1 Year Anniversary

It has been a year since I started this post.  There have been setbacks but there have also been accomplishments.

The biggest accomplishment wasn't losing weight.  It was becoming healthier and building the habit of exercise into my day.  Before I started this journey I pretty much sedentary.  I might have gone for a walk once or twice a week but there were a lot of weeks that I did absolutely nothing.

Fast forward to today and it is the complete opposite.  Now I exercise almost every day and have only 1 or 2 days per week that I don't do anything. 

Total changes in my body haven't been as much as I would have liked for a year of work.

Total weight loss:  15 pounds

Inches lost:

Chest:  2.5 inches

Ribs:  2 inches

Waist:  3 inches

Hips/Ass:  1.5 inches

This past year has been more about building a solid fitness foundation than it has been about losing weight.  I no longer have lower back pain and I have not put out my back or my neck all year.  The only time I have experienced pain has been when I have upped my exercise routine too quickly and have strained my muscles.

The main struggle this year has been my diet and knowing how many calories to eat per day.  I found over the last couple of months that I hadn't been losing weight but I was working out everyday and only eating a maximum of 1,500 calories.  I was walking 5 kms plus lifting heavy weights on gym days.  On off days I was either walking 6.5 kms  or I was doing interval training to build up my jog times.

Yet I wasn't losing any weight.  Started researching it and the problem MIGHT be that I am not eating enough.  One suggestion was called "reverse dieting".  For a month you eat anything that you want so that your body can get out of starvation mode.  You will gain weight.  Once your weight is steady then you start dropping the calories per day that you eat until you start losing weight.

Recommended daily calorie intake for me was 2,500 calories.  For the first couple of weeks I was eating 3,000+ and I gained 6 pounds.  Then I dropped my calories to 2,4000 and I lost 2 pounds.   Now it is a matter of observation to see how many calories I should eat on light workout weeks and how many calories I should eat on weeks that I work out a lot.

I am still using the LoseIt app to monitor my calories but I am no longer using it to monitor workouts.  I think putting in my exercise calories used was skewing my results because it is very hard to estimate how many calories I actually burned in my exercise.  I could think that I am burning a lot of calories because my workout feels hard but in reality I am just having an off day.

Another struggle has been getting enough protein in my diet.  I eat quite a lot of meat but still don't get enough protein.  I can have protein shakes but it is a fine line between getting enough protein and not going over my calorie budget.  Suggested protein intake is 1 gram per 1 pound of body weight.  For me, that should mean eating 210 grams of protein per day.  I am lucky if I can get up over 100 grams.  I am looking at finding high protein recipes that I can make to try get my protein up to at least 125 grams.

Finally, my goal to learn to run has not been going well.  I am only able to run for 2 minutes then walk for 1 minute x 7 sets.  Most days my legs have been hurting so bad that I have to stop.  Last week it was my calf muscles that were killing me.  Last month it was my shins.

I have put my gym membership on hold for the next month to see if my leg problems are do to overwork.  Maybe it was too much exercise to walk 5 kms, do weight training for my legs and then the next day expect to be able to run.

I plan to cut back my exercise to 3 days per week to start.  If I am able to increase my run times without pain then I will slowly start incorporating some walks in.  After the month is up, I will go back to the gym and start lifting weights again but I might not do deadlifts which work my legs.  I will just focus on my upper body.

Speaking of which, one of the reasons I decided to put my weight training on hold at this time is because I hurt myself again.  I was doing really well.  I was doing 30lb dumbbell chest presses and 20 lb flyes prone on the recline bench.  Then I upped my routine by doing incline flyes with the bench in a semi-reclined position, started doing push-ups instead of the chest presses  and started doing triceps dips.

The incline flyes were so much harder that I had to drop the weight from 20lbs to 15.  After doing the push-ups for 2 days I developed a burning pain behind my left scapula.  It didn't hurt while I was exercising but developed 2 days after my gym day.  It has been hurting now for 2 weeks.  Some days it is very painful and I have to ice it and take ibuprofen.  Other days it just slightly aches.

