Breathing a Bit Easy

Recovering from this bronchitis has been really draining. However, today things finally started to feel more normal. Today's CrossFit session was just what I needed -- I didn't do the 5-min skipping warm-up because I didn't know if my lungs were ready. However, I did all the other workouts.

My chest presses improved with me able to complete the 5th set (of 5 sets/5 reps) at 40 kg. I still needed a bit of assistance, especially for the last two reps, but it was better than Saturday! We also did incline chest presses, and I was glad to see a slight improvement on those too from Monday's session. I did my final set of 5 reps with 35 kg!

The Coach was going to give me an alternate exercise for the skips in our WOD, but I wanted to try it. I'm happy to say, I succeeded - I was a bit slow, but I still did it all.

Today's WOD:
15 minutes, AMRAP

6 Military presses (20 kg)
40 skips
6 pull ups (needed to use the black band and still I'm really, really, really having difficulty with these)
6 squats (40 kg)

I managed to do 7.5 rounds.

The after party was:
1 min burpees
1 min knees to elbows
1 min crunches
1 min leg raise hold
1 min plank pose hold (I sucked at them!)


I'm just glad I survived without coughing up a lung or feeling really dizzy/ill. Taking a week off cardio to get some rest was frustrating but definitely worth it. Now I've just got to work on rebuilding my cardio strength and endurance.

The week's menu is planned, and the monster fridge is packed with fresh produce! Things are finally falling into place.

Get Fit, Feel Epic - Week 1

Goals, goals, goals!

I'm a bit behind in joining the Get Fit, Feel Epic challenge - but I guess it's never too late to rethink your goals and come up with strategies to achieve them. This challenge is being hosted by Rebecca over at Weight Wars.

So, here are my five goals to work on over the next eight weeks.

1. Complete the C25K program

I have already started the C25K program, and I'm at Week 4 at the moment. I haven't run in ages now, and I'm still taking it easy because of my bronchitis. However, I do want to finish the program within this 8 weeks. If I pick up at week 4 from next week and work on it consistently, then I should technically be able to start the bridge to 10 K program, but let's see how it goes. For now, my target for the 8 weeks is to complete the C25K program.


2. Start my Fitness Nutrition Certificate studies and complete 4 chapters

I have always had an unhealthy relationship with food. At first, I hated eating and would go through binge/purge cycles. Then, I cut my calories in order to lose weight. I was successful, but then I realized that what I was eating may have been low in calories, but it wasn't healthy food. This brings me to where I am now - managing both my calories and tracking my nutrition. I have gone from not wanting to eat any food to being interested in food and fascinated by how it fuels our bodies. It is this fascination that led me to register for a Specialist in Fitness Nutrition course run by the International Sports Sciences Association. There are two components of the course. I'd like to finish the first four chapters in the 1st component within these 8 weeks. There's a lot of science stuff in those chapters so I don't want to take on too much at once. If I can do more, of course I'll keep on going. For now, it's just about getting started. {By the way, I'm super impressed with the service at ISSA. They had my materials to me in Kuwait (from the States) within 72 hours of registering for the course!}


3. Work on increasing my core strength every single day

I've never had a strong core, and I think that it was weakened even more after last year's surgery. I'm so much weaker than I was before. I need to change that. I don't know how much internal damage has been done, but regardless of that, I know that if I want to improve my core strength, then I've got to do the work. I've come up with a daily routine that focuses on different core exercises - e.g. plank pose, prone jackknives, and bicycle crunches. I'm keeping it simple to ensure that I do them daily.


4. Do a minimum of two yoga/pilates/Body Balance session per week

I've missed yoga/pilates/Body Balance. I think I've lost a lot of flexibility. I'm sure that getting back to these classes will help me regain that flexibility and also improve my balance, which I think is really important as I lift heavier and heavier weights.


5. Complete my 4 week Gleason's boxing training program

It feels like ages since I had a boxing workout. I really need to get back into the swing of things. I've got a set 4-week training program that I'd like to complete over the next 8 weeks. I know that 4 weeks is only half the time, but I've got to figure out how to schedule my boxing with CrossFit. Plus, after I'm done I can always move on to other things.


So there you have it - my goals for the next 8 weeks.

I didn't put any food/nutrition goals because I'll be participating in the Whole Life Challenge starting from Sept. 15th. Getting through that will be tough enough! I also didn't put any 'I want to lose x number of kg by the end of 8 weeks.' I honestly don't know what that number should be. I just want to keep losing weight each week and make sure my daily habits are such that lead me in that direction.

The biggest trick will be in the planning. I've got to get my scheduling right so that I can get it all done.
Fingers crossed!

