What other people think of you is none of your damn business.

I was having a conversation the other day about working out, going to the gym, etc. and was struck by the insecurities that hold people back from reaching their fitness goals.  As if working out and getting in shape isn’t hard enough, we’re constantly attacking ourselves mentally over what we THINK people think about us.  In this group conversation and I was hearing things like “I won’t walk down (name of busy street) because I don’t want people to see my fat ass trying to get in shape and judging me.”  and “I need to get in better shape before I go to the gym” and “all those skinny bitches will watch me with their judgy eyes….’ “Look at that fat fatty being all fat’”  Why should we have to “get in shape” BEFORE we go to the gym?  Isn’t that what the gym is for?  Why would someone not feel comfortable walking down a high traffic street without feeling self-conscious?

These were all comments from women, though I’m guessing men have insecurities as well.  I do know that we are WAY too hard on ourselves and we should just do our own thing and not have to worry about anyone, or anything else.  There are way more important things to focus on!

Judging people is not the first thing that goes through my mind at the gym.  I am way more worried about what I’m going to do next.  I’m busy talking myself into trying a new machine or exercise, concentrating on “mind over matter” and willing myself to push harder, do more.  I’m focusing on trying not to fart, trying not to fall over, preventing myself from dropping weights on my toe.  I’m working on my balance, form, breathing, reps, sets, etc etc etc.  I’m never alone in the gym, so I won’t pretend that I don’t notice other people, but when I do come into contact with another person or have a thought about someone it’s mostly along the lines of “oops, let me get out of your way.” or “are you done with that?” or “sweet, they’re wiping the machine down after they used it!”  If judgment goes through my mind it’s usually in the form of admiration, and I can say that honestly.  OK, wait…. I do have one criticism of strangers that crosses my mind sometimes...  “Are you really going to hog that machine while sitting there texting your friends?” 

I thought about all the times I felt insecure in the gym and wondered what people would think of me.  Do I care?  What do I think of fat or fit people in the gym?  What goes through my mind?  Is there a difference in what I think about fit people vs. fat people?  Unlike what I THINK people think about ME, there wasn’t a negative thought that crossed my mind about what I think of other people.  “Look at that fat fatty being all fat” wasn’t a even a passing thought of mine. 

When I see a “skinny” or “fit” person working out/kicking butt:
“Good for her/him!”
“I’m going to be like them some day.” 
“They must work really hard to have a body like that.”
“I wish I had that motivation…”
“NICE MUSCLES!”
“Ew…. Running.  I hate running.  She/he makes it look so easy!”
“Hey, that’s a good exercise, I should try it!”
“Oooooh…. Look at her tush!  Is it weird if I ask her how she got such a nice bootay?  Yeah, that’d be weird… welp, squats here I come!!!”
“That looks hard, but if they can do it, I can get there too.”

 If I have thoughts of negativity it’s based purely on jealousy because I want to be like them NOW.  I just know that they’re at a different point in their journey than I am.  But sometimes I just want a fast-forward button.

Now, what is my attitude when I see a “fat” or “out of shape” person working out/kicking butt?
“Wow, good for him/her!” 
“Oh, so THAT’S how you use that machine!”
“You go girl/man!”
“They’ve got a good routine going!”
“Ugh, I hate running….”
“I wish I had that motivation…”
“That looks hard, but if they can do it, I guess I can do it too.”

Those are my thoughts…. Wanna know what other people think?   I posed two questions to several of my friends whom I trusted would give me straight up, brutally honest answers.
The two questions I asked are as follows:

1.) What goes through your mind when you see a FAT person running on the street or working out in the gym?

2.) What goes through your mind when you see a FIT person running on the street or working out in the gym?

Here are the thoughts that people shared with me.  The Men and women all had pretty much the same responses, so I’m not going to separate them, but I’ll list them all individually so you can see how many duplicate thoughts there were….

1.) Fat: “good for you, mad props.”
Fit: “anger, completely out of jealousy for their abilities and dedication."

2.)  I say..."good for them!" in either case. Running sucks in either case. It takes great effort fit or fat to run in my opinion. 

3.) “Fat” response:  "Get after it, girl."  I'm usually more self-conscious about myself at the gym than to worry about anyone else. I've been really playing the comparison game lately. "If he/she can do it, why can't I?"  Bleh. Such a bad habit.
“Fit” response:  Jealousy. Pure jealousy. "I should really hire a trainer." 

