today was a bad day. let's just leave it at that.

Day 15

soooo, I went to the gym twice today. Once for myself. Once for ZUMBA.

I guess there's not much to report. Zumba today really hurt my knee. It was a different instructor than Monday, and while she was good, I think Jatrine (I think that was her name) on Monday was a lot more fun. I mean, having a "dance off" to "apple bottom jeeeeans. Boots with the fuuuuuuuur" ...yeah, it's a party.

Jenna and Abby both came to Zumba today, though. Loads of fun. I burned somewhere about 500+ calories today. Not too bad, I'd say.

I still feel uncomfortable in my body, but I found a suit that doesn't make me feel like a sausage piece of lard. I consider that a win.

Also, update on weight: Scale now reads 180. Two weeks and down 5lbs. I'll take it.

Day 13

So, I ate pretty well today -- salad, chicken, etc.

But the workout...I went to ZUMBA! Omg if you've never done Zumba, it's amazing. I see why the craze has caught on. I was hot and sweaty, in a room of who KNOWS how many other people, but somehow I felt good about myself. And I'm really glad that Jenna was there with me. :)

Day 12 (?)

I think today is day 12?

So, I'm not going to post about food, cuz well, I'm sure you all don't have any interest in what I ate today. There was oatmeal, steak, fruit...don't know how many calories.

I haven't missed a day at the gym since the upholstery guy. But to be honest, I'm getting really discouraged. I go to the gym and do 30 minutes of cardio every day -- enough to get me into what the nutritionist told me was the "fat burning zone" ...somewhere between the 120s and 135. I rode the bike today until the guy next to me put on headphones and started singing. Loudly. And tappin' his belly like a drum. And smelling. Badly. And then popped open a coke. Ugh. So, I guess 48 minutes is gonna have to be enough on the bike. =/ I did do some weights though. Not too much. Some abs/arm/back.

I keep saying I'm going to go and just run, but it hurts my knees and I get bored so easily. I'm starting to think I'm not going to be able to make the AF standards by the end of the summer and it's really disheartening. I work out and try a lot...pay attention to what I eat. But I still feel fat, ugly and out of shape. I know it's not going to happen overnight, but...ugh. I dunno.

As is I'm still wearing baggy clothes and gym stuff. I wore "real clothes" the other night and felt like a sausage. :(

Day 8 and 9

I guess I'll just make up for both in a larger post.

Workout wise I think I've just been focusing in cardio. I've been going on the treadmill and/or bike for about an hour, burning somewhere between 400-600 calories, depending. I work up a good sweat doing it. I'm not falling over gasping for air, but I do get a good bit of exercise in. I do the treadmill at a pretty steep incline, so sometimes my arms hurt just from holding onto the bars so I don't go backwards. Yesterday I watched Law and Order, today was CSI. Love me some CSI.

I was pretty much dormant for the day, but I had poached egg on toast, a meal bar, apple and peanut butter and made myself a HONKIN' salad tonight. Water as usual, though I did have a glass of fruit juice, too.

My sleep schedule has been kinda messed up, so I haven't been able to make it to the gym twice a day like I normally do, but tomorrow I'm going to be damned and determined to go twice.

Mom said today that the "working out is starting to show" but it's only been a week so I think she's just being nice. I pretty much still feel fat and ugly.

In good news -- I'm down to 181. Hopefully that means I can get down to 170s before the month is over.

Day 7

Workout: Um, I didn't. And I feel really bad about it. I was exhausted this morning so I slept in. The upholestry guy was supposed to be here to pick up my chairs/couch today, as well as my mom's rockers. He was supposed to be here I THOUGHT early afternoon. But turns out he wasn't supposed to come until 3. And then he was running late. And then we ended up rescheduling for tomorrow around 5. Then I was going to go to the gym, before mom popped the "the boys have a band concert tonight at 7." So yeah. It didn't happen.

The food: Two poached egg on toast for breakfast. 1/2 a roast beef sub from Harris Teeter. A stick of gum. A slim-fast snack bar. An apple with peanut butter. Lots and lots and lots of water. I don't know what the calories on that are. I'm too lazy to type it in. =/

It's been a week, so tomorrow I'll update with weight.

Day 6

The workout: So, I didn't do any weights today. Well, I started to do a few weights, but I got bored and I actually decided that I should probably go and do more cardio. So I biked for ~5.5 miles/30 minutes and then decided to walk on a 15 degree incline for another 30 minutes. In total I burned (at least cardio wise) 500-600 calories.

The food: I consumed close to 2,000 calories today. :( I mean, what I ate was good...ish. According to calorie count online I made a B+ for the day on calorie intake.

