Being a creature of habit, I love knowing what I'm eating each day, how many calories are in it, and how much of it I can have without blowing my calorie count out of the water. But throw in meals that I can't prepare myself and my OCD kicks in...
Take this weekend. The first half I was awesome and made myself dinner Friday night, worked out Saturday morning, and made myself lunch. Scale said 156.3, which is right about the lowest that I've been the last few weeks. Then I met up with my boyfriend and we had dinner out, brunch on Sunday out, takeout for dinner on Sunday. And we don't eat at places with ANY nutrition info! I can make all the awesome choices I want at these places, but I'm severely limited by the lack of available information. We were at independently owned local restaurants, so looking something up on a website isn't possible.
Usually I make my own lunches during the week, but yesterday and Monday I had breakfast on the go, lunch from a quick food place (Wegmans and Chick Fil A) and Monday was dinner out! Some had nutrition info, and I noticed that really steered my choices in the right direction.
I think a big reason that people tend to go overboard when they go out (myself included), is the lack of information about what they're eating. It's on just about every product sold in the grocery store, why can't restaurants be held to the same standards? Some people say "well, even if I know there are 500 calories in an order of fries, I'm going to order it". That's fine to me, at least you know what you're getting yourself into. But I think for many people like myself, having that information is a big deterrant to making the unhealthy choice. Especially with food that masquerades itself as healthy, but is loaded with fat and calories (I'm looking at you, excessively decadent salads!!!).
So, should all places that sell food be required to publish the basic nutrition info (I'm talking macros of fat, carbs and protein plus sodium and calories)? Maybe it's too much big brother, but the healthy crisis in the country is getting out of control. Having the information necessary to eat healthy is a key step in abating it. I know that if I knew something had more fat and calories than another choice, I'd pick the better option. Maybe it would force restaurants to rethink dishes that come in especially unhealthy.
I'm partly to blame for making bad choices at restaurants, but so many of us eat away from home on a regular basis. I don't think it's too much to ask to know what I'm really eating. Stepping on the scale and seeing 159 this morning was hard, but even when I try to make the best of the situation when eating out, it doesn't always work.
Just a thought that I had today. I really wish the legislation that passed a while back (I believe it's part of the health care law now in contention in the Surpreme Court) was more comprehensive, and went into effect sooner. Our health really can't wait for them to make up their minds...
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
Mirror, Mirror On the Wall...
Why do you keep messing with my head???
I've really managed to get my mind off of the idea that "weight loss equals progress", even though I still weigh daily, I don't put nearly as much emphasis on what the number is. So, I'm trying to measure in other ways like taking body measurements or just judging how I look in the mirror.
Which I've realized is driving me crazier than the scale sometimes!
My mirror at home is slightly messed up, it kind of bends so it looks like a funhouse mirror, and thus I tend to think I look fat. I put on a pair of jeans and a top and I'm convinced my stomach looks puffy. Then the next day I'll be wearing a different outfit and look in the bathroom mirror at work and think of how tiny my waist looks. The inability to put a number on my appearance is oddly stressing me out.
I like what I see with the muscles in my upper body, but I hate the squishy stomach. I like my toned calves and hate my still thick thighs. I think I just need to stop looking at before and after pictures because it's not what I'm going to look like. I don't know if the dreaded pooch will ever go away. Or if my thighs will ever slim down. So instead of shifting my focus away from the scale and onto something more productive, I just end up fixating on something else. And then I see that people were able to go from 200 lbs all the way down to 120 or 130 and I wonder what in the world is stopping me from getting past 150. It's not an unrealistic expectation. I'm only 5'2.5", a healthy BMI is 141 at the top of the range! Have I really screwed my body up that bad in the first 23 years than I can't get to a healthy weight? And no, I'm not considered overweight because I'm packing serious muscle. I have more than the average person, I'd guess, but there's still enough body fat where I could lose 10 lbs and look SO much better.
