So the last time I posted in my blog was 6 months ago. Nice.
So the fitness thing actually stuck. I've lost about 18 pounds. Before anyone gets too excited and tries to criticize that in any way, let me just tell you that I still weigh over 120 lbs. By any chart or standard that you want to use, my weight falls solidly within the "normal" range. I was overweight (maybe just good at hiding it) when my little adventure began and now I feel really good. No apologies.
The only reason I post about this at all is to let anyone who's interested know that it appears that it actually is possible to be healthy, fit, and even lose weight without being miserable, hungry, and socially isolated. Yes, I had to count calories. There's really no way around that. Here is the basic secret: there is no secret and no magic. You need to do more strength training, a moderate amount of cardio, and you need to have a healthy diet. The diet part was not easy and sometimes downright hard for a few weeks...maybe even months. But now it feels normal. I did not lose weight quickly. A lot of times I felt like I wasn't making any progress at all, which is where it was helpful to have a trainer to tell me to just stick with it.
(I did wear a Bodybugg device while I was actively trying to lose weight, which was useful because it made it impossible for me to fudge how much I was really burning and compare it to how much I was eating. The Bodybugg was great for me at the time and I was unable to lose weight until I got it, although I will say that now I'm tired of wearing the armband and having everyone look at me and ask what it is. I've ordered a Fitbit Flex, which I'm expecting to arrive on backorder in a few weeks. I tried a Jawbone UP and hated it and sent it back. For now, I'm just using an app on my phone that counts calories.)
I don't actually have a "diet." But if I had to come up with some general rules, here they are: I cut back on alcohol, cut back on cheese, and cut back on processed carbohydrates. I started eating a little more meat - tuna or turkey at lunch, chicken or beef at dinner. I always have some protein (whey or peanut butter) at breakfast. I replaced rice with quinoa and, when I do eat pasta, I try to make it whole wheat. I found a brand of cottage cheese that I like and I put it on almost anything I eat for dinner. I quit getting pastries at Starbucks. I actually quit getting anything at Starbucks other than a plain iced coffee with skim milk and one pump of classic. I have something sweet on most nights but I try to make it harmless - a piece of Dove dark chocolate, a Skinny Cow ice cream bar (my particular weakness). I also drink between 2-3 liters of water per day. It took me months to work up to that. In the beginning, even getting over 1 liter of water per day was a struggle. To make it easier on myself, I squeezed lemons into it until that resulted in me going to the dentist thinking I needed a root canal, only to be told all the acid was making my teeth sensitive. I avoid artificial sweeteners, which included removing diet Coke from my routine diet.
My diet has never been perfect but whenever I feel like I've strayed too far off course, I just remind myself that this is real life and rein it back in the next chance I get. The other week, my mom visited. It was a special occasion and I ate lots of special things. I had also kind of relaxed up the week before then - having a little more wine and eating out a little more with Holland. My weight went up about 3 pounds. So this past week, while I was at work, I got back on track and now the extra weight's back off. Real life.
My first trainer moved on to a different job and now I work with someone different. I work with him twice a week and he has been absolutely essential in keeping me on track and keeping me from hurting myself. I currently try to lift weights four times a week (two days legs, two days arms/abs) and I do cardio 6 times a week. I try to run on non-weightlifting days and on arm days and do the elliptical on leg days. Cardio is best done AFTER weightlifting (not before).
So there you have it. I figured since my last post 6 months ago left off with talk about my personal fitness, it was an appropriate place to pick back up. I'll try to start posting more interesting things, though.
