Hey gang,
Whaddya know, another video! I was feeling so good last night I decided to counter the sad little greenface viddie with something a little more upbeat.
I've been really trying hard not to let the lack of obvious markers of my progress bother me or derail me in my efforts. Some days have been better than others. And of course, when there are added life stresses like a cornholio boss at work, the challenge is even greater.
But yesterday at lunch I was watching some YouTube videos. I have been meaning to talk a little bit about the weight loss community on YouTube. I'm not too integrated - there just are not enough hours in the day to keep up with work, fitness, my current online community, and apathy (the biggest timesuck of them all), so joining another community would stretch me a bit thin. (Except... that pun is hardly apt.) Anyway. I do subscribe to a few YouTubers, and one of them is this crazy guy Greggers. He does fun stuff with his video software - I'd like to learn how to do some of the crazy stuff he does. He has an unfailing positive attitude, and I think I just felt inspired by that yesterday. Something just clicked for me, and I pulled out of the funk and got back to funky. Had an awesome run and am looking forward to more gym time tonight.
If you want to check out any of Greggers' videos, here's the link to his YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/thesiegster
And now, a positive video, brought to you by the always upbeat Craig Finn and his band, The Hold Steady:
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Mar 29: New video and checking in
Hi kiddies,
I've been slowing down in my blogging here, and have definitely been a bit... erm, slovenly in responding to your kind comments. I will do better. I think a big part of it is my struggle to get through this plateau or whatever it is. I'm trying not to get downcast about how slowly my body is reacting to all the exercise and such. It is really great news about dropping 4% in body fat. In fact the difference in poundage was only 3 pounds weight loss (which... grrrr!!!) and yet I am obviously a much leaner... or perhaps, less fatter...er... person. To drop 4% of body fat with just 3 pounds lost means I must be acquiring muscle mass. So, I gotta focus on that and just stay the course.
I weighed myself again this morning: 153, or maybe 153.5. Last week I was 154, and then 154.5, so I guess this is good news. Except that, it tells me that the weight gain last week wasn't just water or a blip of some kind, because I'm now just back to where I was two weeks ago. Oh well, whatever. It's not a race.
Anyway, I did a video on Friday night, expressing my frustration. I did it in greenface. No offense intended to the green community.
Thanks for continuing to cheer me on!
I've been slowing down in my blogging here, and have definitely been a bit... erm, slovenly in responding to your kind comments. I will do better. I think a big part of it is my struggle to get through this plateau or whatever it is. I'm trying not to get downcast about how slowly my body is reacting to all the exercise and such. It is really great news about dropping 4% in body fat. In fact the difference in poundage was only 3 pounds weight loss (which... grrrr!!!) and yet I am obviously a much leaner... or perhaps, less fatter...er... person. To drop 4% of body fat with just 3 pounds lost means I must be acquiring muscle mass. So, I gotta focus on that and just stay the course.
I weighed myself again this morning: 153, or maybe 153.5. Last week I was 154, and then 154.5, so I guess this is good news. Except that, it tells me that the weight gain last week wasn't just water or a blip of some kind, because I'm now just back to where I was two weeks ago. Oh well, whatever. It's not a race.
Anyway, I did a video on Friday night, expressing my frustration. I did it in greenface. No offense intended to the green community.
Thanks for continuing to cheer me on!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Mar 22: Frustrated
I think I need to change my weigh in day. Why does my body hate Sunday? Is it some sort of latent rebellion against my fundamentalist teen years? Or... yikes... is God punishing me because it turns out he's a vindictive, sexist, white old man after all? I just don't understand it.
Okay, yes, I had the very minor slip up with the chocolates and the McDonald's. But that was a week ago. I worked out, ate right, and yesterday when I weighed myself, I was back on track, down a pound, at 152.5. Then I walked half an hour to the gym, worked out for an hour with Derek, ran for another hour on the treadmill, walked (stumbled) home, and ate reasonably. This morning, I weigh myself. 154. Come on. COME ON!!! I went and sat on the couch and sulked for 15 minutes, went to the bathroom, and tried again. 154.5.
AAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!!!
Well, I'm not going to do a weigh in video today. I'm gonna see if God takes Monday off, and maybe sneak in a weigh in while he's not looking, and hopefully my weight goes back down again.
I am working out 5-6 days a week at this point, faithfully training for my 10k run, eating around 1300-1400 calories a day, plus or minus 200. There is no way I should be gaining weight. So, what can I do. Plug on. I was at least very encouraged by my first one hour session with Derek. He had me doing "super-sets", where we do a set of weights and then a 30 second interval of cardio, e.g. skipping rope. Haaaarrrrible. My calves are aching today as a result. He said he doesn't usually start clients on super-sets the first time they do an hour session, but he'd watched my running viddie and figured I could probably handle it. I felt really strong yesterday, so much so that I was able to put in an hour of running with walking breaks, to a total of 4.5 miles on the treadmill. I am Iron Man!
Anyway, whatever. I refuse to make myself sick over this. I am trying to live a more healthy lifestyle, and training any harder or eating any less is not going to be healthy. So, I just have to say the serenity prayer or something. Suck up to God, maybe.
Okay, yes, I had the very minor slip up with the chocolates and the McDonald's. But that was a week ago. I worked out, ate right, and yesterday when I weighed myself, I was back on track, down a pound, at 152.5. Then I walked half an hour to the gym, worked out for an hour with Derek, ran for another hour on the treadmill, walked (stumbled) home, and ate reasonably. This morning, I weigh myself. 154. Come on. COME ON!!! I went and sat on the couch and sulked for 15 minutes, went to the bathroom, and tried again. 154.5.
AAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!!!
Well, I'm not going to do a weigh in video today. I'm gonna see if God takes Monday off, and maybe sneak in a weigh in while he's not looking, and hopefully my weight goes back down again.
I am working out 5-6 days a week at this point, faithfully training for my 10k run, eating around 1300-1400 calories a day, plus or minus 200. There is no way I should be gaining weight. So, what can I do. Plug on. I was at least very encouraged by my first one hour session with Derek. He had me doing "super-sets", where we do a set of weights and then a 30 second interval of cardio, e.g. skipping rope. Haaaarrrrible. My calves are aching today as a result. He said he doesn't usually start clients on super-sets the first time they do an hour session, but he'd watched my running viddie and figured I could probably handle it. I felt really strong yesterday, so much so that I was able to put in an hour of running with walking breaks, to a total of 4.5 miles on the treadmill. I am Iron Man!
Anyway, whatever. I refuse to make myself sick over this. I am trying to live a more healthy lifestyle, and training any harder or eating any less is not going to be healthy. So, I just have to say the serenity prayer or something. Suck up to God, maybe.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Mar 19: mid-week viddie!
Shot on location! This is me, catching up the YouTube crowd on what you all heard here first: I ate my face off on Sunday. Nice change of scenery for y'all, including distressing full body shot, all jiggly and such, for prolonged period. I am Iron Man!
In other related news, last night was my final intro session with Derek, my trainer (a.k.a. "Master Pain"). We had a nice long chat/consultation, and I re-upped for six months with him. I will now be seeing him for one hour sessions twice a week (previously half an hour) and watching whatever sweet income surplus my promotion in November hath wrought dwindle away. Oh well, it's worth it. I am focussed on achieving this goal.
Anyway, feast your eyes...
In other related news, last night was my final intro session with Derek, my trainer (a.k.a. "Master Pain"). We had a nice long chat/consultation, and I re-upped for six months with him. I will now be seeing him for one hour sessions twice a week (previously half an hour) and watching whatever sweet income surplus my promotion in November hath wrought dwindle away. Oh well, it's worth it. I am focussed on achieving this goal.
Anyway, feast your eyes...
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Mar 17: Life is like a box of chocolates...
...you never know when you've gonna cave and buy a box of chocolates.