4.)  “Fat” response:  I hope they can stick with it.
“Fit” response:  I wish I had their initiative.
Both stem from me wishing I was more active. I think I assume a heavy runner is in it to lose weight, while a thin runner does it more leisurely.
5.)  “All I see is a person….”

6.) “Fat” response:  Good for her. Wow, that's impressive!
“Fit” response: I sorta think the same thing however, it's probably more, ugh, wish I was that dedicated.
This person goes on to say:  “My answers are mostly about myself not them because I struggle with cardio and running is really challenging for me so I'm envious of those who do and stick with it. I wish I craved a good run but I simply don't. A body pump class I consistently take is not full of skinny minnies but real bodies who value strength and upping their weights instead of obsessing how thin they are. That's the mindset that I choose to have.”  ßI love that mindset!
7.) “Fat” response:  Good for them.
“Fit” response:  Good for them.
Either way it’s just good they choose to be there.
8.)  “Fat” response:  Good for them!  I wish I had their motivation and determination.
“Fit” response: It’s so easy for them. It’s like they don’t have to try. Then I get embarrassed cuz I’m fat and think they are judging me.
9.)  Well I am the fat person running. :) but when I see a fat person or a fit person running I usually just say hi. Fellow runners are usually friendly. I don't care if they're judging me at least I'm doing it!
10.)  “Fat” response:  That they have determination, will, they’re someone willing to change, because making it to the gym is the hardest part.
“Fit” response:  “Obsessive.” “Vain to a degree”
"I would say it’s more of a vanity issue for fit people and a healthy choice for a fat person."

So there you have it…. All of these thoughts made me feel better.  None of these thoughts made me feel like I didn’t want to go into the gym for fear that someone may actually think the above thoughts about me.  If someone did think the above thoughts about me, I can handle that!  Honestly, I won't even know.  Mostly people think, good for you!  We’re all in this together.  Fat or thin, fit or out of shape, we’re all making the same choice to show up.  Now, is it terrible that someone may look at you and think “if they can do it, I can do it.”?  I don’t think so.  I’m a normal person, if another normal person thinks they can do what I can do and are motivated to try… AWESOME.  Get after it!  At least I’m not alone in my misery now.  Also, is it terrible that someone may be jealous of your fitness level? Hey, you worked hard for that!  Let someone strive to be just like you some day!  I’m sure you felt the same way about someone when you first began your journey and maybe it even pushed you harder to reach your goals!
Whichever “category” you see yourself fitting in to, “fit” or “fat”… when you’re being all like “oh my gosh, everyone’s watching me and looking at me with those judgy judgment eyes being all judgy.  I want to get out of here.”  Remember these thoughts I shared from men and women alike.  Is that as bad as it gets?  If someone thinks “Wow, good for you!” about you working hard at the gym, is that terrible?  What are you afraid they’re thinking of you?  Ask yourself what YOU think of others in the gym, do you think your thoughts should affect someone else’s success?  NO!  So why should other people's thoughts affect you?  In the gym, how much are you thinking about other people and how much are you thinking about yourself?  See that muscley dude grunting over there in the squat rack with headphones in his ears?  I bet he’s concentrating on his form while trying his darndest not to break out into song and dance to Taylor swift’s “Shake it off.”  It’s a catchy little tune… it’s hard to refrain from such activity.  In fact, he’s probably really self –conscious about possibly having his love for Taylor Swift discovered by his fellow gym cronies. 
Another thing, I asked my friend if I could share what she wrote as one of her more recent facebook statuses.  I really admire her vulnerability and honesty, I’m sure most of us feel this way but are too afraid to voice it.  Many of us let these thoughts stop us from going to the gym at all.  Here it is, ready?

“I walked into the gym tonight.  Saying I “worked out” is probably giving me more credit than I deserve.  I was nervous and intimidated going in.  I was clumsy and sweating and struggling every minute I was there.  It was an embarrassing and humbling experience.  Mostly, I am so very upset with myself for letting myself get to a point where I could write the last 5 sentences.  There’s a lot of damage to undo and I feel every year of my age and every pound of my weight right now and it doesn’t feel good.  But, I’m determined to go back and feel this way again tomorrow and the next day and so on until maybe it doesn’t feel so impossible.”

