Week Five: The "F" Word

FORTY POUNDS

FORTY POUNDS

FORTY POUNDS

FORTY POUNDS

FORTY POUNDS

This "f" word lost forty pounds.  I am speaking of one of the competition.  Supposedly a man of 220 pounds has lost 40 pounds.  This would bring a person to 19% body fat loss.  And me at my frustrating plateau of 189 pounds am at a mere 6% weight loss.  Not only can I never catch up to that, I never want to lose 10 pounds per week for sake of my health and the fact that I would end up a shriveled 69 pounds by the end of this challenge.  So what the flip is that?!?

I can only chalk it up to one this.  It must be false information.

Though I have some catching up to do, I have the "L" and the " R" word in my vocabulary this week and I have not forgotten to continue out of love and respect for my body.  Instead of flipping out, I went to Sports Authority, grabbed the best heart rate monitor they have, came home, pulled out my Paleo cookbooks and decided to take action.  I am now implementing a diet change and am going to work out in the fat burning zone to see if I can move the needle.  

Week 5: 189.2

I have 13 weeks of this fitness challenge.  So I leave you with....

13 letter words starting with F

facetiousness, faithlessness, falsification, familiarities, familiarizing, familisteries, fantastically, fantasticness, fatiguability, faultlessness, favorableness, feasibilities, featherbedded, featherstitch, featherweight, feinschmecker, felicitations, fellowshiping, feloniousness, fermentations, ferociousness, ferromagnetic, ferrumination, fertilization, fibrillations, fibrinogenous, fibrospongiae, fibrovascular, fictionalized, fictionalizes, filibusterers, filibustering, filibusterism, filipendulous, fillibustered, filmographies, filterability, finalizations, fingerprinted, flabbergasted, flagellations, flamethrowers, flashforwards, flirtatiously, floccillation, floodlighting, floricultural, florification, flounderingly, flourishingly, fluctuability, fluctuational, fluophosphate, fluoridations, fluorinations, fluorocarbons, fluoroscopies, fluoroscopist, foolhardihood, foolhardiness, foreconscious, foredetermine, foreknowingly, foreknowledge, forementioned, foreordaining, forepossessed, foreshadowing, foreshortened, foresightedly, forgetfulness, formalization, formidability, formularistic, formulization, fornicatrices, fortification, fortitudinous, fortunateness, fortuneteller, forwardsearch, fossiliferous, fossilization, fountainheads, fractionalize, fragmentarily, fragmentation, franchisement, frankalmoigne, frankensteins, freeheartedly, frequentation, frequentative, frighteningly, frightfulness, frontispieces, fruitlessness, frumentaceous, frumentarious, frustratingly, fugaciousness, funambulation, funambulatory, functionalist, functionality, functionalize, functionaries, fundamentally, futurologists,

Week Four: Fallen off the Wagon

Well, maybe I jumped.  I am not one to turn down a glass of wine or good food and after 3 weeks, I had lost a bit of my soul being so militant.  Zvi is moving to Seattle next week for a program and I needed to celebrate and feed my soul.  So as it goes, I indulged a bit at a wonderful dinner party with great food & friends.  

The truth is, I had hit a bit of a wall this past week and only lost half a pound after so much hard work.  I was exhausted, under-nourished, and picking unnecessary arguments as you do when you're "hangry".  I could feel every bulging new muscle tense up.  In general, I felt "hard".   So I jumped off the wagon into a glass of Pinot Noir.  I feel much more relaxed.

Taking two days off from the gym was also a good decision.  At Zvi's going away party last night I danced my tail feathers off.  I got back into the gym today and I felt better than I had in the last week. 

I had a conversation with a friend this week who was asking about my challenge and what sort of regimen I was on.  I told her about the Weight Watchers and personal training, which we both agreed are not too much.  But when I told her how bad I had felt that week, she told me that she thought I was being too hard on myself.  Her suggestion is to finish this challenge with love and compassion for myself.  I could not agree more.  

