Bring it On.

Alright-- month 1 of the rest of my life went pretty well. I didn't lose as much weight as I thought I could/would but I did pretty damn good. I got back in the FAT DUNK TANK this morning and since Jan 4th I've gained 1 lbs of Lean Muscle and I've lost 7 lbs of Fat for a 2.1% reduction in body fat percentage. Fat, for the record, is gross. See below. 

The good news? I'm not ready to get off this horse-- I just got back from the grocery store and am ready for a week of healthy choices (minus the Hawks game on Wed :). The bad news? My back is fucked. I hurt it even more on Thursday night while stretching and ended up at a spine doc on Friday. He doesn't think it's going to be a super long recovery but it's not nothing. I haven't worked out since Thursday AM and am hoping to go back to FitWit tomorrow night but will have to be super careful. Argh. Not what I need-- but certainly not going to hold me back. 

Beer for Breakfast?

Do you have friends that say things like: "If I eat anything with fat or carbs my body just rejects it" Or even worse....Do YOU say things like this? It seems like our bodies are quite amazing specimens and will adjust after time to what we do/eat/drink/etc-- so for example, when at the beginning of the year I started eating lots of veggies, lean proteins and healthy fats it freaked the fuck out. Sort of like what some peoples bodies do when they eat carbs or candy or pizza. In fact, my digestive system pretty much just stopped working. But...I was drinking tons of water and consuming green veggies galore...still...no poop. I was working out, sweating, being active...still...no poop.

When I would eat a small amount of grains or drink some beer or wine-- POOP! How is this even normal? I get the whole fiber thing but with my veggies I was consuming a ton of fiber. So the question becomes-- how can I be, ahem, regular-- without having a Sweetwater for breakfast? Or would that be so bad really?

Ok...enough about the bathroom. I didn't get on the scale this week because on Sunday at 11:00 AM I go back to the Fat Dunk Tank....and find out how much or if my body composition has changed in the last month. The good news? I really don't give too many fucks about what it says because I FEEL great. I believe I will have gained a few lbs in muscle, and lost a few lbs in fat. And if that's the case-- I'm heading in the right direction.  And I have no intention of stopping. I'm cooking amazingly tasty and healthy foods, I'm working out (hard), and I'm enjoying things like pizza and wine when I want to-- because LIFE IS TOO SHORT TO NOT. The end.

You can do it put your back into it.

Ok. So I'm back bitches. Last week I made my lists and I followed my plan-- I ate veggies, drank water, worked out hard, chilled out, had fun and stayed off the scale. I also didn't diligently track everything I consumed but I was mindful to eat lean protein, lots of veggies and healthy carbs.

On Saturday we celebrated our friend Dana's upcoming nuptials with a day of food, drinking and fun-- and not once did I fret about it. Did I think about it? Yes-- but I did't fret.

However, we do still have the issue of my back-- somehow in a tumble at the olive bar at Whole Foods a few weeks ago I did something to my back. It's limited some of my workouts and seems to be progressing positively but still hurts. It's made normal things like doing laundry and bending over to pick up ANYTHING an issue. I've been recommended to a master back fixer and we'll see if he has the special touch I need.

Lastly-- I head to NYC tomorrow for a few days of work-- NYC has the ability to make me want to eat the entire world-- so you know, I'll try to avoid completely cramming my face with pizza and cheese and more pizza and cheese and Indian food and wine...you get the point. More to come next week but I feel good-- have great energy and am LOVING my bootcamp. 

Whoomp There It Is.

My mind is in so many places right now regarding my fitness/health/weight situation that I honestly don't know where to start. But right now my life revolves around making lists so that's where I'll start.

1. I felt good this past week. Was a bit lethargic Mon, Tues, Wed but got energy back end of the week.
2. I ate mostly all whole foods-- non processed with lots of veggies and lean meats.
3. I had 1 day where I went to the Hawks game and had wine and a quesadilla and it was AWESOME.
4. I went to all 4 days of Bootcamp and was awarded with Bootcamper of the week! I was beyond proud of myself. (That's me...bottom left, I kid, I kid...bottom right)

Now to the confusing part. On Friday I got on the scale, you know....just to see... and I was down to 212.2 (WOW-- over 3 pounds in just 5 days)....I was on cloud 9. Could I lose 5 lbs the first week? I had 3 days left and the math should make it so.....I've been counting my calories, drinking a boatload of water, and being active-- BRING IT ON WEEKEND. So I played the weekend super chill-- no boozing, no partying, just errands, cleaning, cooking, meal prepping-- getting ready to get on the scale this morning and see 210!!

Alas, I got on the scale and it said 213.4.

WHAT THE FUCK? How is that even possible? I was at a calorie deficit between Friday's weigh in and Monday's weigh in. I did a considerable amount of weight work (and cardio) on Friday but none on Saturday and Sunday-- It couldn't just be a gain in muscle.

