The bird did not survive, but did I?

That's a big yes. Thanksgiving was great but one of the best parts is the fact that I did not over do it! And I lost weight, details below.

The big challenge this week is that I had a massage/adjustment yesterday. My muscles have always been really tight and today I am feeling the soreness of trying to loosen up those muscles and getting things back in alignment. In order to not let my muscles slip back into knots I am trying to have a low activity level. So today and tomorrow will be no workout days. Tomorrow I might do an evening walk with the dogs if I am feeling up to it then. So we'll see.

One thing that I think helped this week were some choices Jacob and I made when we ate out while running errands. Three times this week we ate some Pho. If you don't know Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup with meat and veggies. We really like Pho and it is our most typical meal out. Nutritional facts about chicken Pho: here. Though it is high in sodium, the bulk of my diet is very low sodium, I'm just not a salt girl, so I don't feel too bad about having a high sodium meal on occasion. And you can't deny that its a much better option than pulling up to a drive through and ordering a large size #1 with an XL Coke. I only ever get the chicken variety, or Pho Ga. The beef balls and other interesting looking pieces of "meat" just scare me a little. We actually had a bad experience at one place this week, reviewed it on Yelp. But we made up for it on Saturday with a stop at our favorite spot, Beef Noodle #1 (you gotta love the name).

Time to get focused on progress for this week.

Vital Statistics:
Weight: 183.4
December weight goal: down 5 pounds by 12/31.

Prepping for the feast!

This past week was not as good as the first. I didn't get to the gym as often as I wanted to. Only twice actually. I did supplement the workouts with a Saturday afternoon walking around downtown SF in the rain with my friend Sarah and her little man. Dodging bums and shopping masses has to count for something right? Really we spent more time sitting at Wolfgang Puck's in the Macy's basement talking, but I needed the emotional connection of friendship this week. I've been thinking alot this past week about life stuff which I think contributed to the lack of get up and go I had at times. But the couple hours with a friend meant a lot.

I did do really well with food this week. No over-indulging. However, I wasn't so hot about writing it down this week. After proclaiming the greatness of my little book, it made its way out of my purse and didn't get back in there. It is there now and I'll be relying on that accountability again.

So week one I felt really great about all of the effort I made towards my goals, but I didn't lose any weight. Now that has caught up, despite not feeling like I put in 100%, I am down a little over a pound. And I can feel changes in my body in those little ways that probably only I notice, maybe that's just self obsessing.

Vital Statistics:
Weight: 184.8
Pies on the menu this week: 2 - pumpkin & pecan, just a little taste of each ;)
Group Classes: 0
Immediate goal: Get back to tracking & get 4 workouts in before Sunday.

One week down

Well here we are, one week into this whole adventure. In the last week I have been to the gym 4 times, though I missed spinning on Saturday. I would say that Yoga was a standout from the week. I felt it through my whole body for the next two days after the class. Definitely need that stretch.

Tonight's workout was great! I have already worked my way up to 7 minutes on the stair master. Being at 10 minutes by the end of the month will be no sweat (ha!). I worked on my legs, my back, my arms, my chest, and kept a good pace going the whole time.

This week I am looking forward to Circuit Training tomorrow, yoga on Wednesday, and hopefully I'll make it to spinning on Saturday. Plus my regular combination of bike/elliptical/stair/weight machines.

The thing that I am most proud of is the fact that I actually tracked everything in my fitbook for the whole week. It really is a great and simple way to keep track of everything. I was honest with myself in there down to the last fun size candy bar from the Halloween bowl. After my workouts I sit in the car for a few minutes and write down my summary; it feels really great to be able to look at a little scrap of paper that shows how hard I worked.

Here's to another great week!

Vital Stats:
Weight: 186 (a flat week, but I can feel a difference, so no disappointment here)
StairMaster: 7 Minutes
Spinning classes: 0

Yoga = calm?

Tonight I went to my first group class as the gym. Yoga. Should have been easy. It wasn’t easy, but it was good.

I took my first Yoga class about 6 years ago at West Valley and another semester’s worth at SJSU. Since then I have off and on taken classes with friends at various gyms. So the principles of yogic breathing and moving through postures are not foreign to me.

Tonight’s instructor was amazing!! She was very sweet. At the beginning of the class she looked me in the eye then walked over to introduce herself, since I was obviously new to her class. How amazing that a woman who teaches at more than one gym, and probably sees over 200 people through her classes each week, was able to see the new face in the room and take the time. Later when she came through and gave me a pointer for my posture she used my name. Again after class she found me and asked how I felt and invited me back to her class. Just this part of the experience alone has made me decide that Yoga just might be my new Wednesday activity for the foreseeable future.

The workout itself was great! We worked our way through the postures in a different pattern than what I was used to, but underneath it all the postures were the same. At some points we sped it up and moved through it all very quickly. And at other times (typically right when I needed it) we slowed it back down.