My lesson is this - I started this challenge out of respect for my body, to give it health and strength back again.  I plan to continue this challenge respecting my body.  If I am tired, I will rest.  If I am hungry, I will eat.  If I have energy, I will exercise.  I will listen to my heart as it was my heart that got me here. And with love I will finish this challenge strong.  

Week 4: 189.4 lbs.

Week Three: Because I'm Happy

Feb. 15, 2015
 
Y'all, I have lost another five pounds this week.  I am down to 189 pounds, 10 pounds in two weeks.  When we saw my progress, my trainer yelped and I nearly jumped for joy.  I have gone down a percent in BMI (read about BMI here), that's huge in two weeks. I really felt as if this could be possible.  I could lose 30% of my body weight and win this challenge.  I could not be more thrilled so I started working and working and working during my sessions.  So much so that my max heart rate went down.  We had to reset my heart rate monitor with my new lower weight.  My heart was getting younger.  Yes folks, like Meryl Street and Goldie Hawn, I too have turned back the clock.

Though by the end of the week I started feeling a little more like this. (BTW, I so love Death Becomes Her, duh!)

   

By the end of the week I could barely lift a weight so I took it easy for the three days with lighter workouts. I even had a hot dog last night (Oops!).  Today when I went to my circuit training, I felt as strong as ever.  Maybe I won't lose as much weight this week but I felt it more important listen to my body.  And today I had my best workout ever.



I feel so great.  I feel strong.  I feel pretty. I feel healthy.  But most importantly, I feel happy.

I'll probably be showing off these sassy curves in no time.  I might live a couple years longer.  I definitely won't need to ask any man to help me carry a 50 pound bag of flour at work.  But most importantly my head is clearer than ever and I am winning on this pursuit to happiness.


Healthy recipes of the week:

Burnt Garlic and Broccoli

• 4heads broccoli (approx. 1 lb.)
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 2 heads garlic
• smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp. olive oils
• salt and pepper to taste

Toss all together in a bowl.  On a sheet pan, roast for 18 minutes in the oven at 375 degrees.  The garlic should be nice brown and the broccoli should have crispy tips!

Lite Coconut Shrimp Curry

• 1 tsp. oil
• 4 scallions, whites and greens separated, chopped
• 1 tbsp. Thai red curry paste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 6 oz. light coconut milk
• 2 tsp. fish sauce
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 bell pepper large dice
• 8 oz.cremini mushroom
• salt to taste

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium-high. Add mushrooms and peppers until soft. Add scallion whites and red curry paste and saute one minute. Add shrimp and garlic, season with salt and cook about 2-3 minutes. Add coconut milk, fish sauce and mix well. Simmer about 2-3 minutes, until shrimp is cooked through. Remove from heat, mix in scallion greens and cilantro. Serve over brown and enjoy!

Week Two: My BMI

Feb. 7, 2015

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUCCCCHHH!  

Yup, I need a donut right about now and I am not talking about the kind you eat (though I would KILL for one right now).  I am talking about the kind you sit on when your behind hurts.  Let's just say, I am now busting my ass.  Planks, TRX pull-ups, kettle ball swings, burpees, mountain climbers, rows, this list goes on!  All to melt away each pound of fat from my body and build muscle to replace it.  I am OK with this pain.  In fact, I love this pain.  It's the good kind.  And it's my pain that measures success.  Anyway, enough about how I feel, here are some facts.

BMI:

A BMI is a body mass index which is a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meter.  Right now my BMI is a 31.3.  A healthy BMI is 18.5-24.9. Overweight is a BMI of 25.5 - 29.  And obese is a BMI of 30+.   In diagram 1 my body mass probably looks like letter c.  Find out your BMI here.

Diagram 1: 

I am really looking forward to these bones carrying around less weight.  Each push-up is my vehicle to a healthier body.  My *hunger and cravings are lessening, my skin is clearing up, and I am sleeping better.  I can only imagine what I will feel like after 13 weeks.

Results:

After my first week I have gone from 199.4 pounds to 194.  I have lost 5.4 pounds, more than my 4 pounds per week goal. Woohoo!

*Interested in what I've been eating? For a delicious recipe, very similar to my dinner tonight, try this easy salmon cake recipe from Simple Nourished Living.