Weigh in Report for May 31st

Guys, I am really at a total loss of what I am doing wrong. I gained yet again this week. I was up 1.2 pounds today. So according to WW my total boot camp loss was 3.8 pounds.

Here are the basics of what I am doing. I am eating about 1200-1300 calories per day. Exercising about 5 times a week (40 minutes) at a moderate to high intensity. I know that I am really working my body hard as there isn't a day this month that something wasn't sore. I am drinking my water. I am eating mainly core foods (hello egg whites!) and very little processed food or sugars.

I talked with a dietician friend and her thought was that I may not be eating enough calories. She was unfamiliar with how to factor in all the exercise but at my weight she thought 1500 calories should be my minumum. She thinks my body may have gone into starvation mode.

So what to do this week? I'm going to go back to my normal WW points. The thing is, I know that eating more is going to give me a gain next week. I just don't understand why my body has to be so complicated.

Today at the WW meeting we worked on winning outcomes and set goals for 4th of July. I find it really hard to set a goal when I don't feel like I am in control of this process.

Kettlebell Rocks!

I am having such a great time with kettlebell class. Wednesday we lugged and threw around sand bags as well as worked out with the bells. She told us that we are actually called giriveks (the Russian word for a kettle bell practitioner). It is such a workout. I am sweating within a couple of minutes doing this.

I enjoy the instructor (Liberty) so much and the women that are in the classes are chatty and friendly. It is so nice being in a class with only a couple of other people.

One of the reasons I like it so much is that I really feel safe doing whatever she asks. She is always watching our form and giving us feedback and if it looks like we are struggling tells us to back off a bit.

Also important to me is that I feel like she is really looking at where my weaknesses are and is purposely giving me exercises to strengthen those areas. Yesterday (Thurs) she really focused on my abdominal muscles because she knows I have no strength there.

I actually attibute my loss of 13.25 inches as much to doing kettle bell the last few weeks as I do boot camp.

I affected "Green" change

Today I finished sealing the deal on changing over the cleaner we use in the factory to clean the floors.

About two months ago a salesman from Biosolutions approached me about this “green cleaner” that they developed along with the EPA. This new cleaner has a balanced PH so if an employee got it on their skin; they just have to wash it off normally. The cleaner we used to use had such a high PH that it would “defat” the skin with contact. It is also completely safe for the environment.

Everything does come down to dollars and cents and this cleaner was only about .01 cent more than what we were using. I’m sure we wouldn’t have switched if it was exponentially more expensive.

I feel like I changed my little corner of the world today.

Bootcamp Results

Yesterday was the testing to see how much stronger and how much we lost doing boot camp. Then we met a local bar/pizza joint for the results. About 30 people showed up to hear their results. Not to make light of my results, but I will be honest and tell you that when she took our measurements yesterday she really pulled the tape measure more than what I remembered when she took our pre boot camp measurements. All I’m saying is that the results may be inflated because of this.

I received the inchworm award. I lost the most inches. I lost a total of 13.25 inches over my hips, waist, and iliac (midriff). I also lost 9 pounds according to her scales. I increased my crunches by 8 in one minute and my push ups by 23 in one minute.
There was a guy (thin, fit and a runner) that lost 27 pounds! Everyone lost weight and inches and was stronger as a result of the three and a half weeks.

So after hearing my results, I briefly reconsidered doing the Alumni camp next month. But even though I got good results it doesn’t change the feeling that it wasn’t that fun of an experience for me. (Not compared to kettle bell, anyway) So why go back and do something I didn’t like just because it yielded results.

I did save enough calories to enjoy three slices of pizza but decided that I was satisfied with two slices (best pizza in town) and actually had the strength to throw the other slice away.

Overall I am grateful I participated in boot camp. I do feel as though I’ve made some lasting changes this month. I feel like I broke my addiction to sweets. I have had a box of vita muffin tops in my freezer for over a week and I have only had one. I also bought a box of skinny cow fudge bars two weeks ago and haven’t even opened them.
I have also over come my fear of group classes and worrying about what others are thinking of me exercising.

End of Boot Camp

Last night was the last workout for boot camp. I didn’t go. I dreaded the thought of it all day and decided to be selfish and not make myself do something I dread. Tonight I have to go for my post body scan and then Thursday we have post testing to complete and then that is the end.

