles: This juice is called the Green Lantern, and it is made of kale, romaine lettuce, spinach, parsley, celery, ginger, apple, cucumber, and lemon.  This is the first and fourth juice I drink during the cleanse and according to the pamphlet I received, the most essential.

How does it taste? Not terrible.  You can definitely taste the cucumber and celery, but it's actually much more pleasant than other green juices I have tried.  Later on, when I burped (it will happen) I mostly taste the celery, haha)

The yellow bottle: Haute Lemonade.  Lemon juice with agave nectar, maple syrup, and a dash of cayenne pepper.  This one was a bit hard for me to stomach at first because of the spice.   The idea of this juice is to clean the intestinal walls and speed metabolism.  This is one I try to drink quickly, my taste buds weren't too keen on it.

The red bottles: Maroon 5.  I have read a lot of reviews with people saying this was the nastiest one. Not to me, I actually LIKED it. It's the third and fifth drink of the day.  It's made of beet juice, carrot, apple, lemon and ginger. It may be that I actually like beets, so I don't mind the taste. I also tasted the carrot pretty strongly, which is also good because I like carrot juice.

The white bottle: Cashew milk.  Your reward for enduring all of these strange juices.   The taste reminds me of a Mexican horchata drink- It's made with vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and I took my sweet time drinking this so that I could savor the yumminess.  I really look forward to my next one, haha.

That's great, I liked the taste of them, but how did it make me feel?

The first day, I was very, very TIRED. And cranky. I slept almost all day and the green tea I tried didn't help me.  I was so drained, I had never felt this tired in my life.  It began from the first juice.   Very often, when doing a juice detox, fatigue WILL happen the first day. 

So that's how my first day went- grouchy and tired.  Stay tuned for days 2 and 3 (in progress!) 

Summer 2014 Plans

Hello everyone!

Summer is almost upon us and that means school is done for me after this week.

So, I have decided to take the opportunity over this summer to try something.

I have decided that I'd like to give Metamorphosis another go.

Why?

1. It's not a LONG workout.  I'm doing baby steps here, but while the workouts are short, they are NOT easy. Which leads to the next and most important point:

2. I got really great, really fast results.  I was dropping inches off of my waist every level change and I wasn't even dieting.

And after doing the Beginner Method a few times, I think it's actually a bit... easy.  Like I feel like I can move up.  I no longer hurt after doing it, and I think it's time to move on ahead to Metamorphosis.  Let's face it- I am a busy person, and I do not always have the two hours a day it takes to do her original workouts.  I wish I could.  I am just being realistic here.

As for the cardio, I am going to use the Dance + Cardio DVD and build up to an hour.  I don't really think it will matter if I do the Meta cardio or the Dance + Cardio.  They're both dance, and they're both about the same, just with one being lower impact than the other, which is fine because that can also be adjusted.

As for the MS repetitions: I am not going to stress over how many reps per leg or whatever too  much.  That ends up making me crazy and obsessive and discouraged.  I know I will not be able to do 40 reps.  That's obvious.  However, for me, I feel like I should do as many reps as I can on that given day, until she switches to the next movement.  I feel like that will strengthen me faster, and burn a hell of a lot more.

Diet: I am going to do my best to be as vegan as I can.  I feel better like that and really, animal products are expensive. (Also cruel.) Also, while I have recently purchased some vegan substitute foods like vegan yogurt, etc, those are NOT going to be the basis of my diet, but supplements. My goal is to mostly eat real vegetables with those foods as a side dish or something.  I will be writing reviews on them as I try them.

I will also be doing a juice cleanse not this weekend, but next- May 23, 24, and 25th.  I will be starting Abcentric Metamorphosis on May 26th, after the business of finals week and the juice cleanse are done.

In the meantime, I am still going to keep training with the Beginner DVD because I am not 100% perfect at it and it will keep me moving around and getting better at cardio before I take the plunge. 

So yeah, I hope this works.  I want to look different by my birthday in July, and even more different by the time I go back to school in August.

I'll keep updated, of course!


Have a great day!