Trial and success

If you’ve been following my blog you are familiar with the ups and downs that I have had in regards to diet and exercise. In 2010 I was all over the place… (this is lengthy, but I’m working to make a point!)

I was still hanging on to Weight Watchers January-March, but totally cheating the system. I’d eat low point, non-filling, blah food in order to hoard my points for treats and splurges. I was frustrated with how I was feeling, frustrated that I wasn’t seeing changes, and still killing myself at the gym.

March I ditched WW and went for a different approach – The Rosedale Diet. I saw results and felt great! My clothes were finally fitting better and my confidence was building, HOWEVER, my diet was not supporting my workouts. Before I could pound out an intense 1 hour cardio session, but was now struggling to crank out 20-30 minutes.

Late March/April I began my half marathon training. Throughout my training, I incorporated a serving of carbs here and there, but ultimately, and in addition to too many things going on, I was off the diet bandwagon. April through July I stayed consistent with my training, but again, my diet just wasn’t there. I was allowing myself to eat what I wanted (which was okay!) but I was really overestimating/disregarding what my body actually needed for fuel.

After the half marathon in July, I let myself rest and worked on learning to listen to my body and do what I felt like doing. That didn’t last long and I started P90X at the end of July. I loved it at first, but after awhile I just felt frustrated that I wasn’t seeing results. I attempted to follow their diet plan, but it just wasn’t working for me. I finished out P90X in October with nothing to show. My pants weren’t fitting, I didn’t feel healthy or great, and my confidence was at an all time low. This was NOT how, physically and emotionally, I wanted to be.

Turning point - October 30th - I ran another half marathon. Totally unplanned and last minute decision. I ran it with ease and no problems at all. Running that race honestly made me realize that I am strong and able. I openly declared that I, from that moment on, had no grounds to talk poorly about myself any longer. If I could run a half marathon without training, my body deserved only good praise from there on out.

November started out with following the exercise plan that I received at a personal training session at the end of October and then my first Cross Fit session 1st CF session . I did two other free CF workouts, talked a lot about the Paleo diet with the trainer and on December 1st I dove in. And I haven’t looked back…

Choosing to ditch what I was previously doing and follow the CF/Paleo lifestyle was by far the best decision I made for myself. It has improved nearly all aspects of my life; I am more confident, I feel sexy, and I am loving myself. I no longer look in the mirror and notice what I don’t like about my body. I am proud of what I see because of what I can do. I slaved away at P90X and finished still not being able to curl a 25lb dumbbell without writhing, jumping and finally using my other arm to help. After about 3 weeks of Cross Fit, I could complete one rep with ease, not to mention the multitude of ability that I have discovered within myself.

A lot of times we are afraid to take a different route or try something new. We look at the negative what ifs and vision the newness as jumping across a canyon; we either land comfortably on the other side or tumble in failure. If what you are doing is not getting you the results you want, not fueling your happiness and feelings of worth, and draining you, then it’s time to try something new. Evaluate what you are doing and when it comes to fitness this means DIET and EXERCISE. Evaluate everything and be honest with yourself! Track what you eat (maybe even when and WHY) for a week and evaluate. How much food is natural and real? Did you eat when you weren’t hungry? Be honest! What’s the point in lying to yourself if you want results? How were your workouts? Were you bored? Did you enjoy it? How did you feel after? From here, reevaluate your plan for the next week. Make small changes.

If you aren’t feeling your workouts, do what you want to do! Walk, rest, stretch, yoga, meditate, take a bath…whatever! If you are keeping your diet in check, your rest/free days are not going to hinder you. Our bodies are a reflection of what we eat, inside and out! It’s all about creating a lifestyle that works for you and makes you feel 110%!

Life is too short to spend it unhappy, especially when it comes to doing something for your health. I love not spending hours in the gym anymore. I am much more satisfied kicking my ass for 5-20 minutes, 4-5 days a week than I was doing cardio for 6+ hours a week. One way isn’t necessarily the end all be all and I am sure that there will be tweaking and altering for me at different points, but this is the lifestyle that is working for me RIGHT NOW and it’s all about trial and error.

What’s a change in your lifestyle that you made and are glad you did?

Tree pose

I think we should work on creating a 3 day work week and a 4 day weekend. What do you think morale would be like then?! Sunday night, around 9, I am never excited for Monday and am always wishing for at least one more day. Funny how all my wishing has never actually worked. I should channel my wishing energy into something more productive.