There is an Alumni camp for people that have been through boot camp offered next month. It costs $30 and offers 2 workouts per week and you must attend 4 workouts in the month. I had planned on signing up for it, but have changed my mind. I don’t know if it was the weight gain on Saturday that pushed me over the edge or what, but I just don’t want to do boot camp anymore.

I am really enjoying Kettle Bell class so I will plan to do that three times per week and then fill in the rest of the week with the gym here at work. I’ve just decided that if I want activity to be a part of my life, it has to be something I enjoy. There are so many things I want to try. I don’t want every workout to feel like a life or death ordeal.

I am happy that I did boot camp this month. It made me grow. I learned that I can accomplish so much more (mentally and physically) than I ever gave myself credit for. It has given me the confidence to do group classes. I realize that I am there for me and that is all that matters. I also learned that even strangers will pull for you. All the boot campers yelled and encouraged each other at every workout. Lastly, even though I thought 1200 calories was a little low, I do appreciate that I really cleaned the garbage out of my diet and I will add things back in a little I am going to do my best to stay “clean”

The Garden

Saturday a friend and I started our cooperative garden at her house. I don’t really have a place for a garden at my house since everything is fenced for the dogs. Haven loves to dig in fresh dirt. Nothing would stand a chance at my house. Since my friend has a huge yard, we decided to put our garden at her house.

Saturday we rented a rototiller (this area had not been a garden for many years) for two hours and worked up the ground. I am estimating here but I think it ended up being about 30 feet long by 15 feet wide! We really bit off a big garden area! We shopped for plants and seeds after we returned the rototiller. (BTW the tiller rental was $18 per hour with a two hour minimum. Quite reasonable I thought).

We started our shopping at our local organic coop. They had lots of organic seeds and plants in the greenhouse that were started right there at the coop. They were out of peppers so we went to another place for those. For the most part though, our garden is organic and we don’t plan on using any pesticides either. We plan to both take care of the garden weeding and watering and we are splitting the costs as well as the harvest 50/50. I don’t know my portion of capital investment but I am thinking it will be around $50.

We ended up planting 14 pepper plants, 27 tomato plants, 6 each of cabbage and broccoli, a peanut plant, 6 pea plants, dill, cantaloupe, watermelon plants. We also planted seeds of zucchini, summer squash, winter squash, radishes, carrots, beans, corn, cucumbers, and a few others I am sure I have forgotten. Whew, did I say we planted a garden or did we plant a garden! I see lots of canning of tomatoes in our future.

The long Weekend and Weigh in Report

What a jam packed 5 days off I had. Thursday I visited with old coworkers and did a little clothes shopping and had a pedicure. Friday I was very productive and actually cleaned my garage! I took back half of the pop cans so far and cleared over 20 bucks.

Saturday weigh in was disappointing to say the least. I was up 1.4 pounds. I wasn’t expecting a loss considering last weeks huge loss, but I sure wasn’t expecting a gain! My body is so very frustrating. So, I decided that I was going to take Sat and Sunday off my clean eating. I enjoyed, (really enjoyed) a bagel and a mocha and even made some Fat Free Sugar Free pudding. I didn’t go overboard on calories, but ate what I wanted.

The non clean eating continued on Sunday. I attended the wedding of one of my dearest friends Amanda. Amanda and I had some undergrad classes together and she is also a member of the kennel club. She would often show Morgan for me too. Being that Amanda is a dog person, it was no surprise that the ring bearer was her golden retriever Oakley! The wedding was beautiful and the reception was a lot of fun. Gotta love the open bar! I enjoyed three drinks and it took me a few hours to get to the point I could drive home. I am such a lightweight. I’ve never been much of a drinker, I always preferred to eat my calories. Dinner was prime rib with little red potatoes, and grilled veggies. I even ate the cake that they served for dessert. Certainly not a boot camp approved evening.

Yesterday I worked at my summer part time job as a gate attendant for the county park system. This is one of the most boring jobs ever invented but it is so relaxing. For eight hours I sit on a picnic table and charge admission to the park. I get to catch up on my reading, catch a few rays, and sometimes visit with some interesting people. It is an excuse to just do nothing. No dishes, no vacuuming, no laundry. Just be still. I can even bring a dog with me! I did spend a bit of time doing dips on the picnic table, crunches, pushups, lunges and a bit of yoga.

So back to the grind of work and boot camp today. At least it is a short week. I plan to get to the kettlebell class today. I have boot camp workout tonight and tomorrow night and then the finale party is Thursday evening. I am ready for boot camp to be over.