I will also be taking a yoga class for the next month.  My muscles are so tight and stiff even with stretching.  I think that now is the time to try yoga to try to get limber.

I have gotten so used to exercising everyday that I am feeling kinda antsy.  I just want to go out and do something which is a far cry from how my life was over the last 10 years.  I am happy that I have developed the habit to get up and move which in the long run is going to keep me strong and healthy.

Now moving forward, it is time to listen to my body.    I can get advice from trainers and websites but I really need to learn for myself what works and what doesn't.  I need to learn when to step up my workouts and when my body is saying I need to slow down.

How Many Daily Calories Do I Really Need?

I have been exercising almost every day.  Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday I go to the gym and lift weights.  On the other days I have been jogging.  I have been watching my diet and eating only 1,500 calories per day.  I should be losing weight. Yet my weight and measurements have not changed for a long time.

Part of the problem is that I really do not know how much I should be eating in a day.  There is so much conflicting information.  So I decided to search the internet for reasons why I might not be seeing results.  One common problem people experience when they start working out a lot is that they don't eat enough to fuel their body.  The body then hoards all calories and fat so that it will have energy for the next workout.

There is a concept called "reverse dieting" which helps to evaluate how many calories you need to eat in order to lose weight.  Basically you stop dieting and you eat normal for a couple of weeks until you start to gain weight.  At that point, you start dropping the number of calories that you consume each day until you reach a point where you are maintaining your weight.  Once you have reached that stage you can then start dropping the number of calories consumed by 100 per day until you start losing weight.

My LoseIt app was telling me that I should be eating 1,270 calories on days that I did not work out and up to 1,600 calories on days that I did work out.  It basically would add food calories to my day to make up for the exercise calories I was burning.

Most of the fitness articles were suggesting that I should be eating 2,400 calories per day.

I have found that I maintain my weight at 2,500 calories per day.

Now, it is time to start dropping the number of calories I eat per day until I find the zone where I start to lose weight.

I am adjusting the calories in my app to 2,400 per day for 1 week and I will see what that does for me.

I am also going to stop tracking my exercise in the app.  I feel that I make food choices based on how much I am exercising.  Maybe if I have it just showing total calories not net calories that it will alter my eating habits.

Feeling Accomplished - Reach a Goal

In spring I decided that this was the year that I would learn to run.  I have always been so impressed by people who run.  They always seem so strong and healthy.   It has been on my bucket list for many years but every time I started I always quit because my legs hurt so much.

This year though the changing factors for me was getting stronger through weigh lifting and learning how to roll out my muscles.  Those 2 things combined meant that it didn't hurt as much when I ran.

For the last couple months I have been working on this interval training program from this book:

There is no way that I can increase the run times every week so I have just been sticking with each week as long as it takes to be able to easily run those times.  Week 1 I could do no problem.  Week 2 took me a couple of weeks to be able to do easily. 

Week 3 though has been a hard slog.  Until this week I haven't even been able to run 1/2 the times it suggests but after taking a 5 day break from running I was finally able to complete the whole thing.  So happy!  I didn't think I would ever be able to do it!

I have still been going to the gym 3 times per week.  I do various dumbbell exercises and have started doing dead lifts. I use weights that are heavy enough that I can just complete the 8 reps.  When I can easily complete 8 reps and feel I could do more then I up the weight again.

Chest Press - 27.5 lb dumbbells - 8 reps x 3 sets

Dumbbell Flys on Bench - 20 lb dumbbells - 8 reps x 3 sets

Bicep Curl to Overhead Press - 15 lb dumbbells - 8 reps x 3 sets

One Leg Deadlift - smallest kettlebell (don't know the weight) - 12 reps x 3 sets

Deadlift - 5lb plates - 8 reps x 3 sets

Tricep Dips - 8 reps x 3 sets

Seated Row on Weight Machine - 75 lbs - 8 reps x 3 sets

I am feeling a LOT stronger and healthier but the kicker is I haven't lost ANY weight or changed my body shape.  My measurements are all the same.  What's up with that??