WOW.  Isn’t that powerful?  I bet most of us have felt that way.  Sometimes we’re so busy criticizing ourselves and putting ourselves down and that makes it almost IMPOSSIBLE to be successful.  Getting in shape is SO HARD!  Showing up at the gym is SO HARD.  Trying not to psych yourself out of working hard is SO HARD.  Staying positive is SO HARD.  Lifting that dumbbell umpteen times is SO HARD!  Doing cardio is SO HARD. 

Come on, can’t showing up be enough? It’s hard enough doing the work, don’t make your fight harder by thinking negative, self-doubting, destructive thoughts. Don’t wipe that sweat off your forehead, let it fricken sparkle.  You earned that sweat, don’t brush it away.  Well, I mean if it’s getting in your eyes and burning, then by all means….  But you know what I mean.  OWN IT.  Be proud of the work you’re doing.

If you stick with it and follow your goals, you can know that these people will get to watch you transform.  If I feel fat in the gym today I tell myself, “Tomorrow I’m only going to look better!” Everyday you’ll go in with an improved version of yourself from yesterday, and you’ll leave better than you came in.  Show up.  Do the work.  Forget your insecurities because you are there to transform yourself.  Your “weaknesses” will soon be your strengths.  Don’t fool yourself, it doesn’t get easier…. YOU get STRONGER.  Take credit for that.  If you can only do 1 pushup today, own that one pushup.  Be proud of the ONE pushup you did, and forget about the ones you couldn’t do today.  Practice that one pushup until it turns into 2 pushups.  You will get to look back and remember the struggle and feel pride in the fact that you can now do 10, 20, 30 pushups in a row without stopping. It’s because you persevered, you worked hard, you probably even felt like giving up, but you DIDN’T, and that is victory my friend.    

When you get to be the gym God/Goddess that I know you will be, offer smiles and words of encouragement to the people who look lost and embarrassed.  Maybe they’re staring at a bicep machine wondering “where exactly do my feet go?” Well, step in and offer some help and an encouraging word.  Tell them where you started and encourage them to keep going then proceed to workout in sweaty, glorious harmony together.  They’ll be SO THANKFUL to have a friendly, familiar face to see when they come in the gym next time.  Wouldn’t that be lovely?

Turn a working lunch into a walking lunch!

To follow up on yesterday's post about how sitting at work all day can greatly affect your health in a negative way, I thought I'd post about how taking a walk on your lunch break could benefit your health!

I love that I have coworkers who walk with me.  It's fun, relaxing, and the fresh air is amazing!  My friend Steph is always good at taking selfies and keeping track of our distance.  :)  See how happy we are?  It really helps us mentally to go back to work and finish the afternoon because we have that break from our desks.  We come back refreshed, energized and in a good mood!  In fact, a new study finds that even gentle lunchtime strolls can perceptibly — and immediately — buoy people’s moods and ability to handle stress at work.

It's also shown that regular movement throughout the day will keep your mind and body limber and help avoid fatigue.

If you don't have enough time on your lunch break to regularly walk, try to think of ways you can add movement or at least decrease the amount of time you are sedentary. Try getting out of your chair more, standing during your calls, taking more frequent bathroom breaks/filling your water bottle more often or alternating your chair with a yoga ball. And if you have to drive to work, try parking at the far end of the lot, taking the stairs, and going the long way to the bathroom and break room. 

Why Walk for 30 Minutes?

Health authorities including the USDA and CDC recommend at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity exercise such as brisk walking, so during a 5 day work week, that's 30 minutes a day. If you enjoy a brisk walk during your lunch break most days of the week, you will have achieved the minimum requirement to help combat the health risks of inactivity and obesity.  

In 30 minutes you can cover between 1.5 to 2 miles.  You can burn as many as 200 calories, depending on distance and your weight.  If you want to know how many calories your walk just burned.... check this out! Walking Calorie Calculator.

Here are tips to make the most of 30 minutes of walking

*Where can you walk so you have minimal interruptions? You can use a treadmill, walk indoors, or walk outdoors. Select a route that has fewer street crossings and stops for traffic. If you know how much distance you can walk in 30 minutes, you can map out a circular route. If not, you may want a shorter route that you can repeat multiple times.