Vacation

I have a Thursday and Friday off this week. It is the first time I've ever taken more than one day off in a row at this job. The automotive industry is so dynamic and immediate that it seems there is always a fire that needs putting out.

I was supposed to have a garage sale at my house this weekend but with all the time spent on boot camp this month I just did not have the huzpah to clean the garage out too. We'll just put that little task off until next month.

I did manage to drag my ass out of bed at 5am this morning and attend another exhilarating boot camp workout on the sledding hill. More relays, more relays, and more relays up the hill. My legs felt like jelly and my heart felt like it was going to come out of my chest, but I really dug deep and gave it everything I had. Kiersten the trainer must have noticed because she named me camp champ for the day. (She choses one person per workout that gave it their all and had good form in all they did) Way cool.

I must have talked myself out of going at least 25 times between getting home from work last night and even as I was letting dogs out to potty at 5am. Basically I used guilt to get myself moving this morning. Tomorrow I am treating myself to my first pedicure in years. This was my almost done with boot camp reward. I asked my self last night how in the world I could in good conscience enjoy my pedicure Friday knowing that I had willingly missed a workout! Ahhh, guilt. What a universal motivator.

Bottle That Feeling

I had a great kettle bell workout yesterday. There were only two of us there for the class so it was like having a personal trainer. I feel such a high when I get done working out. I feel so strong and capable, like I can conquer the world. Why can’t I bottle that feeling so I can sniff it when I am trying to talk myself out of going to workout (such as tonight)?

Well, I am attempting to bottle it in a way. I am trying to really revel in that mood when I am having it. Saying to myself out loud how proud and how powerful I feel right at that moment. I am hoping that eventually I will be able to recall that euphoric feeling just by thinking about it. Sounds a bit far fetched, but its worth trying. I want to practice being in the moment and acknowledge the sensation of pride that comes with doing the work.

Right now, I am sitting and telling myself that if I go to boot camp tonight, I will let myself skip tomorrow 5:30am workout. (I am on vacation for the next two days so the lazy side of me is telling me that I deserve to sleep in on my days off). No, what I deserve is a strong, healthy body and I’m not going to get closer to that body by lying in bed when I have an ultra peppy trainer waiting for me on the sledding hill to run relays.

The Daily Commute

I drive about 45 minutes to and from work each day and right now I love that it is almost light out at 6am! I really don’t mind the drive. There is hardly another soul on the road, so no idiots or traffic jams to deal with (gotta love rural Michigan). There are a lot of things I look forward to on my drive as well.

First there is “man with no hands”. This gentleman is in his 70’s or 80’s and is a double amputee. He has hooks for hands. They don’t slow him down a bit. He has the most beautiful flower beds (everything in perfect rows). Many mornings he is already out there with his hoe working (mind you this is at about 6:15 am!). Man I don’t look forward to getting old and not being able to sleep in. Many afternoons he is out mowing his lawn on the tractor or working in his enormous garden. I saw him feeding scraps to the dog next door one morning and if he isn’t out working when I go by, the dog is at his door waiting for him. One of these days I have to stop and say hello (and learn his name)and tell him how much I enjoy looking at his flowers each day.

I mentioned in an earlier post about the family that is eating breakfast each morning in their dinning room. It reminds me of a Normal Rockwell painting. Seeing that family around the breakfast table starting their day just makes me smile.

Then there is the sheep farm. I love late May when all the baby sheep are in the field with their moms. There are hundreds of them. Those babies are not easy on the moms when they decide they want a drink though. Ouch! The family has done a lot of work on the old farmhouse and it looks really nice. In the summer they sell vegetables at a road side stand in their yard.

I can’t forget to mention the new buffalo farm. When the buffalo are up near the road I count seven of them. It seems strange to see them in Michigan. They have really big horns.

There is one place I pass that has a collection of bird cages in the side yard. There must be 30 of them. I wonder why. Of course my favorite places to visit are the asparagus farm and the strawberry farm that I have the best produce and great prices.

So yes, I am paying $3.95 per gallon and spend about $70 per week for gas, but I am able to find plenty to enjoy along the way.

Bootcamp Weekend

Well, It sure was easy going to boot camp workouts on Saturday and Sunday knowing that my hard work is paying off.
Saturday we did a little obstacle course on the playground. First we had to weave in between the kids on the swings (they loved it) then go to the picnic tables and do ten step ups on the right leg and ten on the left leg. Then we had to turn around and do ten dips ( I didn’t even know I could do dips!). Here comes the fun part. We had to climb up this little plastic mountain then crawl though a tunnel and go down the slide. The last leg of the course was a short jog back to finish. We did this three times. It was actually quite fun.
We did some bear crawls through our partner’s legs along with some running and clapping push ups and plank holds.
The next half of the workout involved the water balloons we were instructed to bring. We paired off and one of us did sit-ups catching the balloon on our way down and then tossing it back to our partner on the way up. Each time a balloon broke we had to jump up and do ten up downs. In the end we threw the balloons at each other until they were gone.

Sunday’s was on the sand hill at the same park. Lots of hopping, running and high stepping up the hill. Then we had to pull and hold our partner in a suspended position on the swings. Again with the pushups and planks.

What I love about boot camp is that we don’t need any equipment to do any of this. It is just you and your body. There is no excuse to not do this. We only have two workouts this week so I have plenty that I need to do on my own this week. I think the mail box shuffle will be on my agenda.

Weigh in report for May 17th

OMG!!!!!!!!!! I am down 7.2 lbs this week for a total loss of 72.2 pounds so far.

To say I have a renewed love for the torture of boot camp is the understatement of the year. This shit is paying off way more than I thought.

Today's boot camp workout is in a few minutes and involves water ballons! I'll give a full report tonight.

Hoooo Raaaa! Bootcamp!

Boot Camp: Upper Body Outrage

Last night was an exhausting but interesting workout. First we had to get into our accountability groups and confess any transgressions such as cheating on the diet (I did not count my modification of the diet as a transgression), or not making a workout for the week. Then she added up the demerits for all the group and that gave her the number of reps we had to do of exercises. We had a combined total of 68! We started with 5 laps down and back of the playground (probably ¾ the length of a football field) then we did pushups, burpies, a cadence drill, and more laps. The second round of laps required your teammate being on the other end of the field. I would run to her, we would high 10, and then drop for 5 pushups. Then she ran down and back to me, high ten, and then 5 pushups. That counted as one repetition! We had to do 5 of those.

Then we started the actual workout! We did more pushups, more cadence drills and this exercise where you and your partner push against each other’s hands and try to step on each other’s feet! We had to do 5 repetitions of that as well.

Time to move over to the playground equipment. Cool I think I’m going to get to swing. No, your butt doesn’t go in the seat, you put your hands on the seat of the swing and with your feet in one place, push the seat out, so you are using your abs to keep yourself from falling to the ground. On to the monkey bars for pull ups! Here is where I feel inadequate. I cannot do a single pull up. There is no way my arms can hold up this body weight. Your partner could help by holding your legs for you, but it was very uncomfortable and embarrassing. We also had to move our body on the rings which were another thing I wasn’t able to do.
Our workout ended on the ground doing pushups, planks, and reverse planks and playing wheelbarrow with our partner. I wasn’t able to be the wheelbarrow at all. When my partner took my legs, my body just folded up. I held her legs and she did great being the wheelbarrow. I was pretty disappointed in my performance last night. I really felt like I didn’t have the strength to do so much of it.

I really feel emotionally and physically drained today too. I am teary, and I’ve snapped at a coworker today. Plus we have boot camp workouts both Sat and Sunday this week (for Sat workout we are told to bring water ballons). Hopefully, kettle bell class tonight will make me feel strong again.

You can call me "Helga" the Russian

I just got back from my first real Russian kettle bell class. I am fortunate they offer a class on Wed from 1:30-2pm so I will be able to use my lunch hour to sneak in a class. I do wish it were a bit longer. Forty five minutes would be perfect. I worked up a great sweat and was slightly fatigued, but had more in me I could have given. (Boy you never would have heard me say that before boot camp)

This stuff is amazing. Not push every fiber of your being to its limits amazing, like boot camp, but I feel so power full swinging that 26 pound bell around. I am starting to learn the names for the exercises. I am going to have the most amazing legs. Today we did squats, and plies, windmills, cleans, lifts, and swings all with our enormous kettle bells. We did some nice stretches afterwards too. You know me, I like the stretches.

Two of the women there compete in kettle bell meets and did more difficult exercises and with bigger bells than the rest of us. The one girl couldn’t have weighed 130 pounds and her bell was huge (at least 2 times the size the bell I was using). She held it up in the air and did swings with it for over 10 minutes.