Fat - 35.9%

Pro - 30%
Carb - 34.1%
Alcohol - 0%
Other - 0%

I'm trying to only intake about 1,500 calories a day though, so I'm going to have to alter what I've been eating. Today I ate shredded wheat w/ milk, a slimfast snack bar, a cob salad w/ peppercorn ranch, whole wheat pasta w/ diced tomatoes, parmesan cheese and biscuits.

Tomorrow I'm going to go back to the gym and not leaving until I burn at least 1,000 calories.

Day 5

Here we go!

Workout: Went to the gym today. Only ran about 2 miles cuz the lady next to me was very annoying. "Do these things work? Mine doesn't work..." I lean over and press a button and PRESTO, it works. Man, I'm magic. :)

After the running (which, okay, was at the jog setting and I power walked it instead -- harder than it seems), I went back to the weights. More abs -- something like 150 I think on one machine. Then I moved to the rowing machine, then the trunk rotation. Afterwards I was feeling alright, but wanted to do some more. So I moved to the back of the room and stretched out my legs which I could feel cramping, then did some work with the medicine ball. I think I've pretty much decided that I'm taking my medicine ball with me when I head to camp. It was only an 8lb ball but holy crap. I did the suspended crunch position and just swung the ball from side to side. My obliques hurt so badly after a few sets. :(

The Food: Started off the day late because I slept in and just didn't go downstairs. Had a bowl of strawberries and cream instant oatmeal from Quaker (SOOO GOOD!). Then there was also a handful of baby carrots, two poached eggs on whole wheat toast w/ a slice of cheese, and a corn on the cobb. To be honest, there were also cheesy potatoes and catfish on the plate for dinner, but I just couldn't bring myself to eat more than a bite of catfish...and I just flat out wasn't hungry. Later when I put in the calories into this count my calories thing online, it only came up to like, 550-650 calories (depending on what portion size I put for the carrots and however you quantify "one nibble on a piece of seared catfish"). No good. So after the persistence of friends, I had a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Still not up to the whatever calorie mark I should be...but to be honest, I just wasn't hungry! And at the time it was when I was counting the calories, I really kinda would have been counter productive to be like, hmm, let me just eat right before bed so I can get up to my caloric intake.

I know I'm in the middle of doing cardio (to lose weight) and doing weight training (to get stronger/tone, etc), so I'm not expecting my weight to drop radically. To be honest, it's not so much the number that scares me, but the way I feel and look. If I weighed 180 lbs but was all muscle, I'd be okay with that. Well, maybe not 180, but you know what I mean...

Day 4

Okay, so yesterday I *did* go to be without posting.

Anyway, quick recap, cuz I'm not sure if anyone actually reads this things or not.

Yesterday I made it to the gym around 5 or so and worked out until oooh, 630ish. I ran/walk/jogged on the treadmill for 45 minutes while watching "US Marshals" with Tommy Lee Jones. Then I went and worked it out on the machines for a bit. Went really hard on the abs yesterday with nearly 200+ on the ab machines with fairly high weight. I did them in sets of 50 with about a minute or so rest in between. I also did the row machine, hoping it would help me get rid of some of the back fat I've accumulated. :( Then FINALLY got on the torso twist thing and did more heavy weights on that. I think I'm going to try to work out on this machine a little bit more, because it works my obliques as well as my abs.

As for eating, yesterday was HORRIBLE. I had a bowl of cereal to start, and a Clif Bar before the gym, but throughout the day I also had a bagel and cream cheese, a soft pretzel stuffed with feta cheese and spinach, a pulled pork bbq sandwhich (Chilis) and a small greek salad with a cup of cream of mushroom soup (City Tavern). Mom and I went to the movies yesterday morning to see "How to Train Your Dragon" and she wanted to take me out to lunch. Hence City Tavern. Then later that evening, she didn't want to cook, so we went to Chilis. Sadly, I also had a small margarita, which was FANTASTIC, but it was also the first alcoholic beverage I've had in awhile (when I said I wouldn't) and it's also the first non water/milk thing I've had.

For anyone that's intersted, here's the table of fitness I hope to be able to pass by the end of the summer. I have to get the minimum in each category, as well as a cumulative point score of 75+. Obviously, I'm trying for above a 75. Ironically, one of my hardest things will just be the waist size. My hips (at the bone) are like, 38, while my true waist (higher up) is a 34 or 35. I'm hardcore honest hourglass figure. And for reference, yes, I'm the Females <>

http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-090820-144.pdf

Oh well.

I'll post later today on what I've done.

Day 3

Oh man, I ALMOST went to bed without posting! Travesty!

Anyway, I went to the gym again today. No classes, but I went around 11am and started off with my regular cardio. I went really hard again and at a decent clip, though I really didn't feel the fatigue until there were about 7 minutes left in my run. I'll take that as a positive step. :) Afterwards I did a few more ab workouts on the machine I mentioned earlier. And then I worked on the row machine. But, they're not the row machines that are at Clemson. I think it was called something like a "partial row" because you can alter the weight instead of simply pulling back like you do at Fike. Anyway, came back from a workout absolutely drenched in sweat, but I was feeling pretty good.