The added task for Week 1 is to do something that makes you feel amazing ...

Well, exercising and eating healthy makes me feel amazing. Each day it's getting easier and easier. One of the toughest things to cope with was that although D has always been supportive of my efforts, he wasn't on the same page as me in terms of daily exercise and watching my calories/types of foods etc. However, that has recently changed and I tell you, it feels AMAZING.

He's joined a gym; he'd rather have homemade lunches than prepackaged stuff. He's so much more interested and involved. This has prompted quite a big change in our household. We're investing a bit more in our health - buying fresher ingredients, being very cautious about processed stuff ... and hopefully ultimately this will lead to us using healthier tools (e.g. cutting boards, bowls, saucepans etc.) to make the most of our food. This transition started today with the arrival of my massive monster fridge. We chose it two days ago and it arrived today - I am super excited to fill it up with tons and tons of fresh produce.

This recent change has definitely been amazing :)

Me and my monster fridge :)

I'm in love ;)

Noticing Things

This semester I'll be teaching an 8 a.m. class which means that I'll need to be up and out of the house early. That's not really a problem for me as I've found I really like the quiet of the early hours of the day. It's time I have to myself to warm up for the day and get focused.

As I went through my day yesterday, I noticed a few things that really need to be changed:

1) I can usually get what I need to do done without rushing -- unless I sit at the computer. That's when I get distracted by email, blogs, Facebook, etc.

Solution: Finish all my morning rituals before sitting at the computer. If that means no computer time in the morning, then that's the way it'll have to be.

2) I eat breakfast around 6 or 6:15 a.m. By the time 9:30 rolls around, I am hungry. I took an apple with me to work and that helped, but then by the time I got home yesterday at 12:30, I was crazy hungry. The type of hungry where pretty much anything will fly into my mouth.

Solution: I need to keep something to eat at the office to keep me from buying something completely unhealthy and off plan. I also need to have as much of lunch prepared as possible. That way I can come home, put whatever is for lunch in the oven or on the stove, and change etc. The key is to stay busy until lunch is ready. Otherwise, I know that I'll munch on something. Of course not having junk food in the house helps, but even grazing on almonds and raw cashews adds up!

3) I had a plan for the day, but then at some point, I strayed from my schedule -- resulting in some things not getting done.

Solution: Make a plan and stick to it. Streamline the plan to essentials for that day and then have a second list of things that need to get done but not necessarily on that day. Maybe a weekly plan. That way I don't feel too overwhelmed or disappointed when I don't get things done. [This could be applied to food too.]

4) I need more sleep. I didn't sleep well the night before and I think that affected my cough. Plus, it affected my energy level during the day. By 2 p.m. I felt totally wiped out. At that point I had already been up for 9 1/2 hours. I really want to try to sleep for 7 hours ...

Solution: I don't think I'll be able to get 7 hours of sleep a night. When I can't, I need to make time to take a nap in the afternoon to make up that 7 hours. This nap time shouldn't detract from my productivity during the day. After all, if I'm getting up early then I should be getting my work done. That would be true as long as I don't fall into the trap of getting distracted by the computer (see problem #1)! 


With each day I hope that I get more comfortable with my routine without any/many setbacks. Right now I'm just focusing on implementing these solutions to make my days go by smoothly.

I did my final but of 'spring-summer' cleaning. My final shoe-giveaway count is 65 pairs. I didn't think I'd be able to get rid of so many, but I'm happy that I have. I'm still a shoe addict, but I'm going to try and be a bit more sensible with my spending. I'm going also try to implement a 1 in 1 out policy. No promises though.

I got rid of more clothes and am hoping that what I have left in my closet will be enough to get me through this semester. I'm going to try to resist shopping for clothes the rest of this month. Even though I've got a few skirts that need tops, I don't need anything urgently. I've got to work with what I've got.


Looking back at everything I've just written I guess it all boils down to staying focused and finishing each task that I set out to do.

That's definitely the attitude that I took into the CrossFit box today. I still wasn't feeling 100% myself. I have to admit that I felt lousy not participating in each one of the exercises that the other girls were doing -- but I had to shake it off.

I did have a good workout.

Incline chest presses - haven't done those in months! I forgot how much harder they were than regular chest presses. The maximum I managed to lift was 30kg.

Then I did a routine that has my shoulders totally sore at the moment -- military presses, push presses, and then, for the first time ever, split jerks. Military presses were so hard - I only managed 20 kg; push presses were better; I went up to 30 kg for my reps. I was a bit nervous trying the split jerks, but found that it was much easier than what I had imagined. It was all about focusing on the task at hand - not worrying about all the things that could go wrong but rather focusing on what I could do. I finished my last set of 3 reps at 35 kg. For my first try at the exercise, I was happy with that.