It's just hard to measure progress without a scale, because my mind plays tricks on me. Between that and the lingering irritation with my inability to get down to a healthy weight really frustrates me to no end. I didn't expect to magically be skinny, but after busting my butt for 2 years, I never thought I'd get stuck before I even hit a healthy BMI. I know I'm not an angel, I still eat unhealthy food on occasion or drink. But I eat my calories, I eat healthy, and I workout 5 times a week. Something doesn't add up... It's just that after 2 years, I really wonder if anything will work.
I've really managed to get my mind off of the idea that "weight loss equals progress", even though I still weigh daily, I don't put nearly as much emphasis on what the number is. So, I'm trying to measure in other ways like taking body measurements or just judging how I look in the mirror.
Which I've realized is driving me crazier than the scale sometimes!
My mirror at home is slightly messed up, it kind of bends so it looks like a funhouse mirror, and thus I tend to think I look fat. I put on a pair of jeans and a top and I'm convinced my stomach looks puffy. Then the next day I'll be wearing a different outfit and look in the bathroom mirror at work and think of how tiny my waist looks. The inability to put a number on my appearance is oddly stressing me out.
I like what I see with the muscles in my upper body, but I hate the squishy stomach. I like my toned calves and hate my still thick thighs. I think I just need to stop looking at before and after pictures because it's not what I'm going to look like. I don't know if the dreaded pooch will ever go away. Or if my thighs will ever slim down. So instead of shifting my focus away from the scale and onto something more productive, I just end up fixating on something else. And then I see that people were able to go from 200 lbs all the way down to 120 or 130 and I wonder what in the world is stopping me from getting past 150. It's not an unrealistic expectation. I'm only 5'2.5", a healthy BMI is 141 at the top of the range! Have I really screwed my body up that bad in the first 23 years than I can't get to a healthy weight? And no, I'm not considered overweight because I'm packing serious muscle. I have more than the average person, I'd guess, but there's still enough body fat where I could lose 10 lbs and look SO much better.
It's just hard to measure progress without a scale, because my mind plays tricks on me. Between that and the lingering irritation with my inability to get down to a healthy weight really frustrates me to no end. I didn't expect to magically be skinny, but after busting my butt for 2 years, I never thought I'd get stuck before I even hit a healthy BMI. I know I'm not an angel, I still eat unhealthy food on occasion or drink. But I eat my calories, I eat healthy, and I workout 5 times a week. Something doesn't add up... It's just that after 2 years, I really wonder if anything will work.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Results!!! - NROLFW Phase 1 DONE!
I've finally completed Phase 1 of the New Rules of Lifting for Women (NROLFW)!!! It was definitely a step outside my comfort zone, but now I've become a regular on the weights side of the gym. Guys say hello, personal trainers help me with my questions, and I get the occasional "that tiny girl is lifting heavier than me!!" glare. Gotta love those moments... I relish in having one attempt to help me like I have NO clue what I'm doing, only for me to adjust the squat rack and load up 135 lbs onto it like it's nothing.
Onto the awesome part... my results! I started on February 27th with Workout 1A, so just over 5 weeks ago. I took measurements and weighed myself to start. Here's the changes!
Change in Measurements:
Waist - 33" to 30.5" (-2.5")
Hips - 39" to 37.5" (-1.5")
Thigh - 24" to 24" (no change)
Calf - 16" to 15.5" (-0.5")
Bicep - 12" to 12" (no change... but I see muscle now!)
Chest - 36" to 36" (no change... phew!)
Body fat % - 29.7% to 28.9% (not sure how much I trust this number though, the handheld device was all over the place)
Weight: 157.0 to 156.1 lbs (the scale went up to 158+ then back down to 156 and now it's hovering between 156-158)
Now for the awesome part... the difference in the weights I started with and the weights I lifted this past week for the last workouts. It's AMAZING to see the difference. I definitely started out a bit light until I knew what I was doing. Now I'm like, eh, what's another 5 lbs? I'll drop the weight down a bit if I can't do it with good form (CRUCIAL PEOPLE! Don't get hurt!).