I've been given a certain amount of calories that I can eat each day. If I eat just those calories (without any working out) I should be able to lose 2 lbs per week. Then, this week, I was at a 3500 calorie deficit so that should have been an extra l lb... so at the very least 3 lbs. NOT TO MENTION THE INSANE AMOUNT OF WORKING OUT I DID.....you get my drift. It doesn't add up.

For the record-- this is why I absolutely detest that scale. I'm scared to get on it.

I read an article this week about how often you should weigh yourself. I always thought I should do it once a week, at the same time. But this article said, go ahead and weigh yourself every day (as long as you're not a crazy psycho). Well friends, I think I may fall into crazy psycho category.

I'm not going to go on a binge, nor am I going to stop eating but it's all up in my head now-- which is what I said I DIDN'T WANT.

So....I vow, this week:

1. Keep drinking boatload of water
2. Eat lots of veggies and lean meat and little processed food
3. Workout!
4. Track my food but not compulsively.
5. Stay off the scale until next week.
6. Chill the fuck out.

Tag Team Back Again.

Ok folks. It's about time to get back on this horse and ride it until the wheels fall off...or something like that.

My aforementioned Brain Mush has cleared and some things have changed recently....most importantly is that I bought an awesome house and I started a great bootcamp.

Yesterday I went back to the awesome FAT DUNK TANK thing that I did a few years ago in California. The good news? I did it. I showed up. The bad news? Well...where do I start? You see, what had happened was......Cheese. Cheese is what happened. And wine-- that also happened. And a non-consistent work out regimen-- that also happened. And the flu-- it happened. And some family situations-- always seems to happen. You get my point. There is always and will always be THINGS (for a lack of a better word) that get in the way. I'll get back in the FAT DUNK TANK (I'm sure that's not the real name for this thing) on February 1st and we'll see what I've been able to accomplish in a month with my goals being:

1. Drink a shit ton of water. Seriously though. I need to be drinking 108 ounces of water a day.
2. Sleep well each night. 8 hours.
3. Be consistent on working out (go to Fitwit 4 x per week) then hike or whatever on the weekends.
4. Eat real food. The majority of the time. Do a better job with healthy snacks and cutting out non essential dairy and carbs for the sake of carbs. Good carbs are OK.
5. Don't get all Nazi like. I'll have some meals where I don't eat well. That's Ok too.
6. Enjoy life, have fun, laugh, work hard, smile, be kind-- all of that awesome stuff.

Signing off-- to go fill up my water bottle again.
E

Blah, blah, blah, blah.

Brain Mush. Has. Set in.

I've been completely dedicated to trying to learn as much as I can with my new job-- and in return my brain has been unable to think clearly about anything else. I've been obsessed with sleep-- can't get up in the morning-- it's been bad.

At work I've been dedicated, clear minded and on top of things-- but outside of work it's like I'm walking through a daze.

My food hasn't been bad-- and my water intake has been good-- and little to no wine/drinks-- but the thought of working out seems like an impossible scenario that will never happen again. How in the world did I got to 6 days a week-- in a routine-- to not quite knowing how I would drive my car to the gym?

There's even a gym at my new office-- it's very nice. I'm so conflicted I can't make a plan. So...I was googling "how to get out of a funk" and it said that it would help to journal or write things down-- so here we are. I know I can't solve all of this in one day but here are my plans:

Monday- Tomorrow morning I'm working out with Jess at 6:45 am. That's a good start. During the day I'm going to stop by the gym at work and see about my free one month trial membership.

Tuesday- Morning-- go to the gym at work. 7:00am

Wednesday- PM-- 6:30pm-- Energy Lab (bike class)

Thursday- Break

Friday AM - 7:00 go to the gym at work.

If I can do this above I'll be 100% better than I am right now-- hell-- if I can just get up in the morning and workout I'll be way better than I am now.

Ch ch changes.....

So much stuff going on...and lots of working out which is great! I'm on day 53 of the 90 day challenge-- I've repeated a few weeks now-- should be a bit further down the road. But due to traveling and strep throat nastiness it hasn't been as seamless as I had wished. That being said-- I'm almost done with Phase 2. I feel (and am) so much stronger. When I started this fun weightlifting based workout thing I was doing chest fly's with 5lbs weights....now 15. I was doing all shoulder work with 5-10 lbs..now...10-15lbs. I should be able to move up to 20lbs dumbbells next week for some chest and bicep work-- I feel super comfortable in the gym. But...I'm not losing weight. Because I didn't measure myself before I started I'm not sure about inches but am pretty positive that I have slimmed down around my butt and my arms--I can feel it in my clothes.

I also haven't been eating per the plan--- huge surprise I'm sure. BUT....here's where the ch ch changes come in.

Starting next week I'll be working at Turner-- and my travel will reduce considerably. This will allow me to get in much more of a routine in Atlanta-- allow me to cook at home much more-- and make my trips to Whole Foods and Kroger much more consistent that my stops by Arby's on I-24.

More vegetables. More protein. Less cheese.

I've decided I won't do another triathlon until I'm at 190 or less....it's just not a good idea. I need to be stronger, quicker and leaner.