Daredevil Fitness - The Results

I did it! I exercised in Manville in my spiffy sports tank, and this photo is proof.

It's also proof that I need to continue exercising regularly, especially that pesky midsection, but that's kind of the whole point. And finally, it's proof that I've come a long, long way.

There was almost no one in the gym for the duration of the workout. One guy was in Manville, and he was mostly watching TV. Every now and then he'd lumber over to a weight rack and lift a gazillion pound barbell a couple of times, then he'd go stand in front of the television again. I really don't understand the rationale behind that method, but lots of guys do it and what do I care anyway? It's only the ones who scream while they're lifting that bug me.

But thank goodness for ESPN and plasma tv's on every wall. My chubby bellied-sports tank and I were way under the radar.

I had a good workout that lasted about as long as the trainers' workouts with me. Not surprising, considering I patterned it after Trainer Kevin's workouts, which I enjoy immensely. The goal was a full body workout, and I think I got there. Mostly.

Here's what I did:
Warm up (straight from Kevin's workouts):
wall sit - 30 seconds
wall pushups - 12
body weight squats - 12
wall pushups (close hands) - 12
front-to-back lunges - 5 each leg

Then the workout (3 sets of each, with reps x weight, or count, listed)

Lunges with weights (split between static, front, and back lunges) - 10x10, 10x12.5, 8x12.5 (I tried 15 on the last bit, but...no.)
Shoulder presses - 12x12.5, 10x15, 10x15
Jumping Jacks - 30 each round

Rest 90 seconds (jumping jacks wear me out)

Squat Curls - 10x12.5 3 times
Lat Pull downs - 12 x25, 6.x40, 12x25 (there was nothing between 25 and 40, so I thought I'd give it a try. Too much.)
Incline Flys - 12x12.5 3 times

Rest two minutes, but I spent most of it walking around trying to find a pull-up place. I did!

Hanging leg raises - 8, 8, 10
Pull-ups - 8, 8, 10
One-arm rows - 10x20, 10x25, 8x30

Rest 90 seconds

Face pulls - 12x15, 12x20, 12x25 (double-handled rope on pulley, right up to the face, arms up high)
Situps on the ball - 20, 3 times

Some stretching, a bathroom break, more water, and then 11 minutes of elliptical.

And that was my workout. According to my heart rate monitor, I burned about the same number of calories as a trainer workout, so I was pleased. I felt tired, but I wasn't exhausted at the end. I think maybe I was a little too careful, but I definitely didn't want to try to blaze new trails my first time out. Survival was the biggest goal. :)

I'm also not sure about the mix of exercises, which ones it's better to group together. That was another reason I didn't want to push too hard: what if I had some toxic mix of chest and bicep exercises that would paralyze me or something? I'll show this to the trainers on Monday and see how they grade it. (I'm going with a B+ myself.) Your input is welcome as well.

Besides working 10 hours, that's how I spent my 4th. I hope you had a wonderful day!

HYC Follow-Up and Class Mini-Report

You all sure know how to make a girl's heart sing! Thanks for the great feedback on this week's check-in! Following up on a few items...

Val, I think you might be on to something. It is probably that I'm doing it "the easy way"--proper portions, healthy foods, and exercise--which I didn't really think would work this well. :)

Katy and Skinny Inside, I wish I knew the final magic number--the weight charts are all over the place. My BMI is under 20 (still waiting for final assessment results), and I'm not sure what that means, if anything, in determining my ideal weight. At least a dozen people have told me not to lose anymore weight, but I still see the flabby stuff and can't help but wonder if it's possible to lose some of that flab if I lose a few more pounds. I just don't know what's the right thing to do. That's why I'm going to play around with setting my own goals (kind of try them on for size, if you will) but to be honest, if I don't lose another pound from what I weigh now, I'll still be satisfied with my results. For fun and entertainment, though, I've decided that I might be about 7.4 pounds from goal #1, 12.4 pounds from goal #2, and 17.4 pounds from goal #3.