Right now I don't care.  I feel strong and I really like that feeling.  So I am not focusing on weight loss but rather lifting heavier weights and being able to run for 20 minutes straight.

Yo-yo Weight Loss Sucks!

Over the last couple of months my weight has fluctuated between 205 and 209 on an almost weekly basis.  I will eat healthy and exercise and get down to 205 but then something gets in the way.  I twinged something in my back and hip and didn't go to the gym for 2 weeks and gained 5 pounds.

Then I really focused on eating healthy and going on the elliptical 4 to 5 times per week and lost the 5 pounds.  Then I got a bad chest cold and couldn't work out and stopped watching my diet because I felt so crappy and just wanted to feel better.  Up my weight went again.

When I started to feel better I also started eating better but then I had a week were there were lots of parties and socializing.  Gained 5 pounds again.

Now I am back to faithfully exercising - I have gone to the gym 2 times this week and jogged 3 times but I am finding it hard to  stick to my diet.  I just want to eat good food and not always eat salad or super small portions.  I am feeling tired and stress and I am turning to food for comfort.

It really sucks.

I'm Baaaaack!

It has been 2 months since my last post. I had taken the time off from the gym because I tweaked something in my back and hip and thought it would be best to let things heal before lifting weights again. I continued to exercise on the elliptical in the evenings.

I discovered that my LoseIt app was overestimating the amount of calories that I was burning lifting weights.  I have changed the setting to light weightlifting and dropped 10 minutes off my total time working out.  That seems to have worked and my weight loss was maintained.

I also changed my diet and started eating bread/pasta/rice again every day and discovered that it was much harder to lose weight.  This week, I made my Mexican Beef & Black Bean recipe and haven't had bread/rice/pasta for the last 3 days and I lost 1 pound.  I read somewhere that if you exercise when on a lower carb diet that your body uses your stored fat for energy and you lose more weight.  I certainly seems to be true for me.

Now it is time to get back into my gym routine and my carb routine.  I had gone 8 months without missing a day and now it is time to back on schedule.  This week for my diet I am planning to take salads to work for lunch and only eat rice/bread/pasta on my gym days.

To date I have lost 18.5 pounds.

Taking a Short Break From the Gym

My right hip is still incredibly sore.  I worked through the pain for the last two weeks but maybe it is time to take  short break so that the muscles can heal.  I plan to do stretches and walk every day.  Hopefully with a few days rest I will be back to normal and able to resume my workouts.

I recently read an article that stated contrary to popular belief exercising more does not increase your metabolism.  From what I understand, this means that our bodies adjust to whatever level of exercise we are doing to maintain a basic level of metabolism.  This means that you could go to gym and work out like crazy but your body just adjusts to the new normal.  Diet plays more of a role in weight loss than exercise. 

This shifts my mind-set on the matter.  I have been diligent about going to the gym and lifting weight because I thought that it would increase my metabolism and make losing weight easier.  The more that I worked out the less I would have to worry about sticking to my diet.

Now, I think that going to the gym will be more about staying strong and healthy. It increases my balance and mobility which will reduce the likelihood of injury.  Since I started lifting weights I have not had any lower back pain.  I am able to touch my toes and balance on one foot.  I can squat to pick up something from the floor.  I can run up a flight of stairs.  I want to increase that strength and agility so I will keep with my exercise schedule.

I looked back over the my stats for the last 6 months and the weeks that I lost 3 - 4 pounds were the weeks that each day I stuck to my calorie budget.  Plain and simple, I need to eat less calories!

Tweaked Something in My Hip/Back

I decided to try heavier weights for the one leg deadlift.  Previously, I had always used the lightest kettlebell in one hand.   This year I tried using a 12.5 lb dumbbell in each hand.  It was more difficult to keep my balance so I switched from the kettlebell to dumbbells.  On Sunday, I decided to use 15 lb dumbbells and it was very very hard to do the exercise.  I completed all my sets and felt good but on Monday my right hip and butt were very stiff and sore when I walked or bent over.