*Change into athletic shoes: You could walk in whatever footwear you happen to wear to work or school. But to get a good brisk walking stride, it's best to change into athletic shoes. Depending on the weather, you may also need an appropriate coat, hat, or to change into shorts and a t-shirt.

 

*Eat before or after? Most people prefer to exercise first and have the meal after they finish. If you are very hungry by lunch, quiet your hunger by drinking a glass of water, or have a light snack of a piece of fruit.  A light lunch after your walk will nourish your muscles so they can recover and grow stronger.  My coworkers and I like to walk first because if our walk goes longer than planned we cut into our time to eat (which we can always eat our lunch at our desks if we run out of time) instead of getting back to the office late.  Plus, we’re afraid some days if we eat first, we’ll never want to get up from our meals and spend the rest of the time in the cafeteria socializing.

*Warm-Up: Begin with an easy walking pace for one to three minutes. Use this time to shake out the kinks if you have been sitting or standing for long periods.

*Good walking posture: Energize your walking by relaxing and loosening your shoulders and standing upright, with stomach sucked in and pelvis tilted slightly forward. You want your chin up and eyes forward.  What about stretching? You can go through a short stretching routine after a couple of minutes of walking. But you can also save the stretching to do after your walk or as its own exercise activity at another time.

*Vary Your Lunchtime Walking Workouts.  Change it up from day to day to prevent boredom and to keep challenging your body in different ways.  Alternate steady state days with interval days.  If you always use a treadmill, mix it up with walking the corridors or walking outside.  Take a different path and see where it leads you.

* Invite Others to Join You.  Solo walking is great, but you may be more consistent in walking if you have a lunchtime walking buddy. You won't find as many excuses to skip your walk if your friend is ready to get going.

Is your job keeping you fat?

If you're anything like me maybe you can relate to this post, or maybe you're in the position where you're company rocks and has health promotion on the brain and has encouraged people to find an alternative to SITTING ALL DAY at their desks.

From the hours of 8-5 I probably get up only to go to the bathroom and the copier, say a total of 10 times.  I would think that the time I spend standing or walking is no more than 30 minutes total.  If I walk on my lunch break, we usually go anywhere from 20 minutes to 30 minutes.  So, that means I'm on my butt at my desk for about 8-8.5 hours before I even go home.  HOLY CRAP.  

If you haven't seen these info-graphics on the internet already, ready below at the staggering statistics.  Below the infographic is also a youtube video about the "Kangaroo Desk."  A great option for those who want to stand, but it's not a commitment to stand for 8-9 hours a day because you can adjust it so you can stand OR sit at your desk.  Pretty cool!

Check out this option for a desk that allows you to go from sitting to standing and back again whenever you want:

I started wearing a pedometer to track how few steps I actually take a day.  Most days I don't get over 2,000 steps before I get home from work.  That is pathetic!  I'm really trying to consciously get up from my desk more often.  Coincidentally, I'm also trying to drink more water.  Drink more water=more trips to the bathroom.  BOOM.

My friend Star made a pitch to the wellness team at her company.  She said, and I quote, "I think having a desk job is keeping me fat!" and I can't say I disagree with her!  She sent me her pitch and included a sample letter that would be handy if you wanted to urge your employer to take the steps to help create a healthier workforce by offering employees alternatives to sitting all day.  She's a lot braver than me, I think my boss would laugh in my face... but I guess, it doesn't hurt to ask?

This letter is provided by Anthro, who makes standing furniture, so obviously they want to make this easy for you.  :)  

Go forth and be healthy!!  :)

Wanna box?

On Tuesday, I had my second session with my personal trainer and it proved to me that I made the right choice to hire someone to help me.  I need variety in my workouts and he delivered.  I need to be pushed harder than I would push myself and he absolutely delivered.  I need cardio and strength training that can make me work hard despite my limitations, and once again, he delivered!

We boxed the entire session.  He put 1 lb gloves on me and it was ON.  He grabbed his

mit/pad things and we sparred until my arms were ready to fall off.  He would hold the pads to the sides and have me cross punch them, then he’d move them in different places making me cross and pivot to reach out further to the sides, or upper cut punch, or hook.  I was determined to make every single punch just as forceful as the next because I didn’t want to slack OR have him think that I was slacking.  He could feel every single punch and how hard I was working. 

