Real-World Weight Loss: Month Nine!

I can hardly believe that I've been going to the gym faithfully for nine months now.  That's the amount of time it takes to grow a baby!  Alas, I haven't' lost a pregnancy's worth of weight, but baby days are over, and middle-age weight is make of sterner stuff!

The thing I love most about circuit torture is it never stays the same.  One minute cardio, one minute weights, mixes for floor, free weights, nautalis.  Some weeks, we have weight vests; some days, we do Tabata.  In nine months, I've not seen the same routine twice.  Today was Aggression Release Friday.  Ryion had set up the punching stations I've been wondering about for months. We punched one and kicked another.  Plus, we did punches with weights, and did slam ball (in which you hold a sand-filled ball over your head and slam it to the ground.  Sand-filled balls do not normally bounce, so the fun is to see how high you can make it rebound.)  We also had the inclined sit-up station.  We needed something to feel aggressive about, after all.

Hit me, baby!  I love the abuse!

It's been a long time since I punched anything.  The first time, I apologized, but by the end, I was getting into it.  "You want a piece of me?"

Yeah, sometimes, I get odd looks in the gym.  Why do you ask?

Anyway, considering that this month, I had a 2-week break with no exrcise and not-so great food, I did pretty well.  I've stayed under 145, though not lost more, and you can see my stomach has gotten a little paunchier than last month.  That's okay, though.  It's slow progress but steady overall.  Today, I pulled out a shirt that was tight last winter and it fits great!

Love that the extra chin is going away!

Will admit to having been fine with a bigger butt.  Want the waist to go away!
Lately, I've started replacing some of the cardio with abs.

	15-Jan	18-Sep		total loss
weight	169	143.6		25.4 lb dec
body fat	38.5	26.7		11.8 dec
chest	38.7	34.5		4.2 dec
bust	41.1	37.4		3.7 dec
waist	39	33.6		5.4dec
hips	42.8	37.9		4.9 dec
abs	42	36.9		5.1 dec
thigh	22	20.6		1.4 inc
calf	15	14.4		.6 dec
bicep	11.6	11		.6 inc
forearm	10	9.5		.5 dec
neck	15	14.2		.8 dec
Total loss				27.2 inches

Circuit Torture Update Goal One Met!

I'm pleased to announce that I have reached my first major goal.  Today I weighed in at 144--a pound under my 145-before-Rob-retires goal.  Yay!  Now, if I am still under 145 on Friday, my personal torturer has promised me a T-shirt!

All the pain--worth it for a T-shirt!

I want to thank the folks that helped me along the way:  Ryion, my personal torturer, who always has a tough routine and a great attitude; Rob, my husband, and our kids, for not sabotaging my efforts too much (No, we are not getting ice cream to celebrate.)  My Great Weight Write Off group has motivated me, as has writing this blog.  So thank you, dear reader.

My long-term goal is 140 and stay there.  If I lose more, great, but I'm old and too lazy and like my sweets, so I don't really care if I see 120 again.

Now, however, I have a question for you.  You've probably noticed that these blogs haven't been as funny as they were.  I'm just not in as much pain, so I don't have as much to joke about.  Also, I'm getting a little burned out on all the blogging.  I'm thinking it's time to let Circuit Torture Wednesdays die down, perhaps once a month, along with my photos update.  I'll still announce when I post, and will keep an eye on stats.  If you're still reading, I'll keep writing the monthly updates.

Psychological Benefit of Exercise Class

Sabbatical is over, but this week, I'm cleaning house and catching up.  In the meantime, I'm sharing a rerun about why I'm loving circuit torture.

It's been a frustrating couple of days on several levels.  Monday started with a double-barrel shotgun of irritations, and no sign of getting better...and it was only eight in the morning.  I was so late to my circuit training class, I almost decided just to skip for the day and go back to bed.  However, I made myself go to the later class instead, even though I was feeling the time pressure.  Why?  I'm finding that working out helps me feel better about myself.

There are a couple of things at work here.  Sure, as you get healthier, it can affect your mood; and sure, seeing my body shape up is good for my self-image.  However, today, it was something more basic.

If I worked out for the hour, I would have accomplished something.

That's been the kicker for me these past few days.  Sometimes, it seems that no matter how hard I work, how careful I am, how well I follow the Recipe for Success, something or someone beyond my control steps in to declare me inadequate or show me that I'm not going to succeed, anyway.  Or I'll do everything right, and still not succeed for who-knows-why.  When I'm working out, however, the goals are clear--jump on the box as many times as you can in 60 seconds.  Run at your fastest pace for a minute.  Did it without passing out or throwing up?  Increase the speed!  Lift as much weight as you can for as many reps as you can.

I have an personal trainer/instructor who can show me if I'm doing something wrong, but really, it's pretty cut and dried:  Grab the weights, stand like this, lift, lower, repeat.  I'm not in competition with anyone but myself, so if I improve or even just persevere through the hour, I succeeded.  No one judges my performance, misinterprets what I'm doing, or scolds me publicly.

Even on the weeks when I gain in weight or inches, I can point to why--the donut, the burrito.  There's no mystery why I failed, and if I failed (as in meeting the weekly goal), it was not from some outside influence, mysterious or not.

So despite the sweat and the achy muscles and how I shiver when I cool down, there's something comforting about circuit training.  I'm glad I went on Monday.  I still spent much of the day in a crappy mood feeling like nothing was going my way, but at least that hour of exercise was a success.

What I Learned Running on the Treadmill

I'm on sabbatical from blogging for a few weeks, so while I'm still working out, I'm not sharing about it.  However, I thought I'd rerun some of my favorites from early in my circuit torture adventure.  This is from Week Ten:

Today's post really isn't funny, so if it helps, imagine me on the treadmill while you read this.  Honestly, I run like Velma on Scooby Do.

I hate running.  I really do.  I hate the pounding of my feet; I hate being out of breath, and I hate the monotony of it.  I would rather do 10 minutes of sit-ups than a 10-minute run.  My knees hate it, too.  So it's probably no surprise that once I left the Air Force and it's mandatory mile-and-a-half run, I never jogged or sped off unless it was after a wayward Fabian child. 

Guess what's an integral part of circuit torture?  At least it's only one to three minutes on the treadmill.  Not a lot of time to get seriously discouraged by the panting and the monotony.  However, over the past 20 years, everything associated with running has deteriorated, including my knees.  I discovered to my dismay (but not surprise) that I could barely manage 30 seconds at a 4.5 level on the treadmill my first week.  (That's about a 15-minute mile rate.  To compare, in the Air Force, I ran the mile and a half in 13:45.  And that's not a great score.)

Still, I kept doing as best I can, and my personal torturer, Ryion, kept pushing me and kept things varied--sprints one day, slow jog on a high incline the next, straight run after that.  One minute today, three tomorrow, two the next day...  I got shin splints (remember those from my military career, too), so I went to the elliptical for a couple of weeks, again pushing myself, trying the treadmill a day before going back tot he elliptical.  Basically just not stopping.

Today, I ran at an 8:13 mile pace for two minutes after having worked out for an entire hour, including running at slower paces.

I feel pretty good about that, and I've discovered when it's only for a minute or two at a time, I kind of like running.

The moral of the story, of course, is that you shouldn't let a discouraging beginning deter you.  With slow and steady progress, you can make great strides.

Curse you, Bagely Sweetness!

I'm on sabbatical from blogging for a few weeks, so while I'm still working out, I'm not sharing about it.  However, I thought I'd rerun some of my favorites from early in my circuit torture adventure.  This is from Week Three:

After week two's incredible progress, I backslid.  It seems circuit torture cannot overcome the awesome power of bagels with blueberry schmear.  I did discover, however, that "A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips" is pretty accurate--I lost an inch on the waist, but gained in my hips this week.  Curse you, bagely sweetness!

Resistance is futile!

Anyway, I realized on Friday, as I was crawling from the sit-up mat to the push-up mat, that if Dante were to write The Inferno today, my gym would be in the circle of hell where they send those whose sin is gluttony.  Personally, I'm hoping this is just Purgatory, and that I will suffer, be expelled of my evil ways, and come to a new heaven...where I can have a bagel on occasion.

Circuit Torture, et Training: Feel the Burn

I was going to take photos this week, but something happened.  I'll do it next week, promise.  In the meantime, check out these lovely knees!

I slipped on the treadmill Thursday.  (It's Friday morning as I write this.)  Not sure what happened.  I was getting off and must have gotten my foot half on the moving tread and it slipped out from under me.  Of course, that was not the bad part.  I was still hanging on, so my feet were flying, people were running to me, and I was trying to figure out how to hit the emergency stop without letting go,

Here's the irony:  I accidentally smack that emergency stop key on a regular basis, but the one time I needed it, I could not reach the dern thing.  Even worse, I know how it works--you hit it, the treads SLOW to a stop.  That's an important detail.

So Ryion and Kelly are running to me, others are asking if I'm ok, and I finally realize I can contort down and rub off the stop key with my chin.  I do so.

And then the idjit in me thinks, "Phew! I can let go now!"  Whereupon the treads  sweep me away until my heels bang the back wall, which is close to the end of the treadmill.  I grab the sides to push up, but my knees are stuck  against the slowing-but-still-moving tread, so for a few seconds, it's pain, pain, pain, baby, feel the burn!

I'm fine.  Didn't do any spectacular flips, no broken bones.  Just REALLY scraped, bruised  knees.

But, hey, let's find a little humor in the situation.  leave me your best applicable pun in the comments below.  If I get more than five different people commenting, I'll pick the funniest and give you a free e-copy of one of my books!

After all, we kneed to laugh at things like this.

Circuit Torture, er Training: Sights of the Gym

Well, I did sounds of the gym a couple of weeks ago, so now it's time to see how the gym looks on a typical day.  Ready the slide show!

This is what the nine o'clock class usually looks like.  I attend the eight o'clock class, which means I'm on my own more often than not.  I don't mind, because then I can grunt and wheeze.  If I get too loud, Ryion will turn up the music or put in his earbuds.

Me and my personal torturer, er trainer, Ryion.  We are holding 60-pound barbells.  Yes, be impressed.

Remember what I said in a previous blog about how the headband rides up on my hair?  Yeah.  Not a good look.  Another reason to grow it longer--at least long enough for a topknot.

This is what muscle growth looks like. 

Once every four or five weeks, Ryion ups the pain, er, burn, by making us wear weight vests.  As you can see, there is an embarrassment factor as well, as the vests will squish all your fat into a nice spare tire.  Of course, you should have seen this the first time I wore the vest.  (No, no, I'm glad you didn't.)

So, do I look like Beyonce' at the Superbowl?  I was going for that expression.

The glory photo above?  This is right AFTER that shot.  OH!  Ryion, grab it! Grab it!

And this is when we tried to get that shot the day before.  HEAVY!  Heavy barbell!

Weight Loss Update 4: How Real People Lose Weight

Hey, time again!  Here are photos and stats on my progress in losing weight and toning up.

As usual, let me remind everyone that I am on no particular diet.  I still eat pizza and chimichangas, drink soda, and have desserts now and again.  What I have done is reduce the number of sodas, cut down desserts by more than half, and drink a gallon of water nearly every day.  (I don't always make it).  So what you see is mostly the results of five hours of circuit training a week.

Also, I am making no attempt to suck in my gut, alter my pose or do anything to make myself look thinner in the after picture.  This is how you'd see me at any particular moment.

Here are the stats.  I'd like to note that my arms have not changed much in size, but it's muscle now instead of wobblyfat.  (I accidentally missed the space between "wobbly" and "fat" but I love that word!  Wobblyfat.  Say it with me: wobblyfat.)

	15-Jan	17-May		total loss
weight	169	153.3		15.7 lb dec
body fat	38.5	32.6		5.4 dec
chest	38.7	35.9		2.8 dec
bust	41.1	38		3.1 dec
waist	39	33.5		5.5 dec
hips	42.8	38.8		4.0 dec
abs	42	36.7		5.3 dec
thigh	22	23.5		1.5 inc
calf	15	15		0
bicep	11.6	11.5		.1 dec
forearm	10	9.5		.5 dec
neck	15	13.8		1.2 dec

Circuit Torture, Week 13: Let's Talk Sweat

I started circuit torture (training) in mid-January, and while I've not appreciated the cold weather anywhere else, I did enjoy it at the gym.  While some folks were complaining about the 40-something degree interior, I felt fresh as a daisy--if a daisy could run, lift barbells, and contort itself rapidly...  Maybe an exhausted daisy, a sore daisy, but you get the point.

Now, however, the temperatures are climbing into the 80s and 90s.  Awesome when driving a convertible with the top down, but not so fun in the gym, and I learned something about myself.

I sweat like a pig.

We're not talking that attractive, athletic sweat you see on models advertising sports drinks.  No, this is icky sweat:  heavy enough in the hair to make part of it drippy while the rest gets springy, as if  trying to flee the fate of their sister folicles.  It clings to the wattles of my neck and drips off my nose.  I've always liked my eyes, which are kind of deep set, but when I'm working out, sweat likes to gather  on them.  Is it possible to sweat out your eyebrows?  I think I do.

I'm certainly a sight when I work out.  My hair is no longer long enough for a cute ponytail.  I sport something like a topknot instead.  I used to have a headband, and it would ride up on my hair as I worked out, so when I was done, the top of my hair boofed out, reminiscent of a chef's hat.  The wash ate it, though.  Seriously.  Somewhere at some Socks Without Partners meeting is my headband, hoping to get lucky.  I have a washcloth with me at all times, tucked into a waistband or bra strap.  If I forget one, I go through paper towels or tissues.

I drip, anyway.  Yesterday, we did walking push ups.  You start standing, bend and put your hands on the floor by your feet, then walk out on your hands until you are in a push-up position, do the push-up, and walk your hands back to your feet and stand up.  By the time I was done, I had left a trail of sweat drops on the floor that would have made a statistician happy.

I just hope that all that sweat is made of fat cells flooding out of my body, kind of like rats abandoning a sinking ship.  Or in my case, a shrinking ship.

Show of hands: Who of my readers sweat--and is it cute sweat or ick sweat?

Songs of Circuit Torture

When I'm at home, I prefer quiet most of the time, unless I need something to pump my adrenalin, then I might rock out to some oldies stuff or put The Guild on Youtube.

However, I understand that part of the gym experience is the music.  Got to tell you, though, it's been an experience!

There are times when the base is heavy and the male singer is more screaming musically than singing, that I feel more like I'm in prison than the suburbs.  For some reason, I especially feel like this when I'm on my back doing presses on the medicine ball.  Maybe because I have 15 pound weights in each hand and am wearing black gloves.  Anyway, when songs like this come on, I usually ask for relief before I riot:

Some songs, I enjoy, but they just beg to be joked about.  Like this one.  Whenever I hear it, I think it's Stephen Hawkin's love song:

And I think I know why Harlem is shaking.  Their garbage disposals are all busted and growling.

Of course, the key to all of these is they have a beat.  Most of the folks working out actually prefer these songs to say, something like this:

Of course, that's the stuff I come home and listen to when I need to get the earworms out of my head before I commit self-righteous suicide.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll make a The Guild CD for Ryion to play while I work out.

Weight Loss Update 3: How Real People Lose Weight

Time again!  Here are the before-and-after photos and stats on my weight loss/muscle gain development.  Just a reminder or note for those who are new.  I take circuit training five times a week and sometimes work out on Saturdays.  I've also decreased my sweets and sodas and increased my water.  I am not on a diet, because I don't have that kind of discipline for cooking and eating.

Not as easy to see, but I'm starting to get my hourglass back,  I've lost 12 inches in waist and abs combined, but only 3 in hips and 3 in bust.  That's how I like it!

Look!  My poochy belly is shrinking!

When I take these pictures, I try to do them in the same outfit and without any sucking in of guts or posturing.  This is the real me as you might see me coming out of the gym (messy hair and all!).  I hate those Before-and-After shots where the person is wearing make-up and tanned and obviously holding herself in a perfect posture when her before picture was schlumped.

	15-Jan	19-Apr		total loss
weight	169	155		14 lb dec
body fat	38.5	35.7		2.8 dec
chest	38.7	36.1		2.6 dec
bust	41.1	38.5		2.6 dec
waist	39	32.9		6.1 dec
hips	42.8	39.5		3.3 dec
abs	42	36		6.0 dec
thigh	22	23.5		1.5 inc
calf	15	15		0
bicep	11.6	11.2		.4 dec
forearm	10	9.8		.2 dec
neck	15	14		1.0 dec

Total: 14 pounds lost and 23 inches gone overall.  I've not gone down a size yet in clothes, but all my clothes fit better now.  (Wardrobe-wise, I'm holding out for 145 and to be sure my husband has a post-retirement job, although when I reach 145, I'm buying a Biofit Bootcamp t-shirt regardless!)

If you are wondering what it's taking me to do this, may I suggest you start at the beginning and read my circuit torture adventures?   You can also put "Circuit training" in the search bar and they'll all show up.

Circuit Torture...er, Training, Week 12: Baffling Body Sculpting

(Skipped a week to keep Margaret Realy's *A Garden of Visible Prayer* top on the blog.  It's an awesome book for the Catholic gardener, if you missed her Amazon Day, no worries, but go pick it up anyway: )

It's been two weeks since my last post, and not so great on the diet or exercise front.  I went on a trip with my daughter, so there was much restaurant food and sweets, and at home, cookie dough called to me.  I did exercise on vacation--the elliptical when the hotel had a gym, and going up and down a flight of stairs 50 times when it did not.  I also did isometrics for my abs in the car.  (That's where you tighten and loosen the muscles.)  Last week, I was home, and did the usual circuit torture, without running because my shins still hurt.  Jacob's Ladder and I are becoming fast friends.  Nonetheless, I went to the scale-and-measure expecting to backslide.

Turns out, I did gain a pound and 3 percent body fat, which is a bummer because I'd just gotten into the normal range.  However, what baffled me are the measurements.  I didn't gain anywhere.  In fact, I lost five inches in the waist and abs.I'm sure I wasn't mismeasured, either: at least one pair of pants no longer fit, and I can see my hourglass figure returning (albeit a larger glass.)

The body is a baffling thing, but know what?  I'll take those results and keep on!

Waxing--Not for Wimps

My personal torturer...er trainer...Ryion participated in his first body building tournament this weekend.  It's been one of those "bucket list" things for him, and he's in it for the fun, doing the beach body/board shorts competition rather than the actual how-many-veins-can-you-pop section.  Nonetheless, he's taken it pretty seriously.  He worked out extra--we all did a lot of abs one week! He went on a special diet to trim some of the fat and water weight. (No idea where this supposed fat was hiding.)  For a few days, he drank this stuff that looked like antifreeze and was supposed to "cleanse" him. (Let's not even get into the jokes there.)

Nothing, however, was as bad as the waxing. 

I have never had gotten any part of my body waxed, but I've seen it on TV (Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, in fact) and just watching was enough to put me off it forever.  Ryion, of course, went for the full body wax.  He said it was the most painful experience of his life--and apparently, it went on for five hours...and he didn't even finish.  When they did one armpit, he called it quits!  He said he has scabs.  So he came to work the next day with a one sore armpit, an hour of sleep, and half his body undone.    When asked if he was going back, he empahtically insisted he'd just shave.

Some of the ladies are veteran waxers.  I guess for those who handle childbirth, this is child's play?  (I'm not testing the theory.)  So we got to hear the relative pain levels of armpit vs. bikini waxing.  You shouldn't wax right after tanning; you should go a couple of weeks before an event, because you might get bumps, then have it redone the day before.  (What?  Do this twice?!)  There's a whole science around removing hair!  I hurt just listening to them!

I will work out.  I will go through all the circuit torture I need to.  But I will stay away form the wax!  That's too high a price for beauty!  After his experience, I think Ryion feels the same.

And, as it turns out, he did just fine with his half-waxed body, after all.  He placed first in both his divisions, and was overall champion--all on his first competition ever, one of the biggest in Utah!

Good thing the prize package didn't include a free body wax.

Way to go, Ryion!

Psychological Benefits of Circuit Training

It's been a frustrating couple of days on several levels.  Monday started with a double-barrel shotgun of irritations, and no sign of getting better...and it was only eight in the morning.  I was so late to my circuit training class, I almost decided just to skip for the day and go back to bed.  However, I made myself go to the later class instead, even though I was feeling the time pressure.  Why?  I'm finding that working out helps me feel better about myself.

There are a couple of things at work here.  Sure, as you get healthier, it can affect your mood; and sure, seeing my body shape up is good for my self-image.  However, today, it was something more basic.

If I worked out for the hour, I would have accomplished something.

That's been the kicker for me these past few days.  Sometimes, it seems that no matter how hard I work, how careful I am, how well I follow the Recipe for Success, something or someone beyond my control steps in to declare me inadequate or show me that I'm not going to succeed, anyway.  Or I'll do everything right, and still not succeed for who-knows-why.  When I'm working out, however, the goals are clear--jump on the box as many times as you can in 60 seconds.  Run at your fastest pace for a minute.  Did it without passing out or throwing up?  Increase the speed!  Lift as much weight as you can for as many reps as you can.

I have an personal trainer/instructor who can show me if I'm doing something wrong, but really, it's pretty cut and dried:  Grab the weights, stand like this, lift, lower, repeat.  I'm not in competition with anyone but myself, so if I improve or even just persevere through the hour, I succeeded.  No one judges my performance, misinterprets what I'm doing, or scolds me publicly.

Even on the weeks when I gain in weight or inches, I can point to why--the donut, the burrito.  There's no mystery why I failed, and if I failed (as in meeting the weekly goal), it was not from some outside influence, mysterious or not.

So despite the sweat and the achy muscles and how I shiver when I cool down, there's something comforting about circuit training.  I'm glad I went on Monday.  I still spent much of the day in a crappy mood feeling like nothing was going my way, but at least that hour of exercise was a success.

Circuit Torture, Week 10, RUN!

Today's post really isn't funny, so if it helps, imagine me on the treadmill while you read this.  Honestly, I run like Velma on Scooby Do.

I hate running.  I really do.  I hate the pounding of my feet; I hate being out of breath, and I hate the monotony of it.  I would rather do 10 minutes of sit-ups than a 10-minute run.  My knees hate it, too.  So it's probably no surprise that once I left the Air Force and it's mandatory mile-and-a-half run, I never jogged or sped off unless it was after a wayward Fabian child. 

Guess what's an integral part of circuit torture?  At least it's only one to three minutes on the treadmill.  Not a lot of time to get seriously discouraged by the panting and the monotony.  However, over the past 20 years, everything associated with running has deteriorated, including my knees.  I discovered to my dismay (but not surprise) that I could barely manage 30 seconds at a 4.5 level on the treadmill my first week.  (That's about a 15-minute mile rate.  To compare, in the Air Force, I ran the mile and a half in 13:45.  And that's not a great score.)

Still, I kept doing as best I can, and my personal torturer, Ryion, kept pushing me and kept things varied--sprints one day, slow jog on a high incline the next, straight run after that.  One minute today, three tomorrow, two the next day...  I got shin splints (remember those from my military career, too), so I went to the elliptical for a couple of weeks, again pushing myself, trying the treadmill a day before going back tot he elliptical.  Basically just not stopping.

Today, I ran at an 8:13 mile pace for two minutes after having worked out for an entire hour, including running at slower paces.

I feel pretty good about that, and I've discovered when it's only for a minute or two at a time, I kind of like running.

The moral of the story, of course, is that you shouldn't let a discouraging beginning deter you.  With slow and steady progress, you can make great strides.

Weight Loss Update 2: How Real People Lose Weight

Can you believe it?  It's been eight weeks since I started my exercise program (circuit training, affectionately known here as circuit torture), and changed some dietary habits to lose some of this blubber I've been carrying around for a decade.

Here's my story:  Back in 2002, I weighed 120-125 pounds and was in good shape.  I didn't do any special exercise or dieting, either.  But something happened in that year that caused me to gain 30 pounds without any appreciable changes in diet or habit.  My doctor says I was just getting old (I was 35).  Maybe it was the SlimFasts I was drinking instead of meals that summer because it was too hot to eat.  Whatever, it came on and would not come off.  I did try dieting at that time, but with no luck.  I had every medical test under the sun--finally sparking the "You're just old" comment.  I went to a naturopath.  Nothing worked.  I gave up and settled in with my new size, and gained another 20+ pounds over the decade.

This is me on Jan 25, 2013

This year, I decided I'm tired of being the shape and consistency of a pudding bag.  Even more, I'm tired of getting out of breath going up a flight of stairs or when I lay down at night, which actually scares me some.  I don't care overmuch about the weight, per se, but I hate not fitting anything properly, and not finding anything that doesn't make me feel dumpy when I catch my reflection.  So, if I'm going to be 169, I'll be a fit 169.

I'm not dieting.  It does not work for me, and I don't have that kind of discipline.  Instead, I've cut sodas, desserts, and fast food drastically, and started exercising 5-6 days a week.  I also drink a gallon of water a day.  Two weeks of this past eight, Rob was home on mid-tour leave with the goal of hitting every restaurant and fast food place he's missed for eight months.  Even with looking at the low-cal options, I was taking in way more calories, sodas, and sweets than I had even before I started this regime.  However, if I can't have a little backsliding, then this is not the lifestyle for me.  The only thing I'm staying faithful on is the exercise program.

In the end, I'm pretty happy with the results of the past eight weeks.  I lost body fat, nine pounds, and a couple of inches in the waist.  Some places where I increased inches, I'm seeing muscle instead of wobbly fat, so I don't mind.  Nine pounds is about a pound a week, which is what they say is healthy weight loss for a long run.

	15-Jan	8-Mar		loss
weight	169	160		9 lb dec
body fat	38.5	36.6		1.9 dec
chest	38.7	36.8		1.9 dec
bust	41.1	38.2		2.9 dec
waist	39	36.9		2.1 dec
hips	42.8	40.5		2.3 dec
abs	42	39.5		2.5 dec
thigh	22	22.8		.8 inc
calf	15	15.3		.3 inc
bicep	11.6	12		.4 inc
forearm	10	9.8		.2 dec
neck	15	14.2		.8 dec

Here's my photos from yesterday. 

You can actually see some definition in my arms.  Funny thing is, since I started exercising, I don't have nearly as much trouble with carpal tunnel, either.

Please note that I am not posing or sucking in my gut or doing any of those photo tricks to make myself look better.  I'm also using the same shirt.  The idea is to see my progress in an everyday manner.