Later in the evening I was feeling well, just bored. So went back. I had originally planned when I woke up to simply take the day easy by only going to the gym once that day, but I figured, well, what else am I doing with my life right now? There weren't any classes that were particularly appealing on Friday night, so I just went and ran again. I only made it 1.25miles, but considering that's added to my usual 2.3~2.5 miles I did in the morning, I think I was okay. The reason I ran only 1.25miles, though, was because I'm trying to see where I am in terms of endurance. By the end of the summer, I want to be able to run 1.5miles in under 15 minutes. It seems now that (with the clip I was going and on the elliptical...which is much different than actual running) at the 15 minute mark I can only get to 1.25 miles. It's not that far of a way off, but it still leads to much work that needs to be done.

Anyway, after the running I went back on the ab machine. Since I'm most self-conscious at the moment of my emerging muffin top and general "fluff" I've been trying to focus on this area. So I did some heavier weights than this morning, but nothing TOO killer. Small weight, high reps. That's what I've been told, right? So I did a few of those, then I went to the row machine, again. And I did do heavier weight on this. Even now as I tense my shoulders I can feel how tight the muscles are in my back.

Obviously there aren't any results yet, but I'm hoping that if I keep up this regime, SOMETHING will happen. I only have access to the Y and the machines until the end of May, so I'm trying to get my money's worth.

As for food, I had a lot of cereal. And by a lot, I mean 3 bowls of shredded mini wheat. Yummy! I also had a Clif Bar (really not that bad and packed with protein), dinner (which consisted of pulled pork w/ hot sauce), and veggies with a bit of ranch. What I really think killed my diet today though is I went to the movies with my brother and he and I shared a bit of popcorn. I had some, yes, but at least I stopped myself when I realized 1) probably not good for you and 2) I was full.

Well...until next time!

Day 2

Today I woke up at 8am to try and make it to bootcamp "class" at the Y at 9:15am. Well, it's safe to say that I did make it in time, but I couldn't find the class! It was supposed to be in the gym, which is where I went first. But the place was empty and really just filled with basketball junk. So I wasn't quite sure if they had moved it outside, like the schedule said they were sometimes ought to do. So I went over to the desk and asked the man if he knew where the class was meeting. He said the gym or the "southside."

Now, let me interject here. I could have gotten into a conversation with him saying that the gym was currently empty and it was now 9:05am. And I also could have asked him to direct me towards the southside. This man, however, was mentally retarded. That being said, he was the absolute sweetest person I've met. He spoke much slower than everyone else, and it seemed like he struggled with his words, but by no means was he slow or dumb; I knew that he was absolutely trying his hardest. So I decided rather than get into a taxing conversation, or worse, being rude and asking to "speak to someone else" I just smiled at him and said thanks. I walked out to my car, grabbed my iPod and headphones, headed back in and traded out my keys for a locker key. He was really sweet and said "here you go! Have a nice day." I smiled and said thank you very much. He smiled again as I left and I couldn't help but want to just give him a hug. He was absolutely precious!

ANYWAY, so yeah, I didn't make it to bootcamp, but I did still work out in the gym. I got back onto the elliptical machine thing and hit it pretty hard. I went at it for a straight 30 minutes at a pretty heavy clip. 30 minutes, 2.5miles and well over 300 calories burned. I really wanted to just stop after about 20 minutes because it was getting hard for me to breathe, I was bored, I ached from yesterday and I just kinda didn't want to do it anymore. But I pushed forward and became my own drill seargant, telling myself that if I can't make it a measly 30 MINUTES on this thing, how can I possibly thing I'm going to get in shape? If by the end of the summer I want to be running 1.5 miles in under 15minutes, I'm going to have to suck it up, baby doll. So I did. I pushed through. It hurt like hell, but I pushed through.

After my elliptical run, I made it over to the abs machine. Let me tell you, this one is amazing. I loved the ones at fike -- specifically the one where you just push your body weight forward, even if it did hurt my bo0bs. But this one is made so much simpler in that you just take to handles and push they forward. In doing so, you really REALLY work your core. I was a little sore from yesterday, but after about 10 minutes off this machine, I could already feel my abs tightening. I did something like, 35lbs, but I did them in reps of 50. So, 3 reps in and I was spent and my abs were shaking. Then I did a few of the torso twist deals, but it seemed at this point that I was just becoming famished. So I called it quits, knowing that I'd be back later in the day anyway.