Okay, so, this past week, I was a MACHINE in the gym. I did cardio six days, for a minimum of 45 mins, but up to an hour (and on Wed/Sat when I met with my trainer, it was more like an hour and a half all tolled). It was great; I felt great. I'm definitely increasing my endurance as far as the running is concerned (on Friday night I was on the treadmill for 55 minutes! Some of it was walking but that's okay.)
So I guess I was thinking, jeez, with all this added exercise, for sure I'm gonna have a great week on the scale. And when I weighed myself a couple days before weigh in day, I was 152.5, which was 1.5 pounds down from the previous Sunday. Hoohoo!!!
So imagine my annoyance on Sunday when I got on the scale and it said 153.5. I know, I know, I'm not supposed to care about these numbers. YOU TRY not caring about the rassin-frassin numbers!! It is a life-long habit. Some weeks I am better at letting it roll off than others. Anyway, I know it's just chemistry or something. Not to mention my scale is a piece of unreliable shit.
So I went out for a nice long walk in the sunshine, like I said I would. About 3 hours. And on my way home, I picked up some groceries. Took my time, wandering the aisles, considering various sinful treats I might indulge in. And I didn't get any of them. But then I stopped at Shopper's Drug Mart and bought a box of chocolates. And then I stopped further up the street at McRaunchy's, of all places. But here is the (quite small) moment of (sort of) triumph: instead of a quarter pounder with cheese and medium fries, I got a cheeseburger and small fries. And then I went home and ATE IT AAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!
So, I guess that's why I haven't posted a weigh-in video yet. I mean, I still lost weight. And I'm not even really sure why I caved. I think I was just missing the binge sensation. I don't know if any of you know what I'm talking about, but sometimes I just want that experience of getting lost in the food-drug. I was right back on track yesterday, though I didn't exercise, and I'm back on track again today, with plans to run tonight. That's one cool thing about getting into a regular exercise routine: I find I miss it when I take a day or two off.
Anyway, thank god that's over. One of the reasons I am chronicling this weight loss journey online is to make myself accountable. It's important that I share the slips as well as the great moments. Thanks for being here to bear witness.
PS the chocolate was delicious, until it got to be really gross and sickening.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Mar 15: grocery viddie
Hi gang! For your viewing pleasure (except poor Mom), a new video. I know I owe you a weigh-in viddie, plus responses to your most recent comments (always, always appreciated) - I will try to have that baby up tonight.
Meantime, I recorded this yesterday and had to cut a ton of it out to get it under 10 minutes. Yikes! Sorry. Anyway, the YouTube dieting community (some time I will blog about this unexpected benefit of posting my weekly weigh-in viddies...) do these "grocery haul" videos that I find are really interesting and helpful in terms of getting new ideas for healthy eating, so I decided to do one of my own.
And now, I am going out for an epic walk. It is 9 degrees out there! Which is 48 in American. And it is, as they say, a bright (bright) bright (bright) sunshiney day. Later kiddies!
Meantime, I recorded this yesterday and had to cut a ton of it out to get it under 10 minutes. Yikes! Sorry. Anyway, the YouTube dieting community (some time I will blog about this unexpected benefit of posting my weekly weigh-in viddies...) do these "grocery haul" videos that I find are really interesting and helpful in terms of getting new ideas for healthy eating, so I decided to do one of my own.
And now, I am going out for an epic walk. It is 9 degrees out there! Which is 48 in American. And it is, as they say, a bright (bright) bright (bright) sunshiney day. Later kiddies!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Mar 11: The Great D-Weighted Recipe Exchange
Okay first of all: where is everybody? I miss youuuuu!!!
Next and more importantly. I just left a comment for my girl taarnagh on the Mar 9 video post to say, her suggestion of heating spinach and adding a bit of pesto and feta is magnifique! I love it and it's delicioush and spinach is one of those superfoods that makes you live longer than any of your relatives and anyway, y'all should try it.