My body feels stretched from tip to top! I think that this class will massively aid in achieving some improved flexibility. And balance! It takes an immense amount of balance to have one foot and one palm on the floor while your other leg points to the ceiling and your other arm is stretched in front of you. Are you trying it yet? Good now hold for about thirty seconds while also taking very deep breaths and feeling the breath move through your throat into your chest and ultimately into your abdomen. Exhale slowly. Feel your breath leave that same path, your navel moves toward your spine, the air moves up, and slowly out of your mouth. How’s that’s feel? Though I had some teetering moments I was able to feel that I stayed up with my classmates.

And for the record I did feel calm throughout it all and afterwards. It is such a great workout in a quiet way so your brain does have the ability to calm a little. You are not watching the tv, or the person on the bike next to you. There is no clanking of weights. Just the instructor’s voice, breathing and some “white noise” type of music.

The end result of this evening was a great workout and a lot of sweat. I have never sweat so much during Yoga. And I was not doing “hot” yoga. I will definitely be back next week!

THE PLAN...

Once again we start a fitness quest. After spending hours scanning old pictures I have come to the decision that I need to change my body.

Now don't worry I know that happiness does not come from your physical appearance alone. But what I do think are these things:

• Working out leads to better sleep which leads to more energy (allowing for more fun), more focus (which can maybe make work more enjoyable), less stress (both emotionally and physically).
• I would love to be able to wear the other half of the clothes in my closet. The things that I bought recently enough and really like, but I was too generous with my size when I bought them or the things that I have just flat outgrown.
• Feeling more fit will honestly lead to those feelings of sexiness and who doesn't want to feel sexy?

Short terms my goals are:

• Lose 5 pounds by the end of the month (this will include surviving Thanksgiving - eek!)
• To work my way up to a consecutive 10 minutes on the stairmaster. That thing scares me! Just a few minutes and it whoops your butt! Right now I can do 5 minutes, which works out to 20 flights, but I desperately need a break, a sweat rag, and lots of water after just those 5 minutes. It would feel like a major accomplishment to survive a whole 10 minutes!
  
• I need to get 7 hours of sleep a night, not 5, not 6, and not 10 on the weekends. Shorting myself on weekdays out of insomnia leads to over indulging on the weekends, and laying in bed until noon on a Saturday is frankly a waste of a day.
• Actually track nutrition because that is a major part of my other goals. I have decided that I don't want to "diet" but I do want to be aware of what I am eating. Frankly I don't think I eat that poorly. Sure I can be known to give into my sweet tooth on occasion and I could use more green things on a regular basis, but I am not at a drive through every day or even every week. I eat home cooked meals with fresh ingredients supplemented by Lean Cuisine or Smart Ones at lunch time or on rushed dinner nights. My past experience with dieting is not successful. I've lost weight before, like 30 pounds. Only to follow the addage of putting it all back plus some. I'm hoping that just an overall awareness of what I consume will help me realize the cause and effect of my food choices without making me feel deprived or limited. (Sorry this goal turned into a tangent.)

Every project requires some tools. The first tool in my arsenal is ME! That's right I can't lose weight and be more fit unless I get up and take control. That is what I am doing starting today.

My next tool is my gym membership. It's within a mile of my house, so distance can never be an excuse. They have an amazing variety of equipment on the floor from cardio to weights to ample space for stretching and less traditional exercises (honestly I'm scared of that area because I don't know how to use it without looking/feeling stupid) and they have a ton of classes on the schedule every week. My plan of attack at the gym is variety. Mix it up and just find a way to use every muscle and get that heart rate moving! Riding the bike 5 days a week will get old.

This blog will serve as my place to cheer, to vent, to groan about muscle aches, and to maybe get some input from you. I will commit myself to this journey in public here (even if no one ever comments or even reads, I am putting these words out there on the internet where they will be forever searchable so I better mean 'em!)

Final little tool is a little book. Its called fitbook and I bought it a while ago on Amazon but never got past day three. Its a bite sized little thing that fits in my purse and gives me a place to track 12 weeks worth of goals, fitness, food, and thoughts.

So in order to know where we are going (or just me, but you as the reader will hopefully follow the journey so I'll stick with we) we need to know where I stand today. Then once a week, probably Mondays (I realize that today is Tuesday) I will finish my posts with "Vital Statistics". After today it'll probably consist of a weight update and a goal update, since the other introductory items aren't likely to change, unless I lose a limb in the stair master.

Vital Statistics for 11/9/10:
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 186
Age: 28
Stairmaster max: 5 minutes
Goal: Get started and stay committed!!

And a disclaimer just to make sure we're clear: I am no fitness/health guru. I am a normal woman looking to make a change in her life and inviting you on the journey.