It would be soooo cool to reach one of these goals, decide I'm too thin, and then have to actively try to GAIN weight. Something tells me it wouldn't be that difficult. :) Well, unless I was all healthy about it.

In case anyone has ever wondered why I don't post my actual weight on my blog when I have posted it in comments on your blogs, it's because I let some folks at work in on my blog link, and while I think I trust them, I'm a bit anxious that somehow the link might get spread around. I really don't want to sit across from a bunch of folks at a meeting and have them know what I weigh at any given moment. I'm not trying to hide anything here, so if you think it would help you to know where I started and where I am now, or if you're just plain ol' curious, drop me an email at cammysaid (at) gmail (dot)com and I'll spill. (There will, of course, be a slight charge for the information. Just to cover shipping and handling, you know.)

Deborah, you flatter me! You're also afraid of me and know that if you drop it all now, I'll just hop in my car and come to the mountainside. :) Seriously, you've come so far (over halfway to your goal). You're in it to win it, as they say, and I truly don't think there's anything that can stop you.

Pattie - I thank you for the offer of construction assistance, and while I hope I don't need the help, I'm awfully grateful it's there! Thank you.

Grumpy Chair - I haven't read Thin for Life, but I added it to my reading list tonight. The instructor in my nutrition class (more about that in a minute) recommended it. Two recs in one day will probably get it boosted up in the order. Thanks!

Those of you who commented about reaching goal range, well, let's just commit to sticking together on this thing. There's safety in numbers, or so I hear. :)

Thanks again for the wonderful comments!

On to the class! Who can guess what's unique about this picture? Besides the subject. (tee-hee!)


Give up? Okay, I'll tell you. When I walked into the room and saw these chairs, my first thought was, "Oh, shit." (Sorry for the language, but it's what I thought.) Many a miserable hour of my life has been spent crammed into one of these things. I used to pray for a lecture-style classroom with regular tables and chairs and would always cringe (and head for the back of the room) when I discovered this sort of classroom setup.

But that's over. For the first time in 30 years, I fit in a classroom chair. No spillage, no squished bits, I could even turn around and look behind me. I could freaking breathe. I was so excited that I asked a nice lady named Eileen to snap a photo to commemorate the occasion. ::is a nerd:: Besides, I needed a new photo to go with my new bling, which I forgot to update until midday. ::is a scatterbrained nerd:: Anyway, this is my -92.6 lbs picture to go with my new bling.

Now are we ready to talk about the class? Well, no, not really, because the instructor didn't cover much we don't already know. As a nutritionist, she follows a middle-of-the-road approach, especially with a diverse audience like a classroom setting, and pretty much follows the standard food guide for us average bears. She's also a bit of a Vitamin D freak, believing that we don't get nearly enough. I'll find out more about that next week. Tonight she mainly covered macronutrients (carbs, protein, fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and how our bodies use them. I did take notes and will try to get them transcribed and posted later in the week for discussion and debate. I'm out of time for now.

Hope you're all having a great week!

HYC Update - Week 18

The extra two days until weigh-in paid off! Can you believe this?

Surprise Bling!!!

I stepped on the scale tonight and could NOT believe my eyes. Minus 1.7 pounds for a total of 85 lbs.! Talk about your "something wonderful". LOL

At some point over the past few months, I decided new bling equals new photo, so here we go:

This is Christmas 2004 compared to last week. I don't mind sharing with you that this one hurts a little.

Okay, a lot.

But that's the way it was. I have to quit thinking of that self as a failure and remember that she was simply someone who hadn't found her way yet. She didn't quit trying, even when she wasn't successful. And she had a nice smile. :)

Someday I'm going to have to deal with all that, but for tonight, I'm tapping into my inner Scarlett and pushing it off until another day.

Yet another wonderful thing that happened was that yesterday's post brought some new visitors to my blog! I thank you for stopping by, and I'm very much looking forward to checking out your blogs!

