Weigh Day (week fifty-five)

I am feeling *far* better this week than last.  All of my “extra” weight went away, and I finally saw the downward trend I have come to know and love.  I do still believe that I need a new scale (or new batteries) because I am still running into some inconsistency issues…which are frustrating!

I began my new routine (designed by Denise and Dorsey) this week.  It is more regimented than I am used to, but change is good, right?  This is what my week looked like:

Monday – Back & Biceps (weight lifting)
Tuesday – Spin (cardio)
Wednesday – Legs (weight lifting)
Thursday – Zumba (cardio)
Friday – Chest & Triceps (weight lifting)

Thankfully, the issue with my left foot seems to be improving quickly.  I was still able to do spin on Tuesday (without standing on the bike, though), and leg day was no problem.  Even Zumba went off without a hitch (although about 3/4 through it I cut back on the amount I was jumping).  I have been consistently icing it and keeping it elevated when I sit down.

So, my weigh in for the week:

197.2

Not too shabby, huh?  That is a full four pounds down from last week, and two pounds down from my previous lowest weight.  This makes me happy.  Especially since I am in Grumpy’s Coffee Mug Challenge.  I need to kick some butt, folks.  The challenge runs until October, so I have some time to really ramp it up…which I will be doing.

-Erica

Weigh Day (week fifty-three)

“There’s a first time for everything.”

That is a saying that comes to mind today.  Today is a first for me (as far as I can remember, anyway).  When I weighed in today, I was UP from last week.  I do believe that in 53 weeks this is the first time that has happened.

200.2

I would be totally hysterical right now, but I have a funny feeling I know exactly why I am up.  Let me count the ways:

1. I lifted heavy weights this week with very little (to no) cardio.

2. I stopped logging my food in my journal (big no-no!).

3. I was in the gym only twice this week (Monday and Wednesday).

4. I ate a very good dessert yesterday at a family reunion…and I do not feel bad about it, nor do I regret it.

I am coming to understand that my body is *extremely* sensitive to lifting weights.  Monday I lifted on my own (focusing solely on my arms and shoulders), and I ate well.  Tuesday morning’s weigh in had me up several pounds.  I knew I had not eaten an excess of 14,000 calories to truly pack on those pounds, though.  So, I was not worried.  Wednesday morning’s weigh in had me down a couple of those pounds from Tuesday.  That night I focused on strength training with Denise.  Thursday I was back up a little over a pound from Wednesday.  I was also *extremely* sore Thursday and Friday…and Saturday.  My legs took a beating with Denise.  Yesterday had me back down a couple pounds (hovering right around 199.6 to 200.6).  After yesterday’s sedentary nature (sitting around with family…and tables full of food), I knew I was not going to drop under that 199.2 from last week.

In one way, I do find it frustrating that I am not down for the week.  However, in another way, I find it almost absurd to beat myself up over this.  First of all, I am up only a bit.  Second of all, I know that at least part of that is muscle…has to be.  So, for this week I am going to cut myself some slack (very little, mind you) and we will see what next week shows (which better be a loss).

My plan of action:

1. I will be in the gym every day this week.
2. I will be careful not to let cardio go unnoticed again.
3. I will start logging food again (seriously cannot believe I stopped doing this).

With those three things in place, I should be back on the road down by the end of the week, and I will be able to take this hiccup in stride.

How do you handle hiccups in your path?

-Erica

Weigh Day (week fifty-two)

This is my 52nd week weighing in.  It is absolutely insane to think how much things have changed since my first weigh in.  Of course, today does not mark (officially) one year since I began this journey.  That will happen on Tuesday (July 10th).

This week has been fairly boring.  I went to the gym a few days for cardio, but since Wednesday was a holiday my weekly training appointment was missing.  I lifted a *tiny* bit of weight this week, but nothing that even made me remotely sore the next day.  Bummer.

As for my weigh in…are you ready for this?

199.2

A 2.2-pound loss from last week.  Can you dig that?!  I am *finally* under 200 pounds!  This is the first time I have been under 200 pounds since I was a teenager!  Seriously.  To say I am excited would be the understatement of the year.  Elated.  Speechless.  Excited.  And so much more.

Going forward things are going to change a bit, I think.  I still have weight to lose, of course.  My initial goal weight is 185 pounds, so I still need to lose 14.2 to get there.  However, instead of focusing solely on the weight loss, I may start getting more into lifting weights…building the lean mass.  I know this will (in a sense) stall, or significantly hinder, the numbers dropping on the scale.  However, I want to make sure when the weight comes off, my body looks good…and toned (and strong) muscles is what I need for that.

Over the last couple months I have been lifting less and less…and doing more cardio and endurance exercises.  And I have been fine with that, of course.  I want to lose the weight, and I want my endurance to be high.  Now, though, that I have relatively little weight to lose (compared to what I had to lose before), it makes sense to really kick it up on the weight-lifting front again.

This will also give me an opportunity to put some things I am learning into practice.  In order to build a lean, toned muscle structure, you need to work toward myofibril failure.  That means lifting 80-85% of your 1RM (the absolute most amount of weight you can successfully lift only once).  With such a heavy, intense weight I will be limiting to only 4 to 6 repetitions.  This will do a couple things: build muscle (of course), and strengthen/increase my fast twitch fibers.  That is something I really want also.  As of right now, I am mostly slow twitch (endurance).  I want that explosive, raw strength…and that comes from fast twitch muscle fibers.

Please do not be mistaken…I am not looking to be a body builder.  I am not looking to bench press 150+ pounds.  I just want to be lean, toned, and strong…for a girl.

So, this week I will be determining what my 1RM is for various exercises and developing a plan to maximize my weight lifting.  That is my short-term goal for the week.  Of course, my longer-term goal is still to get these last 14.2 pounds off this body.  My goal is to accomplish that within the next two months (by September 1st).  The other longer-term goal I am working toward is, of course, to get my personal training certification.  That should be right around September 1st as well.

What short- and long-term goals are you working toward right now?

-Erica