Just when I thought I couldn’t throw one more punch and I started to wonder if this was literally the only thing we were going to be doing the entire time, he told me to drop and give him 10.  I looked at him like he was crazy.  My arms were about to fall off and he was telling me to do pushups?  I summoned up every last morsel of strength I could muster and got in 10 really good pushups.  He congratulated me on my progress (I’ve been practicing my pushups, cuz I really suck at them) and then told me to do a 30 second plank.  This actually felt like a rest for the first 5 seconds… like I could finally catch my breath, and then rigamortis began to set in… On second 28-29 of torture he piped in “once you hit 30 seconds you’re going to jump up swinging!”  Oh, I was going to swing alright… He was pissing me off now!  As soon as I heard “30!” I sprung up and cross punched his left pad that wasn’t quite ready for me.  He stumbled back and tried to recover saying, “Shit, you really did come up swinging!” 

We continued this workout doing sets of intense boxing followed by different plyometrics exercises such as: 

1.)    5 squats, 30 seconds squat hold, 5 squats, 30 seconds squat hold.

2.)    Push-ups, plank

3.)    Wall sits- toes up, toes flat, toes up, toes down (I don’t know why raising your toes makes it harder… try it and let me know what you think.)

On a few boxing sets he told me to duck after so many swings.  At one point he said, “ok now instead of ducking after two punches from each side, you’re going to duck after three!”  One set went great, then the second set he miscounted and I almost got decked and I yelled “YOU REALLY ARE TRYING TO KILL ME!”  At least my reflexes were on point!

I was drenched in sweat and exhausted, but I had just had so much fun working out.  The half hour FLEW by even though towards the end I could barely lift my arms.  My sets of pushups were decreased to 5 each because it was a MAJOR struggle.  When he and the other trainer who had stopped to watch me both offered me high fives, I considered head butting them instead.  I had to manipulate my body in a way so I could swing my arm up to reach their outstretched high five.  You can’t just leave them hanging, but my arms were begging me to leave THEM hanging.

I finally got to the locker room and cursed myself for hanging my jacket in an upper locker… how the HELL was I expected to get it down?  If there was another woman in the locker room at that moment I would have asked her to put my jacket on for me and zip it-no joke.  I laid my jacket out on the bench, sat down in front of it, slide my right arm into the sleeve, maneuvered my left arm and shoulder into the other sleeve by laying my body down and doing a rolling type motion, much like how my dog looks when he’s rolling in something nasty.  I felt like a champion.  Once I got into the car I sat for 5 minutes sipping water willing myself not to throw up before I drove home (which also proved to be quite the feat).

It is now Friday and I can finally lift my arms up comfortably to type, drive, itch my nose, eat, drink and everything else you do with your arms.  This may sound totally idiotic, but you use your arms to do EVERYTHING!  EV-RY-THING!

My Coke Addiction

Hello, 

My name is Tami, and I'm a recovering Diet Coke Addict.

I love McDonald’s Diet Coke, it's my favorite.  You can Google why McDonald’s Diet Coke is better than everyone else’s… it’s true.  Other people agree and McDonald’s gives the middle finger to any other restaurant that wants to sell it.  I love it so much that I have even stopped at subway across the street to get food, and then went across the street through the McD’s drive-thru just to get a large Diet Coke. 

Anyway, I've been taking small steps towards giving up Diet Coke altogether.   I actually had one at lunch today but otherwise can’t remember the last time I drank one.  I feel like crap after drinking it today so I was compelled to write this blog.

I started noticing after lunch, maybe around 1:30-2:00,  I would feel SO tired at my desk.  I would run to the soda machine to get a Diet Pepsi (bleh, not the same… but it’s all they have) and about an hour later I would feel another rush of pure exhaustion.  I mean, I was fighting to barely keep my eyes open.  Eventually I traced it back to the days that I go out for lunch and have a Diet Coke/Pepsi with my meal, and then I proceed to make it worse by having an afternoon soda to get more caffeine in my body because God knows I shouldn’t have coffee at 2:00 in the afternoon…. That’s just crazy.  Right?  Well not as crazy as drinking soda is, it turns out.  Usually, any afternoon dips in energy happen around 3:00ish and can be rectified by a little snack, but not the afternoons after I drink diet soda.  