My hunny is back home from his hunting excursion and is activity participating in National Beard Month. He’s the kind of guy that can wear it and not look ridiculous or goofy; it actually fits. It’s past the ‘sandpaper on my face’ point and is now quite soft. I give him a few days before he decides he can’t take it anymore. Sounds like me and my legs…

For those of you loyal readers, this past month or so I’ve been struggling with finding MY diet and exercise balance in life. I am happy to report that I am really beginning to feel at peace with it all. Let’s back track to the end of October.

My house was broken into and that completely killed my appetite (as in I didn’t eat much for a few days). A combination of the stress and not eating brought forth the evil stepmom version of the cold I was fighting. I eventually went to the doctor and was put on some antibiotics, but before my appetite had a chance, the antibiotics squashed it. So…after the 10 day antibiotic stint was up, the cold was dead and my appetite was coming back. During this time, I really was in tune with what I wanted to eat, what my body was craving, when to eat and when to stop. Unfortunately that didn’t include the $5.00, 3lb bag of organic spinach I had just bought at Costco prior to the madness (it didn’t last). During this time, I knew I wasn’t fueling my body properly what-so-ever. I also knew that I needed to honor and respect my body/mind in what it was going through, so I chose to take rest days. In the fear that all hell would break lose if I didn’t work out and follow a workout plan, I didn’t overeat and my pants still fit. Who knew?!

Part 1 – Diet
I know that my body responds well to a lower carb diet and that is what I plan on sticking to. HOWEVER, there are no ‘rules’ to this. It’s a guideline. In March of this year, I tried the Rosedale Diet (not associated with the Rosedale Mall for you MN readers ;) ) and had good results, felt much less bloated and puffy and felt healthy while on it. But because I saw it strictly as what I can and cannot have, I veered off of it. If you’re interested in reading about it, check it out at drrosedale.com. My plan is to stick to allow one serving of carbs a day in the form of pasta/rice/bread/oatmeal IF I want it. I’m not counting carbs from veggies, nuts, etc. And the remainder of my diet is from veggies, lean proteins, and healthy fats (avocado anyone? Yes, please!). I’m going to track calories to ensure that I am getting in at least 1800 a day as recommended by the personal trainer that I saw.

Part 2 – Exercise I met with a personal trainer the day after my house was broken into. As much as I wanted to cancel, I needed it to get my mind off of things and was curious to see what she would recommend. I LOVED the training session. The moves she had me do were different and challenging and I felt like everything was results focused. She had me lift heavy, heavier than I tried with P90X and broke down why it’s important for most women to lift heavy for 8-10 reps rather than lift easily for 12-15+. I’ll break this down a bit later…
She provided me with a strength routine, a plyo routine, and a combination of the two. She also set up a two week schedule for me to follow which includes the previously mentioned workouts, plus specific heart rate cardio days, and active rest days. This routine was given to me amidst the chaos and as much as I was paranoid that I couldn’t NOT miss a workout and had to follow the plan to a T, I respected and honored myself, and worked out when I felt I was able and when I had ate enough and rested when I felt I needed to.

Yesterday, I had my gym bag packed to hit up the gym after work, but I decided that I felt like walking the dogs, not going to the gym – key word being FELT. And for once, I listened to myself and did what I FELT like doing. I also ate what I was craving for dinner (Mmmm… Chipotle Burrito Bowl). And I’m okay with that. I’ve been doing some positive self talk lately and it usually starts with an “It’s okay to____”. I am also reminding myself of how far I’ve come, who I am, what I am capable of, and what I have to be proud of. It’s a day by day process and that’s simply all it is. Each day I have the power to make choices that positively impact MY mind, body, and life. These are not choices that are made by anyone else’s rules or standards than my own. I am learning to trust that I know what’s right for me and that it’s not the same as what is right for anyone else.

Lifting heavy… Here goes…
Basically, most women (myself previously included) say they are afraid they will bulk up if they lift heavy. Well, it was explained to me, in a nutshell, that women don’t have enough testosterone in their bodies to actually BULK UP. If you are bulking up, you should also be noticing facial and chest hair. If you are “bulking up” your diet may be off and you are actually gaining fat (insert P90X for me and I wasn’t even lifting heavy). When you are lifting weights, you should be lifting to the point where your muscles give up and you cannot complete one more rep. You should not be at a point where your muscles just feel a little sore and a little tired. You shouldn’t be sore during your weight lifting routine, your muscles should just feel ‘dead’ for lack of a better term. Now, PLEASE, my disclaimer… take this with a grain of salt. I am impressionable to health/diet and fitness information. I suggest that you research this to obtain the further knowledge you need to determine if this is right for you or not.

Today, I am doing a free 1-on-1 session at Cross Fit and I am really excited to get more feedback on an exercise and diet plan that’s right for me. I’ll be sure to fill you all in later this week!