When I came home, I couldn't find many "breakfast" things (it was only around 11:3o) so I just made myself a turkey and cheese sandwich. I guess I should interject that I did have a meal bar before the gym, as well as a substantial amount of water, so I wasn't working out on an empty stomach. I tried to do relatively well today in terms of food. But it's hard because my mom doesn't seem to want to help me in the "eating less" department. If I say "sure, I'll have a small salad" she loads it up with cheese and croutons and buttermilk ranch dressing. After a nap today, my stomach was absolutely growling -- and after I realized I wasn't going to be satisfied with water, I had a cup of vegetarian chili...which my mom put a large amount of sharp cheddar on. Tonight, for dinner, mom decided we were having burgers. //sigh// I'm watching my portions on what I eat, but Mom's vice is cheese -- so it seems that anything we eat MUST have a large smattering of cheese attached. She says that I shouldn't "stop eating" just because I'm trying to lose weight. Very ironic, coming from the woman who's breakfast AND lunch combined consists of an apple and an orange. Yeah, Mom. Who stopped eating? You're 55 years old, shorter than me and you weight 135lbs.

Either way, I digress. Today was kinda bad on the "what I ate" scale, but I've only had water and milk to drink, and I didn't have any sweets today.

And like I said, I did manage to go BACK to the Y today for a second run. Well, not a run. Jenna -- who was iffy if she would be able to make it or not cuz she was a bit sick feeling -- and I made it to one of the classes. FINALLY! We had Renee for the Hip Hop Hustle class. Let me tell you, this woman is insane and intense. But she's also absolutely fabulous and has more spunk and personality. She could easily pass for a suburban housewife with her short bob and nice demeanor, but she struts into the room with a shirt she's cut up to "funkify" and literal high tops from the 80s. It was amazing. For the next 55 minutes I justified the fact that yes, I am white and even more, yes, that means I can NOT dance. My limbs are awkward and lanky. And maybe it's just me being very much too awkward of my own body, but I felt slightly uncomfortable doing things like the hip thrusts and the body rolls. At least, for the first 30 minutes or so I was self conscious. After that I just really didn't care and just tried to do my best. This woman, not really beat the snot out of me, but she definitely gave me one helluva cardio work out. At the end, Jenna couldn't breathe and I felt like an absolute cripple because my knee hurt so much (and yeah, I was wearing the brace), but it was TOTALLY worth it. I think Jenna and I are going to try and make more of her classes.

Anyway, I think that's a good days worth of posting. Thanks, blogger-verse. :)

Day One

So, let's see. Today I heard back from the doctors. Even though I've somehow managed to go from 155 lbs to 185lbs in 3-4 months, it is NOT in fact, a thyroid or other bodily issue. It seems to be that somehow, I really did just let myself go that fast. Again, I'm not really sure how, but I did. Hmm.

All the same, this is the road to recovery.

Today I managed to hit the gym for a hour or so. I bought a knee brace at Wal-mart prior, along with some Slim-fast bars, since they really weren't too expensive. Turns out the knee brace was a smooth move, because I think somewhere along the way I may have tweaked it a bit. And by may have tweaked it I mean I walk kinda funny know (especially on stairs). I'm not sure what I've ever done to it -- it's an "old injury" from when I was back in middle school and running hurdles. Dad said at the time it was okay, but now it seems to hurt when I do a lot of running/cardio type exercise.

ANYWAY, I digress. Went to the gym. Pounded it out on this elliptical type....thing. You can have 3 different settings depending, either strides like going up stairs, strides like running, or strides more like lunging. I kept it most of the time in the stair step area to work my legs and glutes. After 30 minutes/2.3~ Miles/300+ calories I vacated and made my way over towards the ab machine. I worked out on abs for about 10 minutes before I realized this couple was looking like they really wanted to use the machine.

After that I decided to head home because 1) I was REALLY hungry and 2) my knee was really hurting, despite the brace. Plus at this point I was under the impression that I was going to be going to the gym again with Jenna later in the evening. Needless to say I didn't make it to the gym because my knee still felt pretty much like it was going to explode. :(

All the same, I spent they day pretty much still moving and grooving. I finished hauling things from my closet outside and into the garage, as well as sorting and filing and making a rather large pile of things to donate to Good-Will. :) Tomorrow I'm going to wake up early and make it to the BootCamp class at the Y at 9:15am. Then I'll get some logistical things done at the house before I head back to the Y at 6:45 with Jenna for HIP HOP HUSSLE! :D

Pre-Training

This, ladies and gents, will be my own personal bootcamp journal. At least, it'll be something that will keep me honest. I'm serious about this losing weight business, and so in order to do that I'm making myself accountable. And also, if y'all will help, you can read this and call me out on things you think need improvement. Or even better, offer encouragement.

It'll be a travel through the summer. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to post my weight, as well as a "before" picture. (Cringe)

HOPEFULLY by the end of the summer, the picture will have changed drastically.

I'll update daily (or as close to as possible) with a food journal entry, as well as what my workout deal has been for the day.