It's amazing how one little suggestion or new recipe can have such a positive impact on one's resolve to continue with healthy eating. It really helped me get past the menu fatigue. So I'm encouraging everyone to leave a comment with a tip to jazz up a meal, or a failsafe recipe you can always rely on when trying to watch your calorie intake. Here's mine:
Pasta with clams and vegetables
(I used to refer to this as "Linguine with clam sauce" but I rarely use linguine, and there's really nothing saucy about the topping, unless you count the chef.)
Ingredients
1 can of clams (drain some of the juice but not all)
Lemon juice (I never measure - 2 or 3 tbsp, I guess?)
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped or minced
1-2 tsp olive oil
mushrooms
zucchini
asparagus
eggplant
(whatever!)
2-3 tbsp parmesan cheese
pepper
Okay, so this is the easiest recipe of all time. Heat the oil and garlic, and sauté the vegetables until they're nice and... sautéed. Add lemon juice, and let simmer for a minute or two, to let the flavour soak in. Then add the clams and juice, and leave everything on medium heat until some of the excess liquid is dried up from the heat. Add pepper.
With the pasta, I usually divide the parmesan and sprinkle some on the plain pasta and toss it before I top it off with the clams and veggies. Then top it off with the rest of the parmy. Done!
It's very low fat because there's no cream or anything in the sauce; it's just the flavour of the garlic, lemon juice and clam juice, which to me is delish on its own.
Okay, that's my contribution. What have ya got for me?
Next and more importantly. I just left a comment for my girl taarnagh on the Mar 9 video post to say, her suggestion of heating spinach and adding a bit of pesto and feta is magnifique! I love it and it's delicioush and spinach is one of those superfoods that makes you live longer than any of your relatives and anyway, y'all should try it.
It's amazing how one little suggestion or new recipe can have such a positive impact on one's resolve to continue with healthy eating. It really helped me get past the menu fatigue. So I'm encouraging everyone to leave a comment with a tip to jazz up a meal, or a failsafe recipe you can always rely on when trying to watch your calorie intake. Here's mine:
Pasta with clams and vegetables
(I used to refer to this as "Linguine with clam sauce" but I rarely use linguine, and there's really nothing saucy about the topping, unless you count the chef.)
Ingredients
1 can of clams (drain some of the juice but not all)
Lemon juice (I never measure - 2 or 3 tbsp, I guess?)
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped or minced
1-2 tsp olive oil
mushrooms
zucchini
asparagus
eggplant
(whatever!)
2-3 tbsp parmesan cheese
pepper
Okay, so this is the easiest recipe of all time. Heat the oil and garlic, and sauté the vegetables until they're nice and... sautéed. Add lemon juice, and let simmer for a minute or two, to let the flavour soak in. Then add the clams and juice, and leave everything on medium heat until some of the excess liquid is dried up from the heat. Add pepper.
With the pasta, I usually divide the parmesan and sprinkle some on the plain pasta and toss it before I top it off with the clams and veggies. Then top it off with the rest of the parmy. Done!
It's very low fat because there's no cream or anything in the sauce; it's just the flavour of the garlic, lemon juice and clam juice, which to me is delish on its own.
Okay, that's my contribution. What have ya got for me?
Monday, March 09, 2009
Mar 9: new viddie!
Hiya! I have a new video. It's really long; sorry about that. I had to cover a bunch of stuff, including measurements, weigh in, a very special shout out, and the 10 k announcement for the YouTube community.
For my video challenged mom:
For my video challenged mom:
- lost another pound
chest: down 1.5" this month (down total 2.5")
waist: down 2" this month (down total 3")
hips: down /75" this month (down total 1.75")
thigh: no change (down total .5")
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Mar 7: I did it!
Alright guys, this is it. I am committed. I just registered for the Sporting Life 10 k run on Sunday, May 3rd in Toronto. I can't believe I did that! I am so psyched!