I also did 5 sets of 5 reps of dead lifts -- I did my last set at 80 kg (176 lbs). I was really happy with that :)

While the others were doing their WOD, I alternated between kettlebell swings and hammer/tire swings. I've always wanted to do them. Totally loved the feeling!

So even though I wasn't feeling 100%, I went to the box and did my workout. At least I know that I gave 100% of whatever I had in all the exercises today.

End of SSSDC and Beginning of a New Semester

Today marks the end of the Summer Sizzle Slim Down challenge hosted by Rochelle. First of all, I wanted to say Thank You for hosting the challenge. I appreciate the time you took to arrange and describe the weekly goals. Plus it was great 'meeting' new bloggers.

I'm pleased to say that I ended the challenge having lost a total of 18 lbs in the past 3 months. I'm quite proud of that number because it has shown me that I don't need to have the 'perfect' conditions (if they even exist) to lose weight. I've learned how to incorporate physical fitness into my lifestyle, even when on vacation. More importantly, I've been able to get a better grip with my food. Even when I've eaten things that were not healthy, e.g. the daily gellato in Italy (yikes!), I also made sure that it didn't escalate to horrible eating all day every day. There is definitely room for improvement. The number I saw the scale is the lowest I've been in over a year and a half. I can't wait to keep on working towards improvement.

This past week's challenge was to cut out bread, pasta, cereal, and rice this week as well as avoid eating out. I wasn't 100% on this. I didn't eat out at all, but I did have bread twice this week as well as a bowl of cereal. It wasn't a craving or anything. I just did it subconsciously. Ooops. Gotta be more vigilant, especially as the Whole Life Challenge approaches ...

I started my new semester today. Today was just an admin day so I wasn't there for long. Actually, this whole week is kinda scheduled as an admin week with student orientation on Tuesday and a diagnostic test on Thursday. However, I found out that due to a scheduling glitch, my class won't meet at all until next week! So other than attending 2 meetings on Tuesday, I basically have another 6 days off until I start teaching next week. Nothing like finding out you have a few more days off to mark the beginning of a semester :)

I didn't go to the gym today like I had planned. I was coughing a lot this afternoon - not sure why as I really thought I was getting better. I wonder if it's because I didn't sleep very well last night ... anyway. I hope I'm well enough to workout tomorrow.

I'm experiencing mega-soreness from yesterday's workout. You that soreness where you can't even unhook your bra without wincing in pain? That kind of soreness ... but damn it feels good ;) Can't wait for more!

Trial Run

Today was the last official day of summer vacation for me. I'm back to work tomorrow after a 3 month 'holiday.' Sure I didn't have to go to work during that time, but man has it been busy. Still, can't complain, I had a great time and I'm lighter than I was when summer started so all is looking well.

Instead of having a lie-in, I woke up early and got started with my day. I weighed myself - the same weight in the past 2 weeks, frustrating, but given the lack of exercise for the past 8 days, I'm glad I didn't gain any weight. I took my measurements, nothing notable to report, and I started keeping track of my food, calories, water intake, and exercise. It's time to take another look at my goals and figure out the best strategy to get there.

I've worked out my menu for the week and planned out my workout schedule. I'll be continuing with my CrossFit training but I definitely need to get some cardio in. C25K is a distant memory at the moment. Although I have jogged in between, I haven't done the program. I need to get back into that. I feel terrible that I haven't kept up with it at the pace I wanted to. I also need to work in my boxing sessions plus at least 2 classes of Body Balance/yoga/pilates a week. I've got my basic schedule written down. This whole week is basically a trial run to see how it all goes.

Even though I wasn't feeling 100%, I was definitely ready to start my workouts today. I think I would have gone absolutely crazy if I missed another day, plus D was more than ready to get me out of the house as I've been using him as a bit of a punching bag, practicing a few punches here and there (don't worry, he's not too bruised!) :)

I went to CrossFit and felt so good to be back in the Box. Since I've been told to refrain from doing any cardio, especially intense cardio, it was all strength conditioning for me today.

5x5 sets of
bench presses (maximum was 40 kg - 88 lbs - but I only managed 3 reps with some assistance)
squats (maximum was 75 kg - 165 lbs; it was my max a few weeks ago. I could only do 1 then; today I did 5 reps without much trouble)
push presses (maximum was 30 kg - 66 lbs - I am still struggling with this big time)
dead lifts (maximum was 70 kg - 154 lbs)

I also did a few push ups and pull ups, but not too many.