Not only does Diet Coke make me tired, but I also have noticed that I get hives!  I get so itchy! I take Zyrtec everyday because I always have allergies.  Not always in the form of a runny nose/eyes, but usually in itchy skin/minor hives.  When I drink a Diet Coke, the response is almost immediate.  Again, I always assumed it was because I forgot to take my allergy medicine, and never thought it could be a reaction from Diet Coke but see #5 below!

I googled “Why does Diet Coke make me so tired?” and I got a plethora of results.  I’m not the only one!  There are some really gross facts out there.  Diet Coke can really wreak havoc on your body and you think by drinking “diet” you’re doing yourself a favor.  It’s been about a year that I’ve been trying to scale back since I always knew it wasn’t good for you… but now that I’m reading how BAD it is, I’ve kicked that habit breaking into high gear.  I don’t buy it at work, I don’t bring it along on road trips(maybe THAT’S why I always get so sleepy when I drive for more than an hour!) I’ve never really bought it to have at home, but I sure am putting it on my “do not buy list” now!  I’ve started ordering water with lemon anytime I go to dinner, so I could say I’m on a path to being completely Diet Coke free, but I find myself still craving it every now and then.  Today was one of those days, but I regret it.  Not worth it!  Now I just have to figure out what to order at a bar…  Bacardi Limon and Diet Coke was always my go to drink.  

Here are my top 10 Gross Diet Coke Facts:

1.)    It messes up your metabolism.  While a link to whether diet soda and metabolism is attributed to an ingredient in diet cola or the drinker’s eating habits is unclear, a study shows that even just one diet soda a day is linked to a 34% higher risk of metabolic syndrome.

2.)    It’s bad for your kidneys.  In an 11-year-long Harvard Medical School study of more than 3,000 women, researchers found that diet cola is associated with a two-fold increased risk for kidney decline.  Kidney decline wasn’t associated with sugar-sweetened sodas, and they suspect that the diet sweeteners in the diet colas are responsible.

3.)    Increases risk of being overweight.  A study at the University of Texas Health Science Center found that the more diet sodas a person drank, the greater their risk of becoming overweight.  Drinking just 2 or more cans a day increased waistlines by 500%!!  Artificial sweeteners can disrupt the body’s natural ability to regulate calorie intake making you more likely to overeat.  Your body is tricked into thinking it’s eating sugar and cravings increase.  When waist circumference/belly fat increases, so does the risk of heart disease and diabetes. 

4.)    Cell Damage.  Nearly all diet sodas contain sodium benzoate and/or potassium benzoate.  These are “mold inhibitors” that have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point where they totally inactivate it.  The preservative has been linked to hives, asthma, and other allergic conditions-which I’ve actually suffered from!

5.)    Makes you moody.  As a girl, I don’t need help in this area… Aspartame in Diet Coke can really mess with those who have anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder.  Aspartame is also on the EPA list of potentially dangerous chemicals contributing to neurotoxicity, right under arsenic.  EW.

6.)    It messes with your skin.  Soda lowers your pH levels, which can cause acne and negatively affect your complexion.  We need a high level of alkalinity for our bodies to be healthy and for our complexion to be glowy and radiant.  You want to be radiant?  Ditch the soda.  (I hope it’s that easy!)

7.)    Awful Hangovers.  Cocktails made with diet soda get you drunker, faster because sugar-free mixers allow liquor to enter your bloodstream much quicker than those with sugar, according to a study done by the Royal Adelaide Hospital in Australia.

8.)    Rotting Teeth.  Soda is very acidic.  Wanna know how acidic?  It has a pH of 3.2, Water is 7 (neutral) and battery acid is 1.  This acid dissolves enamel.  Soda drinkers have far greater decay, more missing teeth, and more fillings.

9.)    Reproductive Issues linked to cans.  Soft drink cans are coated with BPA, bisphenol A, an endocrine distruptor which has been linked to everything from heart disease to obesity to reproductive problems. 

10.)  Cancer.  Two contaminants in the caramel coloring used in colas, 2-mthylimidazole and 4-mthylimidazole have been found to cause cancer in animals.  This caramel coloring is purely cosmetic and is un-necessary.  According to California’s strict Prop 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer, just 16 micrograms per person per day of 4-mthylimidazole is enough to pose a cancer threat and most colas contain 200 micrograms per 20 ounces.  Yikes.

Not cool.  I love the taste, but I don't love what it does to my body.  Takes the fizz out of drinking Diet Coke, doesn't it?  Pah ha!  See what I did there?

1st training session

Well I'm alive and only a little bit sore after my first personal training session!  

Our first session was all body weight exercises.  No weight room...yet.  Rob says that'll come on our 2nd or 3rd session.  

I thought I'd share what exercises he had me do in the 30 minute session we did.  I was dripping with sweat, literally.  I was staring at a little puddle on the mat growing from the sweat dripping off my nose as I was doing planks.  True story.  It was sick.  I spilled my water just so people wouldn't think all that water was my sweat.  That's a lie.  I spilled my water because I'm a clutz.  I just got lucky that it helped camouflage my sweat puddle.

Anyway....  this is what we did:

Wall-Ball Squats with hold:  Stability ball between you and the wall about in the middle-ish of your back.  Feet about shoulder width apart, squat 10 times with top of your thighs at a 90 degree angle.  On your 10^th rep, hold the squat for 30 seconds with arms extended in front of you. (For an extra challenge while you’re holding the squat, hold hands out in front of you, palms together thumbs up.  Have a partner push left on your hands as you resist and push right, then switch as you push left and they push right.  Then rotate hands and have them push up/down as you push down/up.)

Do 3 sets.

Push-up followed by plank:  Fingers pointed forward, hands wider than shoulder width, lower all the way down until chest touches floor and raise back up. (You can do the push-ups on your knees to start, and then do push-ups on your toes once you’re stronger.)  10 push-ups followed by a 30 second plank (elbows bent, forearms on mat, body flat/straight).

3 sets

*Alternate the following two exercises do back to back.  1 complete set of bridges, and then 1 complete set of hydrants on left leg, 1 set of hydrants on right leg and then start over.  Do this rotation for 3 total sets.

A.      One leg Stability Ball bridges:  Roll out so shoulders are on ball keeping your body flat and knees bent at right angle.  Raise one leg to be parallel to floor, hold it up as you dip your butt down and bridge back up again.  It’s ok to touch your hands to the floor for extra balance, just don’t cheat by “aiding” your core and butt.  Dip 5-10 times (or as many as you can) on one leg.  That’s one set.  Take a breath and do 2 more sets on the same leg.  Once you’ve done 3 sets on the same leg, switch legs and do 3 sets.  It’s important to “burn out” one side at a time-it’s more effective that way.

3 sets left leg, then 3 sets right leg.

B.      Hydrants with hold: Get on hands and knees and with knee still bent, lift to the side and return 10 times.  After 10 reps, kick leg straight out to the side (like the picture on the right) and hold for 5 seconds.  This is 1 full set.  Do 3 sets on one side, and then 3 sets on the other.

3 sets left leg, then 3 sets right leg.

Triceps Push-up followed by side plank: Lay on right side, knees slightly bent.  Hug right arm around either your opposite shoulder or your waist so you aren’t encouraged to cheat, and plant your left palm firmly on the mat and push to raise your body off the mat while straightening your left arm.  Your hips or feet shouldn’t rise up.  You should feel the burn in your left triceps.  Do 10 reps on your right side and then follow each set with a right side plank and hold for at least 10 seconds… try for 30!

Once you’ve done 3 sets of each on your right side, flip over and do 3 sets on your left.

The reason he had me do one side of my body at a time is because he wants to burn out once side of muscles at a time with each exercise.  I guess it's more effective that way, I dunno, I'm not the expert... I just do what I'm told.  :)  One side gets totally exhausted before you move on to the next.  This makes sense, but it wasn't what I had always done.  I've always done left, right, left, right to give myself a slight break in between.  If you're truly trying to build up lean muscle tissue and rev up your metabolism you need to be taxing your muscles in order for them to start the repair and build process to give you more muscle.  

Rob's about to kick my butt.

I did something I never thought I would do.

I'm spending money on something I never thought I would spend money on.

I'm about to voluntarily cause myself pain regularly.

But most importantly, I made a decision that I think will change my life in the best way.

I hired a personal trainer.

WHAT!?!?

I joined a new Gym, LA Fitness, and I'm pretty psyched.  It's walking distance to my new house, it has a pool, sauna, and jacuzzi.  Also, not only does it have every piece of equipment you could as for, it has a ton of fitness classes! A bunch of my friends have been going together to Zumba, Kickboxing, Boot Camp, Etc.  It's awesome having a bunch of girls around me that are wanting to be healthy too!  