Workout A:
Squats - 40 lbs to 135 lbs (I discovered the squat rack for workout 2 and jumped up to 65 lbs immediately)
Push-ups - I could do 15 reps with my hands on a weight bench (30 degree incline) and I finished with 8 reps of pushups with my toes on the squishy part of a Bosu ball for added difficulty.
Seated Row - 70 lbs to 105 lbs
Step-ups - Holding a 10 lb medicine ball to holding 50 lbs total (25 lbs per side) of kettlebells
Prone jacknives - I've always done 15 reps of these, I've been trying to keep my legs straighter tho
Workout B:
Deadlifts - 60 lbs to 115 lbs
Dumbbells Shoulder Press - 12 lbs weights in each hand to 20 lb weights in each hand
Wide-grip Lat Pulldown - 60 lbs to 100 lbs
Lunges - 20 lb kettlebells in each hand to 30 lb kettlebells in each hand
Swiss Ball Crunches - 10 lb medicine ball above my head to 20 lb dumbbell above my head
I'm taking half a week off since I'm going to Jersey to see the family for Easter weekend. I'll start Phase 2 on Monday, whoot! That one is shorter, it's only 8 workouts, so I'd imagine it will take about 3 weeks to complete. I'll do another progress blog update after that. My goals for this 3 week period:
- Try to cut back on processed carbs (not eliminate, but I snack on carbs quite a bit, I need more fresh food)
- Try to log on the weekends so I hold myself accountable.
- NOT FOCUS ON THE SCALE! Since judging by these results, it's full of crap, haha.
Onto the awesome part... my results! I started on February 27th with Workout 1A, so just over 5 weeks ago. I took measurements and weighed myself to start. Here's the changes!
Change in Measurements:
Waist - 33" to 30.5" (-2.5")
Hips - 39" to 37.5" (-1.5")
Thigh - 24" to 24" (no change)
Calf - 16" to 15.5" (-0.5")
Bicep - 12" to 12" (no change... but I see muscle now!)
Chest - 36" to 36" (no change... phew!)
Body fat % - 29.7% to 28.9% (not sure how much I trust this number though, the handheld device was all over the place)
Weight: 157.0 to 156.1 lbs (the scale went up to 158+ then back down to 156 and now it's hovering between 156-158)
Now for the awesome part... the difference in the weights I started with and the weights I lifted this past week for the last workouts. It's AMAZING to see the difference. I definitely started out a bit light until I knew what I was doing. Now I'm like, eh, what's another 5 lbs? I'll drop the weight down a bit if I can't do it with good form (CRUCIAL PEOPLE! Don't get hurt!).
Workout A:
Squats - 40 lbs to 135 lbs (I discovered the squat rack for workout 2 and jumped up to 65 lbs immediately)
Push-ups - I could do 15 reps with my hands on a weight bench (30 degree incline) and I finished with 8 reps of pushups with my toes on the squishy part of a Bosu ball for added difficulty.
Seated Row - 70 lbs to 105 lbs
Step-ups - Holding a 10 lb medicine ball to holding 50 lbs total (25 lbs per side) of kettlebells
Prone jacknives - I've always done 15 reps of these, I've been trying to keep my legs straighter tho
Workout B:
Deadlifts - 60 lbs to 115 lbs
Dumbbells Shoulder Press - 12 lbs weights in each hand to 20 lb weights in each hand
Wide-grip Lat Pulldown - 60 lbs to 100 lbs
Lunges - 20 lb kettlebells in each hand to 30 lb kettlebells in each hand
Swiss Ball Crunches - 10 lb medicine ball above my head to 20 lb dumbbell above my head
I'm taking half a week off since I'm going to Jersey to see the family for Easter weekend. I'll start Phase 2 on Monday, whoot! That one is shorter, it's only 8 workouts, so I'd imagine it will take about 3 weeks to complete. I'll do another progress blog update after that. My goals for this 3 week period:
- Try to cut back on processed carbs (not eliminate, but I snack on carbs quite a bit, I need more fresh food)
- Try to log on the weekends so I hold myself accountable.
- NOT FOCUS ON THE SCALE! Since judging by these results, it's full of crap, haha.
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