It felt really good to lift weights again. Even though it wasn't in the intense, timed sessions that we normally have, I was just happy to be back in the Box.

Well, tomorrow starts a new semester - I've got my clothes laid out,  my gym bag packed, my meals planned, and my playlist ready.

Positive People

Right after I published my last post I read someone's blog who wrote that they had fallen off the wagon AGAIN. Another stop at another fast food joint and not only are the person's life problems still the same, now there's an additional 1,500 calories of toxic shit floating around in the person's stomach. I've left several encouraging comments in the past, but with each setback, it has become harder. I can't bring myself to write - What the fuck. Stop acting like an undisciplined child who has no sense! - I just can't. If you're not accountable to yourself, then what good is a stranger reprimanding you for eating shit going to do? Nothing.

So after months and months of reading about this person finding a deep resolve to lose weight and then soon after finding comfort in a bucket of fried chicken, I have decided that the blog will join the others in the trash as reading those types of entries is bad energy as far as I'm concerned. I want to surround myself with positive people who are trying hard on a daily basis to fight this condition. They take it seriously. They are demonstrating determination and discipline. They are actually going through the process without finding excuses for failure or knowingly sabotaging their efforts with the 'one can't hurt' mentality (because it's never really just one with a food addict).

I've had many setbacks. Obviously, or I wouldn't still be overweight, but I'm heading in the right direction and the last thing I need is negative, pessimistic energy around me.

I haven't worked out in a week now and I am going insane and driving D insane too. I just trying to hold on until tomorrow. If I can take deep, deep breaths tomorrow without feeling any tightness in my chest at all, then I'll do something - anything!! At the moment, I'm just trying to ignore the fact that yet another day as gone without a workout because all I keep thinking is - I've lost muscle, I've lost strength, I've gained weight, all that work, down the drain --- dramatic, yes, but it's my drama and my current state of mind.

To make things worse, last night I was in excruciating pain from my fibroids [new post on my health issues here]. It was the worst I felt in a long time. We almost went to the hospital, but I just breathed through it - not easy with bronchitis! Today the pain is not as bad but it's been more frequent all day. I wonder why it's happening now. I wonder if the lack of activity plus the contractions from the coughing is affecting me internally somehow. I just want it all to go away.

Ok, enough with the complaining. Got some grilled veggies and soup on the menu for tonight. I just want a good night's sleep and to feel strong and ready to workout tomorrow.

Restless

Restless is actually an understatement.

I've been so cranky about not working out. It's my last few days of holiday before the academic year will begin. I envisioned myself working out, going for swims, and doing nothing but healthy, active stuff before the craziness of lesson planning, teaching, advising, and marking began ... blah. This sucks.

So nothing too exciting going on over here. I'm just taking the time to get organized - working on my menus, especially as the Whole Life Challenge approaches, my schedule for both work and my workouts, and of course straightening up my house.

Lots of de-cluttering going on here and it feels great. Part of it has also been to de-clutter my bookmarked blogs. I've got 4 tabs with different blog lists. My first list of blogs hadn't been checked for a while so I decided to go back to that list and see what was up. Out of the 50 blogs listed, within this past year 4 had been deleted, 22 had gained weight (8 of who had gained over 50 lbs), and 10 had not blogged in the past 3 months, 8 were at about the same weight doing nothing new, and 6 had been steadily losing weight.

Focusing on the ones who had gained weight would be useless and uninspiring. Words like too difficult, impossible, too busy, not enough money kept popping up. I decided to delete those. Actually, I deleted all the blogs off my reading list except for the 6 that had lost weight. What I noticed in their blogs were words like:

• determined
• keep trying
• exercising
• progressing
• positive
• sticking with the plan

Totally different in attitude and tone. Those are the ones who are really motivating and make me feel like - Yes, this may be going slowly for me, but it's still moving in the right direction.

At the same time I thought - Ok, I need to really get moving on this weight loss thing. Losing 18 lbs. over the past six months is not that much especially for how much I've been working out. I know I put in the hours at the gym, but I what I need to focus on is what I'm putting in my mouth!

The Whole Life Challenge begins on the 15th of September. That doesn't mean that it's binge galore until then. In fact, I've been trying to slowly cut things out of my diet just so it doesn't come as a shock to give everything up all at once. I need to be more vigilant about my food NOW. Why wait until the 15th to start to feel better about what's going in my body?

I'm definitely a planner and I like to have things organized before I get started - while it's incredibly helpful having menus and grocery lists mapped out, what's really important is to JUST DO IT! That's where I'm at right now -- trying to stay focused and hope that my inactivity does not lead to an additional pounds.

Some reminders: