Hit my 10lb milestone today

So, either I've been more conscientious about my diet (only a little bit likely) or the whole gluten-free thing is actually working. I reached my 10lb loss goal today, 1 more lb to my 5% weight loss goal. :) I'm liking this small goal setting thing.

Celiac (Coeliac) Disease

Is something I now have to worry about, apparently.

I decided about a month ago to stop procrastinating and just get tested because my symptoms had increased to the point of me being frequently uncomfortable: Non-stop heartburn, migraines independent of bad weather, bloating, frequent diarrhea, etc. The symptoms of this disease are unpleasant, to say the least.

Plus, years ago, when I still lived at home, my mom and I went and had our food allergies tested, and for both of us, top of the list of things we shouldn't eat was wheat, followed closely by sugar and dairy for me. That, combined with the fact that the testing was done by someone who reminded me of those travelling salesmen of years past made me promptly put the results in a folder in a deep, dark corner of my closet and never look at them again. Ever.

At any rate, a couple weeks after having my blood tested, I got a call from the medical office saying they would like to book an appointment with me to discuss my lab results. For anyone who has never had to worry about anything like this, there are two calls you get after blood work. One is an over-the-phone update saying everything is fine, and the other is the call I got. Which caused me to spend some time over the week before my appointment researching celiac disease, and gluten-free diets, and ensured that last night, when the nurse informed me that the results were indicative of the disease, I wasn't really surprised.

I still have all kinds of questions, like why am I not being referred for an endoscopic biopsy, which apparently the only way to diagnose for sure celiac disease, and apparently, would aid me in claiming expenses and what-not in the future. (http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gluten-free/)

I'm going to have to follow up on that. I'm sure that I will also have all kinds of other questions, but for now, I'm going to focus on buying (and eating) gluten-free food and emptying my cupboards of all the gluten-filled food in them. I'm going to put off finding a gluten-free bakery, although I have already had several recommendations, in the hope that as I start this diet, I might lose some weight as a side effect...

That would be a really good side effect.

Partially torn Achilles tendon

Wow. I got really blogged out there for a while.

Quick update, I finished a 5k race in June, as planned, and promptly decided I dislike running to the extreme. I have now essentially taken it out of my training routine. I replaced it with swimming, round about the same time as the pool at my gym closed for a month of annual maintenance.

Plus, as the title of this post suggests, I have somehow managed to partially tear my Achilles tendon. Which sort of puts a damper on all types of exercise until it has healed. Right now, I am waiting for an MRI to be scheduled so that I know the extent of the damage, but I have also begun research into treatment.

First up, the R.I.C.E. method, which I did for the first week.

Up next, able to walk again. Which I am able to do. I think switching my parking space to one where I wasn't required to do 4 flights of stairs to and from work has helped immensely in the being able to walk without severe pain.

Step 3: Lift in shoes, plus possibly taping my heel. I wore an ankle wrap for a week and a half, but stopped wearing it this week. Partly because I was camping for the weekend and didn't want it to get completely filthy at the campsite, but then I seemed to be mostly fine without it, so haven't put it back on yet. I'll go look for a heel insert for my shoes at noon today.

Step 4: Rehabilitation. The first step of which seems to be straight forward balance exercises. Because I am not yet ready to start stretching that tendon at all. And I don't really want to start any form of intense rehab without guidance from a professional.

And I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to postpone my Krav Maga Beginner Course for now. Oh well, that's why plans are flexible, right? I'll figure this out, and get back to training for Machu Picchu as soon as I can.

5% goal reached!!

So, it's been a while, and a few things have changed... I quit Weight Watchers, and joined Herbal Magic.

I stepped on the scale this week, and my weight is 203.8, which is my 5% goal, which is very exciting for me.

I have solidified my plan to get me to Machu Picchu in 2017, and for this year, I have two things left to do: run a couple of races.

And so, I am signing up to run the 5K Music for the Sole race on June 1, and the 10K Changing Lives race on August 16.

I am feeling good about this.

Happy Monday!

Today in Regina, it is a finger-freezing -30 C, -42 C with the wind chill. Sigh.

I'm trying (and mostly failing) not to complain about the winter, so all I'm going to say here is this: I am in the process of adjusting my life plan so that I work here from April to January, and then I leave and spend the first three to four months of every year travelling. Still not sure how that is going to work, but every day I have to wake up to winter makes me more and more focused on making that a reality.

And now, back to the focus of this blog, which is my transformation from Fat Anna to Fit Anna.

On Thursday, I went to a trial class of kickboxing fitness, which is not quite kickboxing, but is more like an exercise class in a kickboxing gym, and includes heavy bag work as part of the circuits. I loved it! I had a bit of a giggle because one of the circuit stations was a plank station, and we spent three minutes there doing 1- minute plank variations. I was good for the first minute, which was a regular plank, but when we moved to the variations, I had to take a couple of breaks. All in all, it was a good workout, I got to punch and knee some heavy bags, and the only thing that I am still feeling 4 days later are my calves from the skipping warm-up we did.

My personal conclusion? My Couch Potato program worked!!!!

And so, that is what I'm actually focusing on today in this blog entry.

Really quickly, before I get to that, I am on week 2 of my Beginner Program, which includes the following:

• 3 days of running (~25 minutes)
• 3 days of strength training
• 2 days of cross-training
• Planking every day (1 minute plank, 3/day)
• Yoga twice a day every day
• Meal plan - ~1500 calories/day

And now, more about the Couch Potato Program I followed.

I started with the standard Couch to 5K running program, added strength training on alternating days, yoga twice a day, and a daily plank.

Let me just say I am not a trained fitness anything, so in creating these programs, I am following my instincts based on 16 years of my own personal experience with various trainers, several books on strength-training, some martial arts, and some running.

My guiding principle is that as long as you start off easily and progress steadily, you are capable of great things. For me, that includes things like starting as a couch potato and running a 1/2 marathon within the year, or never having done a plank to being able to do multiple repetitions of plank variations each a minute or more. The only thing that I believe takes a long time is starting as a couch potato and becoming a competitive body builder. That kind of muscle development, if you are starting at nothing, takes a long time. That of course, is just my opinion, and having no desire to become a competitive body builder, I am not intending to figure out how long it takes to get there when you start at nothing.

I did not develop any of the individual programs I follow by myself. I found the running program (Google Couch to 5 k, or check out the link from the right-hand list of inspirational web sites), found a beginner's weight-lifting program I liked, after a little research determined that my yoga needs would be met by a beginner-level sun salutation routine, and with a little more research found an app that is perfect for me, and happened upon a plank challenge that I adapted. Then I took all of those and put them together into an 8-week program

In the end, this is what my Couch Potato Program looks like.

Fingers crossed that I never have to follow it again... I would much rather progress through the other programs I have cobbled together, moving towards that future Fit Anna, hiking through the mountains in Peru, up to Macchu Picchu for her 40th birthday.

Beginner Program, Week 1, Wednesday

I actually made it into the gym today. And I ran (well, jogged) on the treadmill for 20 minutes. Yay me!

This whole process of transforming from fat to fit is very hard on my poor little brain. I know I started last September, but between finishing up a Couch Potato program, breaking over Christmas, having a few false starts in January, and having further developed my individual program(s), I feel like I am starting fresh again. 

The major difference between this restart and the September Start is that in September I was out of breath, red-faced and panting after jogging for 60 seconds, and today, I jogged for 10 minutes before taking a break. And on Friday, when I get on the treadmill again, I'm hoping to not need that break, but to be able to just jog for 25 minutes straight. That feels really good. Also, my waist is much smaller - not sure of exact numbers yet; I need to measure again - but all of my skirts are a little loose around the hips, and then basically sag around my waist. I just need a tiny little bit more lost around my hips before I can drop down into the next size of skirts, of which I have several gorgeous ones just hanging patiently in my closet waiting.

Diet-wise, I have to say I'm being very good - looking forward to Saturday's weigh-in - but I'm not 100% following my meal plan yet. I'll get there soon, I think.

Looking at today's plan vs. reality, things I need to focus on in order to be successful are:

1. Get out of bed in the morning
2. Pack healthy snacks
3. Drink water
4. Eat fruit (and veggies)

In other news, I'll be going to a free kick-boxing class tomorrow night for my cross-training, and I found a vocal coach today whose ideas about teaching voice AND schedule seem perfectly matched to my ideas and schedule... very exciting stuff, this!

 

P.S. Update on my weight in January 2014

As mentioned in a previous post, I was very proud of myself after the holidays, having only gained 3 lbs total, including a week of holiday parties and two weeks at home with my family, where the focus always seems to be on food, no matter what else is happening.

And then I started feeling EXHAUSTED. No other work for it, could barely get out of bed in the morning, and fell into bed right after work. Turns out, I had a kidney stone in the third week of January. Not fun. I highly recommend avoiding those if possible.

And so, come January 25, instead of continuing the downward trend started by a 1 lb loss on January 11, my weight spiked again. By 3 lbs!

Needless to say, last week, although I was still not 100% in terms of activity level, I was very conscious of my diet, and am happy to report a 4 lb loss, leaving 1 lb off of my pre-holiday low.

Very Exciting Stuff, this!!!

Current Weight: 207.2 lbs.

I found a kick-boxing class!

... and by kick-boxing, I mean the real deal, with pads and everything! :)

My level of excitement about this is a bit higher than might be expected, because I had thought I found this in the fall, but it turned out to be just an aerobics class that used kick boxing words to describe the movements.

So.

Siam Kickboxing, here I come! I have (in my head) swapped out my planned cross-training exercise of hilly walks on the treadmill for 40 minutes of kick boxing twice a week, probably starting with a free trial class on Thursday of this week.

In other areas, I have developed a detailed daily plan based on cardio and strength training programs I found, and have now found a 6-week meal plan (Women's Health) that seems do-able to add to the mix.

And this morning, I was back to feeling 100% myself, jumped out of bed and headed to the gym to workout for the first time in a couple of weeks only to be informed that my gym membership had expired and then have the renewal take up all of my scheduled workout time. Sigh.

I feel like I will now be back on track tomorrow, instead of today. And my Beginner's Program, instead of ending in March, will run into April. Which coincides perfectly with my planned trip to Mexico, so I guess not really such a bad thing.

Good news, though - weight-wise, I was back on track last week, getting back down to 1 lb. above my pre-holiday weight.

Also, I have found a 5K race to run in the summer, so here's hoping that coincides with the completion of the Novice 5K race and General Fitness program I cobbled together to be completed after this beginner program...

Updated Goals: (Target Date April 5, 2014)

• Book a 7-day trip to Mexico on April 4, sign up for PADI Open Water Diving certification course
• Run for 5K by then
• Be able to do 3 reps of 3:00 planks
• Weigh 190 lbs - 17 lb weight loss!!

Wow. That looks almost scary. Thankfully, I have a plan. Now just to stick to it...

It's a New Year! Getting started all over again.

I'm not sure about everyone else out there who struggles to lose weight or get in shape, but I feel like I start over again at least once a week.

And now, with the holiday hurdle behind me, and having been settled back into my regular routine for a week, it's past time to get myself back on track (for real) with my exercise program.

So. A quick status update, and then on I go, into a bright new year!

I am very impressed with myself and how well I managed to do over the holidays. I took my workout gear and my yoga app with me, and I managed to do yoga once or twice a day for at least half of my holiday. Plus, I did get on a treadmill once, and I also was actually careful about my snacking while I was at home!!

(Read patting on back here...)

And so, when I got home and weighed myself, I was pleased to see that I had not in fact gained any weight (other than the three lbs I put on during the office christmas party tour the week before I left) and when I weighed myself again the Saturday after I got back, I was very happy to see that I was back down 1 lb.

Which brings me to this week, and what should have been my first week back on what has become a fairly rigorous workout plan.

I went to the gym Monday and Tuesday, and have not been back since. I have my workout gear with me, so need to get there tonight before I go home, and again tomorrow sometime either before or after picking up a bed with my room mate.

This year, my first workout program includes a 5K Running program (3 days of running and 2 days of cross-training/week), a continuation of three break-in strength training workouts a week, 3 daily planks of increasing duration, and morning and evening yoga routines.

The plan is that this program will last for 10 weeks, or until the end of March.