Anyway, when you sign up for a new gym a lot of times they try to sell you a personal training package and they have you do a "free fitness assessment."  I've always turned them down but this time I was intrigued.  I met this past Saturday with a Personal trainer to see what he had to say.  When I worked out in the past I didn't have to worry about limitations from an injury.  I really need help with  "how much pain is too much pain" and what exercises will help me achieve my goals.  I need variety.  I need to build up my right calf muscle.  I need to work on my balance.  But mostly, I need to lose weight.  My best friend's mom Mary told me something the other day that makes total sense and has been wringing in my brain since.  "Every 10 pounds you're overweight is 100 pounds on your joints."  Holy man, my poor ankle!  I can do so much good for myself, and my ankle, by dropping the weight, so that is my priority right now.

Anyway, this was such a great appointment for me.  Michael, the trainer I had my assessment with, was awesome.  He asked me so many questions in order to get to the bottom of what my goals are.  He wanted to understand me so he could help me figure out where to go from here.  He took my stats, measurements, and weight so we could track my progress throughout.  He told me that a realistic, healthy goal was 1-3 pounds a week, saying that this would fluctuate.  He worked me out (HOLY CRAP, OW!) for a short 15 minute preliminary training session and THEN he did TWO things that are awesome:

1.) Recommended and signed me up with a trainer who specializes in, get this, WEIGHTLOSS and REHABILITATION!!  That is just too perfect!  I am SO excited!!  Not only that, but Rob, my soon to be trainer, is a Packer fan! BONUS!  Instead of taking on a new client for himself, Michael cared enough to put me in the best possible hands for MY goals.  Or maybe my whining during the workout was just that annoying, I dunno.

2.)  Showed me how to calculate my daily calorie intake.  He explained that it takes a deficit of 3,500 calories for 1 pound of weight loss.  If I figure out my daily calorie need or "Basal Metabolic Rate" and subtract 500 from that, it'll give me a deficit of 3,500 calories a week (500 calories x's 7 days = 3,500 calories = 1 pound of weight loss).  I will then lose 1 pound of weight a week from diet, and then we can workout to lose 1-2 pounds a week in addition.  

Here's the Calorie per day formula you can use to figure out your own daily maintenance calories.  (Subtract 500 calories from the total number if you want to lose 1 pound per week like me).  This is from my "Personal Training Handbook" from LA Fitness and it's called the "Harris-Benedict Formula."

I lied, there's another thing I got from this appointment that I wanted to share.  Maybe it's common sense to you, but maybe not.  I'm going to share anyway, just in case.

There are 3 important ways through which to help your metabolism.

1.) Diet:  Eating nutrient rich foods, and small frequent meals.  Focusing on portion sizes, eating slower so you can recognize appetite signals, and eating your vegetables first so you fill up on those instead of the other items on your plate.  

2.) Cardio: for immediate calorie burning.  Some people think that Cardio is the most important factor in losing weight, but once you step off that treadmill, your calorie burning stops.  You might burn 300 calories during your workout, but when your workout is done, so is the calorie burning.  My trainer recommends that I do cardio 2 times a week minumum, 3 if I can.  This is important, but not as important as....

3.) Strength and Resistance training:  This is a calorie killer.  You not only are burning calories during your workout, but 72 hours later, while your muscles are still recovering, you're STILL burning calories.  You could be sitting on the couch and burning calories while your friend is at the gym on the treadmill.  Ha ha, sucka!  When you lift you're creating tiny tears in your muscle fibers and after your workout your body works to repair this muscle.  This muscle building process revs up your metabolism and burns calories even while resting.  The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you're naturally burning.  Michael said that this is absolutely going to be the key to my success.  If I think of these three bullet points as a pyramid, the smallest triangle will be food, then cardio in the middle, and then strength and resistance training in the bottom, largest section of the pyramid.  He told me that I should be S&R training 3-4 times a week.  

I knew that strength and resistance training was important, but it really drove it home for me to hear HOW important it was.

I meet this new trainer, Rob, on Tuesday for my first full session.  I'm terrified and excited.  

I will share the exercises we do, because he'll write them down for me in my "workout diary" as well as write down what my workouts throughout the week should be.