I have never taken a group class in my adult life and I realize now there is a lot of benefit to being with an instructor. I like that you get feedback on the exercises so you don’t do it wrong and end up hurting yourself. There were five women there including myself and all were very chatty and friendly. It says so much about my confidence level that I feel comfortable enough to do these things now. I just start up a conversation with someone I don’t know by introducing myself. I didn’t have that in me nine months ago.

If you want to see kettle bells in action, go to You Tube and type in Kettle Bell. The instructor said that there are lots of videos there to look at. If it looks interesting start bugging your local gym to find a qualified instructor and offer it.

No bootcamp workout today. Tomorrow evening we have a group workout called upper body rage. I sure hope I can type when I get done!

Boot Camp Day.????? I've lost track

So last night (Mon) was Lower Body Wow! I went in to the workout with the sciatic nerve on my right side screaming like a Metalica song. Lucky for me, the left side decided to make it a duet shortly after we started the workout and I was evenly matched for pain. The trainer showed me a couple of stretches but basically said if it doesn’t get better, I should see my Dr.

This was the same workout I did on Tuesday of last week and just like last week's workout, it was totally brutal and exhausting. I was in so much pain when I got home. I coated my ass and back of my legs with Icy/Hot and went to bed. (I had never used Icy/Hot before and they aren’t joking that first it’s Icy and then it’s Hot. I thought I was getting blisters on my ass it felt so hot!

Woke up this morning at 4:30am so I would have time to wake up and feed the dogs before I went. I was thrilled that my sciatic nerves were not hurting anymore. I felt great. When I arrived at the sledding hill at 5:30am, it was pitch dark and a bit foggy. I think 25 people showed up. Today’s workout was doing relays up and down the sledding hill. She broke us up into groups of 4 people, which was nice because you got to know and encourage someone you really weren’t familiar with. Just my luck I ended up with 3 super fit marathon runners! It was alright though, they were very encouraging and I do believe I pretty much held my own. I even wiped out once and just hopped back up and continued on.

I lost count after 15 or 16 relays up the hill. Not all running mind you, (I think that would have been easier) instead we did lunges up the hill, reverse lunges, frog hops, shuffling sideways, sprinting, you name it, she had us do it up the hill.

More than once I said as I returned to the bottom of the hill, “I’m done, I just cannot do a bit more.” What was nice about the relays though is that it gave you 30 seconds to catch your breath before you had to do a leg again. Even though I didn’t think I could do anymore, by the time my turn came around, I sucked it up and pushed on. Our workout lasted about and hour and 15 minutes. We finished up with some stretches and a bit of yoga.

As I said yesterday, I have never felt so accomplished before. I keep telling myself I can’t but I still do. Hopefully by the end of the month I will have more of an understanding of truly how strong I am both mentally and physically.

So here I sit at my desk at work, because I am too sore to get up and move anywhere. Instead of going to a coworker’s desk to tell them something, I am sending emails today and the Motrin is not even beginning to touch how sore I am. I would love to sneak into the gym and lie down on the thick floor mat and take a nap. But no rest for the wicked. I promised my mom that I would come into town tonight and take a nice leisurely walk with her after work. Please not the work leisurely. (I sure wish I had my grandma’s walker….)

It's a Fine Line

Boot camp means pushing my body beyond its limits. Pressing on even if I think I am at my end, just a little bit farther. You have your partner, the rest of your team, and the trainer there yelling that you can do it. It really does makes you try a bit harder and feels oh so good when you are done.

So how do you know the difference between when your body has gone as far as it can and when you are being a whiner? I am still amazingly sore from boot camp and kettle bell class last week. This morning is the first day tears didn’t come to my eyes when I squatted to sit on the toilet. My knees hurt and I have a shooting pain down the back of my right leg. (Last night when I got down doing my homework, I felt something pop in my back and my leg has hurt ever since.) What is the difference between sore and hurt?

Tonight is the lower body wow! workout again. I just don’t know if I can do it. But how much of that feeling is my mind telling me I can’t and how much is my body saying I’m going to injure myself if I push this hard again tonight?

I am going tonight; I just think I may skip the whole hopping on one foot part of the program. I tried to demonstrate it to a coworker and it really hurt.

The Boot Camp Diet

We have a very strict diet to go along with our boot camp experience. Well, with some searching, I was able to find the diet online that she gave us. Forgive me if I sound like a snob, but our diet is the 10 day diet that comes with the Turbo Jam DVD's. An infomercial? Really? This diet that I am blindly following is from an infomercial?