Yesterday I still went to the gym but worked on the weight machines rather than doing my usual exercises so that I could rest those muscles.  My hip isn't as sore today but the whole right side of my back is very stiff.  I think I will have to spend an hour tonight just stretching.

Another Funky Salad

Still working on eating that bucket of organic spring mix lettuce.  This time I tried Shrimp Cobb Salad with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette  once again from www.damndelicious.net .  This website is ending up being my go-to place for new recipes.

 I used Kraft's Italian Zesty Lime dressing as the base and added fresh cilantro and jalapeno pepper.  Whipped it all up in the Magic Bullet and voila - Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette.  This dressing was very good.  I didn't think I would like it because I am not a huge fan of cilantro but the lime and jalapeno seems to mellow out the cilantro flavour.

I really liked this salad with the exception of the boiled egg.  I have decided that I don't like boiled eggs in a lettuce salad!  Other than that, this recipe is a keeper.

Went to the gym 3 times this week.  My back has really been hurting for the last couple of weeks  - right behind my right shoulder blade.  It didn't hurt when I lifted weights or moved around but as soon as I laid down it hurt so bad that it took my breath away.  I went for massage therapy but my back muscles didn't hurt at all when she massaged them.  My shoulder and chest muscles hurt like a damn but not my back.

On Tuesday, I was using the weight machine to work my lats and I just let the weight stretch out my arms and back.  Seemed to do the trick!  I must have just had a nerve that was being pinched when my muscles moved a certain way.  That stretch released something.  Still hurts for a couple of seconds when I lay down on the bench to do chest presses but otherwise not too bad.

Happy New Year!

2017 is starting out back on track.

I bought a large organic spring greens salad mix yesterday because it was on sale for  a very good price.   I usually end up throwing out at last 1/3 of these containers because they go bad before I can finish it.  This time though, I am using it as an opportunity to try some new salads this week.

Today I tried something completely different.  I have never had a lettuce salad with apples or pears and today's salad had so many different things in it that I thought that it was going to be awful!

Harvest Cobb Salad found on www.damndelicious.net - Pecans, bacon, boiled egg, apple, pear, dried cranberries, feta  with a poppy seed dressing.  I used Kraft's Calorie-Wise Creamy Poppyseed Dressing instead of making the one in the recipe.

I have to say that it was a very good salad.  I am surprised - I did not think that it would be as good as it was.  It is was a large salad and definitely not  low calorie - 686 calories.  In the future, I would probably have a 1/2 portion rather than the full salad.

I went to the gym this afternoon.  15 minutes on the elliptical and then 45 minutes weights.

I have changed my routine somewhat because I felt the weight machines weren't always the best choice.  The kettlebell single leg deadlift is my favourite because it great for improving balance.

I am doing the following:

12 reps x 3 sets x 4 kg kettlebell of  kettlebell 1 leg deadlift
12 reps x 3 sets x 20 kg (I think) of  sumo squat with kettlebell
8 reps x 3 sets x 20 lb - chest press with dumbbells
8 reps x 3 sets x 15 lb - dumbbell fly
8 reps x 3 sets x 12.5 lb - dumbbell shoulder press

Weight machines:
12 reps x 3 sets x 100 lbs - inner thigh
12 reps x 3 sets x 100lbs - outer thigh
12 reps x 3 sets x 80 lbs - hamstrings
12 reps x 3 sets x 80 lbs - quadriceps


Finally, I am changing the way I blog.  I won't be adding my LoseIt screenshots anymore - they take up too much space and are pretty boring.  I also won't be blogging every day.  I will only create posts when I have something interesting to say.  I found it pretty boring last month to just post - nothing new today.

I would like to increase the amount of  new healthy recipes that I try.  The more options that I have for healthy eating the less likely that I will fall back on the quick and fattening comfort foods.