Day 5, and a bit of day 4

I've decided to post what I eat and how I worked out everyday. Hope this isn't too boring. I'll add in my feelings.

So far so good this week. I started Sunday with a spin class. Geez, I'll need to add more of those to be less scared. I can't be scared!

Breakfast - 8:45AM Honeycrisp apple
Lunch - 12:25PM 1 c. oven baked butternut squash with seasonings and coconut oil
Snack - 5:20PM Honeycrisp apple
Dinner - 8:30PM 2 servings (1 c.) Fiber One bran cereal, 1 c. Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla, 1/2 Honeycrisp, 1/2 c. blueberries/strawberries

Workout - 10 mins elliptical machine; 6pm weights class; 7pm turbokick

I felt able to lift a little more today and the abs portion of the weights class worked better. Yesterday's 20 or so minute ab class was hard after kickboxing. It mostly hurt my lower back. Tonight, it hit more of my lower abdomen.

The first part of turbokick was killer, but I gained momentum. The first few knees hurt my calves until I warmed them up a little more. Yesterday, in kickboxing, I was dying by the end, but I had energy after tonight. Was it not enough tonight? Maybe. I wasn't sweating as much even though I gave it my all. In any case, I need to leap side to side better and learn how to do tricep push ups someday. Even at my best, I could not do any of them!

Proud moments - Yesterday, I was proud of myself for leaping high during kickboxing. :) Today, I was glad I kept going at it during breaks.

I'm already starting to feel my legs getting stronger again. Squats and lunges are still tough; I need to feel those more in my bottom and less in my legs.

Though I started out slow, I felt like I could keep going if I had to. I'm not going to overextend myself so much though. That was a problem for me before.

I'm still a fat person inside so I can't leave food at the house. I'll have to go grocery shopping A LOT. I'm out of apples and fruit already and I just bought some 2 days ago. I'll need more of that, Greek yogurt, and Almond Breeze.

Dreamer, a story

So now that the holidays are over and it's a new year, I can't hide it any longer. The dreamer in me needs to come back. The baker and crafter that came out during the holidays will be on the backburner because baking made me fat too. I know no one believes it. I gained 15 pounds over 2-3 months. A new job meant less sleep and more stress so I gained weight. That was part of it. The other part was the hobby of baking instead of the hobby of working out. I also got bored of working out when I lacked time to go to classes and the classes became dull.

Reasons I gained back the weight:

• Baking instead of working out
• Too little sleep
• Too much stress from a new job
• Thought I had no time to work out; had to rush to classes if I went
• My abilities exceeded classes or I got bored
• Classes took much longer than cardio machines so I just did those
  

Well, what happened? Last January, I weighed 130 pounds as I weighed at the end of the year. It went slowly from January through March or so. In May and June, I kicked it up for a short while and worked out maybe 5 or more hours each day. I don't know how I did it. Who would have thought that a formerly obese person (185 pounds) could work out so much. Anyways, I lost tons of weight with working out and an eating plan. My body was solid though I didn't recognize it at the time.

What I had done to lose it?

• Two-three months of at least 5 hours of working out
• Eating in and counting calories really well. Cooking for myself makes counting easier
  
• Lots of apples and PB, which I stopped eating because of all the fat
  

So here I am at square not 1 but set back a little. 130 pounds looks a little different. I thought I was pregnant because my belly looked ridiculously large. My mom made me go to the doctor and get an ultrasound too. No one else believed me - friends are too nice.

Why I don't want to be where I am?

• The flab in my legs, belly, and arms
• Not wanting to go anywhere though I was so busy with working out I never went anywhere much anyways
• Wearing clothes, buying clothes
• Feeling strong: I don't want to work out 5+ hours a day anymore, but I want to feel strong like I could

How am I going to do it?

Food

• Because I may have a digestion problem, I'm limiting carbs (gluten). I'm a carb queen so this will be a tad tough when I want some PB&J. I'm mostly just eating fiber-loaded tortillas and Fiber One bran cereal. Also, everyone is gluten intolerant now so maybe I am too. Hah.
  
• Eat more fiber.
• For January, I'm going vegetarian for easier digestion. Go beans!
  
• Limit sugar for life even 0 calorie ones
  
• Eat fruits for snack and as a sugar fix
• Eat more nuts
• Cut out coffee. Drink tea instead.
• Except for New Year, I haven't drunk any other alcohol since July when I tried a bottle of Canadian beer. Cutting out alcohol has been an easy tactic.

Exercise

• Treat exercise as fun not a chore
• Make exercise a part of my daily life, a habit
  
• Embrace the endorphins and feeling good
• Go to classes including stretching, weights, and cardio
• Don't make it impossible to do with a job or other life situations

This is the dreamer part of the blog.

Meal/workout plan Monday

It's freezing in the house right now. I miss California like I always do after a vacation. What's worse is that my roommate is not home yet. He won't be here for another week! :/ So as I get used to being home, I've always resumed working out. My goal is to enjoy working out again. As for nutritional goals, I'm going vegetarian and gluten-free for the month to see how my body responds. I hope well.

Sunday
brunch: apple pancake from Posana Cafe
snack: tropical fruit, peanut butter
dinner: Fiber One w/ Almond Breeze, 1/2 banana, apple
workout: 9:30am spin, 1 hr total cardio, 4pm Zumba, 5:30 yoga

Monday
breakfast: yogurt w/ adzuki beans
lunch: kale, black beans, tomato, blueberries
snack: tropical fruits
dinner: Fiber One w/ Almond Breeze, 1/2 banana
workout: Rush Power if I can wake up for it/7:15 video workout, 6pm step/tone, 7pm tai chi

Tuesday
breakfast: yogurt w/ adzuki beans
lunch: kale, black beans, tomato, blueberries
snack: apple
dinner: butternut squash
workout: 6pm Rush Power, 7 step, 7:30 yoga

Wednesday
breakfast: butternut squash
lunch: kale, black beans, tomato, blueberries
snack: adzuki beans
dinner: butternut squash
workout: 6am Rush Power, 6pm kickboxing, 7:30 yoga

Thursday
breakfast: apple w/ PB
lunch: kale, black beans, tomato, blueberries
snack: apple
dinner: Fiber One w/ Almond Breeze and a banana
workout: 6pm Rush Power, 7 Turbokick

Friday
breakfast: adzuki beans, plaintain
lunch: sweet potato, mashed
snack: apple
dinner: shirataki noodles w/ adzuki beans, plaintain
workout: 6:30pm hip hop

Saturday
brunch: giant salad w/ plantains, nuts, etcetera
snack:
dinner: veggie spring rolls
workout: 8:30am step, 9:30 Rush Power, 4 yoga