I also decided to take the Jazzman's advice and do it in support of Camp Oochigeas, which is an Ontario camp for kids with cancer. I work at the Canadian Cancer Society and I was happy when I saw that Sporting Life is working with this organization for any runners who want to raise money in association with their effort. I feel like I have taken my health for granted for so long, putting so much crap into my body and not appreciating its potential in terms of achieving and maintaining fitness... it doesn't seem fair that these kids are robbed of their health at such a young age.
Anyway, if you want to support the camp (or just leave a message of support), my fundraising page is here:
http://community.ooch.org/netcommunity/linnyqat.
Whoohoo! Go me!!!
PS Sorry the measurements viddie is not up yet. I recorded the whole thing, found out the mike was turned off so there was no sound, decided to just make it "instrumental" and put in a bunch of goofy captions with an MIA song as accompaniment, uploaded it to YouTube and then it got censored because of the song. Gah. I didn't have the energy to do it over again (I was sick this week, plus lazy). I'll do a weigh in and measurements viddie tomorrow, promise.
I also decided to take the Jazzman's advice and do it in support of Camp Oochigeas, which is an Ontario camp for kids with cancer. I work at the Canadian Cancer Society and I was happy when I saw that Sporting Life is working with this organization for any runners who want to raise money in association with their effort. I feel like I have taken my health for granted for so long, putting so much crap into my body and not appreciating its potential in terms of achieving and maintaining fitness... it doesn't seem fair that these kids are robbed of their health at such a young age.
Anyway, if you want to support the camp (or just leave a message of support), my fundraising page is here:
Whoohoo! Go me!!!
PS Sorry the measurements viddie is not up yet. I recorded the whole thing, found out the mike was turned off so there was no sound, decided to just make it "instrumental" and put in a bunch of goofy captions with an MIA song as accompaniment, uploaded it to YouTube and then it got censored because of the song. Gah. I didn't have the energy to do it over again (I was sick this week, plus lazy). I'll do a weigh in and measurements viddie tomorrow, promise.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Mar 3: feeling good
Hey gang, sorry no weigh-in viddie this week. I recorded something on Sunday but the sound wasn't working. I need to fiddle with it and I just haven't had the energy. Been fighting a cold. But I am due for a measurements check in, tomorrow, which will mark 4 weeks since the last one, so hopefully I can suss it out.
Meantime, check me out! I lost 2 pounds last week! Huzzah! Not only that, I passed the 10 pound mark. My total weight loss sits at 10.5 pounds at the moment. Hooray!
In other noteworthy and awesome news, last night I ran 3 miles without stopping for a break. On the weekend I did 3.5, after my session with my trainer, but I had to walk for 2-4 minutes a couple of times throughout. So this is fantastic news. I know I'd set a small goal of running a 5 k in the spring, but there's a really big run put on by The Sporting Life on May 3 that's 10 k down Yonge St. That's two months away, so I am thinking very seriously about aiming for that. It's mostly downhill (at a very minimal grade) so I think it would be a good one for a newbie like me. But you know, I haven't done any training outdoors at all, so I'm gonna hold off on committing to it completely. Anyway, I am very encouraged by my results, both on the scale (finally) and in the gym.
Yay, me! Yay, us! Stay tuned for measurments video...
Meantime, check me out! I lost 2 pounds last week! Huzzah! Not only that, I passed the 10 pound mark. My total weight loss sits at 10.5 pounds at the moment. Hooray!
In other noteworthy and awesome news, last night I ran 3 miles without stopping for a break. On the weekend I did 3.5, after my session with my trainer, but I had to walk for 2-4 minutes a couple of times throughout. So this is fantastic news. I know I'd set a small goal of running a 5 k in the spring, but there's a really big run put on by The Sporting Life on May 3 that's 10 k down Yonge St. That's two months away, so I am thinking very seriously about aiming for that. It's mostly downhill (at a very minimal grade) so I think it would be a good one for a newbie like me. But you know, I haven't done any training outdoors at all, so I'm gonna hold off on committing to it completely. Anyway, I am very encouraged by my results, both on the scale (finally) and in the gym.
Yay, me! Yay, us! Stay tuned for measurments video...
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