And for you "old regulars", I hope you know I adore each and every one of you! Your support and enthusiasm and good humor are the best bling of all!

I hope you're all having a wickedly wonderful week! I'm trying to catch up on the check in, so please forgive me if I haven't checked you out yet. I'll be there eventually! :)

~

Healthy You Challenge Update Week 14

It was a little bit of a deja vu moment. When I stepped on the scale tonight, I went through the exact thought process I did on Friday night. Stared down at the result and then thought, Nothing to do now but keep on doing what I'm doing. I actually appreciate the sameness--the routineness--of it. Consistency, that's the word I'm looking for.


Well, okay, tonight there was one difference. I showed a 1.4 pound loss from last Monday! You know what that means, don't you? BLING!! I earned my 80 pound badge!


While I did take a moment to savor it, I had to hustle out to my workout. Consistency. I've never had a lot of that before. :)


To commemorate this auspicious occasion, I offer a glimpse at the difference 80 lbs makes:

These are head shots for my work profile, so you'll understand why I'm not at my best. :) The photo on the right was taken a couple of weeks ago, just after I'd finished leading a workshop all morning (to explain the somewhat washed-out look *G*). The photo on the left is somewhat embarrassing, but I try to focus on my smile and remember that I was (and am) a mostly good person no matter the size.

(edited to fix photo size)
I thank ALL of you so very much for your amazing support, always, but especially these past few weeks while I truly tippy-toed my way to new bling. We can all exhale now; I think the next one will be a while coming. And that's okay. Nothing to do but keep on doing what I'm doing. :)

Also a thank you for the well wishes on the dental dilemma. My dentist called in an antibiotic today, and I'm already feeling much relief! I may even sleep!

Fingers crossed that everyone had a successful week, on the scale or beside it!

Go Tigers!

~

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Memories

The lovely Eva asked about progress pictures. As in, where are they? Good question.

The problem is that I don't have many before pictures. I didn't hide from the camera; I fought like a wild cat on crack to avoid having my photo taken. It would be a permanent record of my failure, you see, captured for eternity for all to see my shame and misery.

But then a very wise woman--thankfully, a friend of mine--wrote a beautiful little post in a forum we belong to, about mourning the loss of a friend, a large woman who never allowed her picture to be taken. My friend was so sad not to have a single photograph from all the wonderful times they'd shared. I've almost forgotten her beautiful smile, she wrote, and the way her eyes sparkled when she laughed.

Her sorrow was profound, and it made me realize how very selfish I had been. I was all wrapped up in what I saw and felt; I never considered what my family and friends saw when they looked at my photo. Sure, there might be an odd thought or two about my size, or an observation of a particularly bad hair day or unfortunate choice of blouse, but those would be wrapped in love and compassion and good memories.

Because the people who love us, love us for our hearts and minds and smiles. Our outer selves aren't as important as the good memories photographs evoke. And the people who don't love us...well, what they think doesn't really matter, especially if all they're going to see is a size.

I'll honor my friend by encouraging anyone who's hiding from the camera to give the gift of memories to your loved ones. Have your photo taken and smile like you're happy you're alive, like you're someone who's loved, like you love yourself. The people who love you deserve to see that. (You do, too!)

I'm a little better about photos now, but only a little. It's all a process, and I'm making progress. I have a few pictures here and there, and no recent ones. But when I win my January challenge and go for a makeover, I'll tote my camera with me and see what I can do. :) Meanwhile, here's a before and during:



The one on the left was a couple of years ago, and the one on the right was last October. I was somewhere around the 45 lb. mark, I think, and wearing a "before" shirt. I don't see a huge difference, except in the size of my smile. :)

I'll probably always be self-conscious when I have my picture taken, but I'm beyond the avoidance stage now. I yam what I yam, as Popeye said, and I want the people I love to remember me, especially my smile.