Granted she made a few modifications, like instead of certain things each day, we get to chose our meals from a list of choices. She also eliminated one of the snacks that the Turbo Jam diet allows. Basically though, it is the same thing. Turbo Jam says you should only do it for 10 days but we are doing it for the whole month.

I must admit that since I found this out yesterday my confidence in the meal plan has wavered. I am feeling deprived of fruits and vegetables and I am more upset about that than I am giving up all forms of sweetener. Also the combinations are bizarre. One of the breakfast choices is 5 egg whites with a cup of broccoli. Broccoli? For Breakfast? Really? I don't think so.

I've decided I am going to modify the diet just a bit. I am going to add in more fruits and veggies. I will count the calories so that I stay around 1200-1300. I am going to eat lean proteins and very little carbs. I will still stay away from anything processed or with sweetener in it. So no fiber one bars, no skinny cow, no FF sugar free pudding.

Weigh in report for May 10th

First let me say that our Boot Camp trainer, Kiersten was very specific that we are not to weigh ourselves until at the end of boot camp. I did anyway.

I was up .8 pounds today. I am not surprised in the least and I was not the only bootcamp participant that gained this week. Honestly my legs feel as though there are cement blocks strapped to them today. I know that my muscles are inflamed and that certainly explains the gain. I am not detered or disappointed in the least.

Each week we are required to do two bonus workouts with our accountability groups. (The first night we formed our accountability groups.) Today despite the pain, I met with my accountability group for our bonus workout.

Our workout was called the "Mailbox shuffle". You jog for one mailbox, then sprint 3/4 of the way to the next mailbox, then shuffle sideways to the next one leading with your right leg, then shuffle sideways to the next one leading with your left leg. Then you walk one mailbox and start it all over again. Do this for 30-45 minutes. Well, people don't have mailboxes at the end of their driveways in the city, so we decided to do it using full city blocks. (I think it would have been much easier using mailboxes). It was a tough workout, but I did WAY more of it than I thought I would have considering how sore I am.

Bootcamp Day Two

It's 9:30 and my muscles are still functioning so I thought I'd better give my report of our first official boot camp workout titled......LOWER BODY WOW! I am so glad the first workout is over. I get so freaked out doing new things worrying that everyone is looking at me or what if I'm the last to finish......I spend a lot of time psyching my self out of things. But not this time.

The workout was scheduled from 6:30pm until 7:45pm at a local park. Let me tell ya, she worked us every minute. She already sent the group an email telling us to think of her each time we squated to pee tomorrow. (Damn, I wish I could pee standing up.)

Basically we did a lot of interval training. She set us up about 100 yards away from our partner. We then did a variety of things (high steps, lunges, hopping) moving toward our partners then run back to the start. We also did sets with the rubber band things attached to our legs, then switched back and forth with our partner. I really liked that we switched back and forth, it gave us all time to catch our breath. She had us do a lot of hopping on one leg too. It is amazing how much stronger I am on my right side than on our left side.We also did step ups using the picnic tables at the park. I know there was a lot more, but I think the lack of oxygen to my brain is making it hard for me to remember. We finished the session with some yoga poses.

I did it! I really finished the first workout. Mind you there was some contorted faces and some grunting on my part, but I did everything she asked of us. I am strong.

Day One in the Bag

Whew, It's 8pm and I made it through the first day of boot camp.

We didn't have a workout scheduled today, just homework. Oh, didn't I tell you about homework????? Every day we are to do 20 sit ups, 8 negative pushups, a one minute plank, 10 wheels and do a wall sit when we brush our teeth. I am very proud to say I was able to do the sit ups tonight. I tucked my toes under a chair and used my arms for momentum but damn it, I got 20 of them under my belt. Each night I will get better and my abs will get stronger until I don't have to tuck my toes or use my arms. The other stuff is totally doable, just grunt a bit while doing it.


Food wise I did great. Stuck to the plan like glue. Just for fun, I calculated both my calories and points used today. I ended up eating 1400 calories which worked out to be 22 points. I've already got everything portioned and in the fridge to take to work tomorrow.

I also took Leia for a short 2 mile walk. She doesn't make a good walking partner, she always like to walk about 6 steps behind and I end up dragging her most of the way.

So great day one for boot camp.

I mowed my lawn!!!!!!

So what! You may be saying to your self. We all mow our lawns every week. Well, about four years ago, I was so unfit I started to hire a neighbor boy to mow every summer.

Last year, because of John and I working so hard on our finances, we decided that paying someone wasn’t in the budget any longer and so I planned to do it myself. Of course I made the excuse that I didn’t have time to push mow it so I ended up buying a used riding lawn mower. (Mind you I barely fit between the seat and the steering wheel.)

By the end of the season neither the push nor the riding lawn mower was running, so they both needed work. I refuse to get the rider fixed. Instead I paid to have the push mower (not self propelled either) maintained for the season and Monday I mowed my lawn myself with my push lawn mower! It only took me 39 minutes (I wore my Garmin 201) to do all of the yard that wasn’t fenced. The last time I attempted to mow it, years ago, I know that front section took me an hour because of all the breaks I had to take.

So, when I am whining that I am not keeping up with the other people in boot camp, I just need to remind myself that I have far surpassed the me of a year ago both physically and mentally and I will catch up with those people, I just need to enjoy looking over my shoulder at the past to see how far I’ve come.

Green plus: The push mower is much better for the environment because takes much less gas because it isn’t hauling around my ass!

First night of Bootcamp

Boot camp started last night and I was already freaking out yesterday before we met and I am still freaking out. I just keep thinking that she hasn't cashed my check yet, so I could probably get my money back. I am going to give this my all. I will follow the program to the T.

Last night we didn't do a workout, we just did some testing. I was only able to do 16 pushups (others averaged mid 30's). The sit-ups were humiliating. She doesn't do crunches (I can do plenty of those...did 38 in the minute) but actual full sit ups. I couldn't even do one! I'm not even sure of how to teach my body to do them. I was pretty embarrassed. I really wish I would have signed up for the optional prep course that was offered now.

She gave us basic instructions and a booklet with our menu in it. Everything is very spelled out. For example there are 17 different options for breakfast, 20 options for lunch, 14 options for snacks, and 16 options for dinner. We are allowed to choose one breakfast, one lunch, one snack, and one dinner per day.
I’m not sure how many calories per day we are looking at, I haven’t done the math.
Here is what I chose today for my breakfast option. 1 multigrain waffle, 1 cup low fat cottage cheese, 1 cup fresh strawberries and one slice low fat turkey bacon. Not bad, decent volume, and good protein.
For today’s lunch I am having 3 oz chicken breast, 2 slices of tomato, 1 cup alfalfa sprouts, 1 cup shredded lettuce, 1 TBS FF ranch dressing, and 1 low fat whole wheat pita.
Haven’t decided what I am having for a dinner option yet.
For my only snack I will have 8oz low fat yogurt. ONE SNACK????? What am I supposed to do after dinner without my skinny cow? Looks like I will be heading out for a walk or something to take my mind off it.

So, I have to say I am more apprehensive than excited. This seemed like a much better idea a month ago........ It does really show me that I tend to play things safe and only try things I think I will be successful at. Also I don't think I have been pushing myself hard enough. This is really taking me out of my comfort zone which I know is good. The only result will be getting stronger and leaner.

Free movie tickets

Friday morning on my way to work I won movie tickets from our local radio station. The tickets were for Harold and Kumar Escape Guantanamo Bay. I didn't know anything about this movie. I only knew that it was a comedy. I thought they may be some neat political jabs considering part of it was obliviously set at Guantanamo Bay.

Let me just say that if I had actually paid for these tickets I would have demanded my money back. This was the grossest, most juvenile movie for stoned individuals I have ever seen. I am not some 70 year old prude that can’t laugh at a joke, but this was just disgusting, stupid movie. I can laugh at lots of stuff. I just don’t think showing ejaculate hitting someone’s face is funny. The row of guys in the back row with a serious case of the munchies thought it was HILARIOUS!

Until yesterday I have never gotten up and left a movie but ten minutes into this stupid flick I got up (left John there) and snuck into the theater playing Baby Mama with Tina Fey and Amy Pohler. I only got to see the last half but it was cute. I would like to go back and see the first half. After Baby mama was over I went back into the theater and things had not gotten any more intelligent. I think I had to suffer through another 15 or 20 minutes until it was over. Even John (who prides himself on growing up in the city) said it was a pretty RAW movie.

So if you have any senses DON’T go see this. Thank me for saving and hour and a half of your life.

Feeling Deprived....but I Haven't Even Started!

I got to peek at the menu for boot camp on Saturday. We will get our packets on Tuesday, as well as do our baseline testing, but someone got a hold of the menu from a previous boot camp.

There are lists of meals for you to choose from and that’s it. It says at the top of page. Breakfast: Choose one and ONLY one, Snack: Choose one and ONLY one, Dinner Choose one and ONLY one. I don’t remember much, but it didn’t seem to be big portions. It kind of freaked me out. Remember, I’m the person who eats until it hurts (literally).

I have to admit I ate a bit more than I normally would have this weekend simply because I know it will be a month before I have these things again. It’s not like I bought Totino’s pizzas or went really crazy or anything, but I did have a few skinny cow fudge bars, a few hemp brownies (no THC involved), I even ate movie theater popcorn this weekend. Plus I made sure to have my mocha and bagel after my WW meeting.

Now I realize why diets don’t work. I don’t ever feel deprived with WW. I know that I can eat anything I want; I just have to count it. Whereas Boot camp has given us a list of what we are allowed. Just the thought of something being off limits really does make you want it more.

New Shoes

After weigh in today I went to the local runner's store to look at new shoes. I really wanted a new pair for boot camp. If you have any kind of an actual running store near you, please go there for your next pair of shoes.

The sales guy had me take off my shoes and roll up my pant's legs so and had me walk up and down a walkway as he studied my gait. He also had me stand on one foot and then bend that knee so he could presumably check the strength of my arches. Doing this helped him determine if I pronated and what kind of stability I needed in my shoes. It was quite informative. I was there for an hour and a half. Granted he took care of a few other customers as well in that time frame, but he really took a lot of time and brought out a lot of different shoes for me to try on.


I narrowed it down to three pair that I liked. A pair of Reebok, Muzino, and Sauchony. I ended up buying the Sauchony.

I wondered as I paid if I could have gotten a better deal online, but honestly even if I had paid more, the time and knowledge eth at this store gave me would have been worth it. Incidentally, I price checked after I got home and their price was exactly the same or less than places online. The Sauchony website has a suggested price of $110 and I only paid $90 for the pair I ended up with.

I had heard that it is good to have two different pair of shoes for workouts. I was told that the life of the shoe would double. Actually, according to this guy, the life of the shoe will triple because it will get a full 24 hours to recover the cushion. He didn't address if the shoes should be different brands, but I have heard that as well.

Weigh in report for May 3rd

Down .4 pounds today. Must say am a more than a bit disappointed in that number. I kept my points to 24 per day (instead of the 29 I am allowed) all week and had some amazing workouts. But as we all know....effort in does not always equal results on the stupid box.

On another depressing note...... I was cleaning out the cupboards for the annual post office food drive and found 30 cans of food that was all expired (some of it 10 years ago!). It makes me very sad to know that I wasted all that food. Granted this was not all food I had purchased. My grandmother was notorious for unloading her pantry on me every time I visited. Even so, if she gave me something I wasn't going to use, I should have sent it to the food pantry. I vow to not be so wasteful in the future. As my punishment, I did not just throw everything away. I opened each can and dumped out the food and then rinsed the can so it could go into the recycling.

Bootcamp grocery list

Boot camp starts next week and today we got an email from our trainer telling us where to meet for the first group workout and also a grocery list of things we will want to have in our pantry for the recipes that she will give us.

I am really pleased that this is normal fare for my grocery cart each week. I actually eat this healthy all the time now.

Here is the list:

Protein: Fish, Eggs, Chicken Breast, Cottage Cheese, Black beans or pinto beans.

Carbs: Fresh fruits and veggies, beans and legumes, oatmeal, mixed grain bread, whole graine pasta and rice and whole wheat low carb tortillas and pitas.

Fats: Olive Oil, Flax seed

Dairy: Low fat shredded cheese, skim milk, yogurt.

Produce/Misc: Marinara sauce, balsamic vinegar dressing spinach romaine lettuce fresh fruits and veggies (notice she got that on the list twice...) bolt house smoothie mix.

New Cravings

I have had great workouts this week in the gym.
I am back to lifting weights and it feels so good to feel that fatigue when I am done. I really do get a "high" when I am done. Today I did 30 minutes of hills on the treadmill (while watching Workout on Bravo) and then lifted. As I was near the end of my workout I was thinking about what I should have a post workout snack.

Are you sitting down for this one????
I was craving YOGURT AND STRAWBERRIES. You heard me right, YOGURT and STRAWBERRIES. Not the ding dongs that taunt me from the vending machine that I walk by on the way to my car, not the fiber one bar sitting in my drawer, YOGURT and STRAWBERRIES!

Guys, I really think I am changing.