I post these because I think that the media--from advertising to talk shows--puts a lot of emphasis on quick and extreme results.  So tell me:  does this inspire (or reassure) any of you in your own weight loss efforts?  What are you doing to have a healthier you this year?

no Circuit Torture blog today...

...my husband is home from Baghdad for two weeks on leave!  I am still going to the gym and trying to eat well, plus drink all that water.  However, I'm not being as good diet-wise.  Thing is, I'm in this for the long haul, so if I slip up a week, I'm not going to fuss about it.

Circuit Torture--er, Training. Real world weight loss

Here we are at the one-month mark of my new circuit training routine, so I thought I'd give you an overall view of my progress, more than anything to show how a normal person loses weight.  This is me a month ago:

 

My body seems to enjoy 160-170, which I have been at for a decade now.  I am 5'3", so in theory, I'm on the border of overweight and obese:

Excuse me while I take this with a big grain of salt.

I'm large--a size 12-14--and I don't like my belly (or as Amber calls it, "the food baby") but obese?  Still, I am not happy with my shape or that I'm so weak, which is why I'm making some changes.

First, know that I am not dieting.  I have tried this in the past and I inevitably lose 5 pounds in the first week or two, then never lose again, give up after two months and gain it back. Also, I'm not interested in giving up sweets and such for a life of veggies and free-range chicken.  So I've cut down on the bad stuff.  Sodas are a once or twice a week, dessert on rare occasions, eating out once in a while.

However (as you know), I am exercising six days a week on a really intense routine that incorparates cardio and weights.  Here's me after a month:

Not the most flattering of pictures, true, but the point is to see what progress I made.  I'm trying to use the same outfit for photos and measurements each time.

It doesn't look like a lot, but I m toning up. I can go up the stairs without losing my breath, and I can carry more.  Also, my jeans fit better.  Here are my stats:

	15-Jan	8-Feb		loss
weight	169	165		4lb dec
body fat	38.5	35.3		3.2 dec
chest	38.7	36.9		1.8 dec
bust	41.1	39.6		.5 dec
waist	39	35		4.0 dec
hips	42.8	40.5		2.3 dec
abs	42	39.5		2.5 dec
thigh	22	23.9		1.9 inc
calf	15	15.1		.1 inc
bicep	11.6	11.8		.2 inc
forearm	10	9.8		.2 dec
neck	15	14.5		.5 dec

I'm not happy about how little weight I've lost, but Ryion, my Personal Torturer...er...trainer, said people often gain at first because fat is converting to muscle.  Plus, as I said, my body seems to settle into a comfortable weight and stay there regardless.  If I can shape my body better, I'll be satisfied.  Something else you can't see in the photo btw, is that I've established a better routine of exfoliating my face and for the dark circles under my eyes.  (My mother-in-law bought me some stuff for the circles.)

My next step is to drink more water. I'm supposed to drink 84 ounces a day.  The formula is half your weight in ounces.  I saw on Dr. Oz that lemon water is supposed to help, so I'm doing that.  I also want to add a multi-vitamin.  I'm bad about taking these regularly.

Circuit Torture...er...Training, Week 3

After week two's incredible progress, I backslid.  It seems circuit torture cannot overcome the awesome power of bagels with blueberry schmear.  I did discover, however, that "A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips" is pretty accurate--I lost an inch on the waist, but gained in my hips this week.  Curse you, bagely sweetness!

Resistance is futile!

Anyway, I realized on Friday, as I was crawling from the sit-up mat to the push-up mat, that if Dante were to write The Inferno today, my gym would be in the circle of hell where they send those whose sin is gluttony.  Personally, I'm hoping this is just Purgatory, and that I will suffer, be expelled of my evil ways, and come to a new heaven...where I can have a bagel on occasion.

Circuit Torture...Er...Trainng, Week 2

That which does not kill you, makes your stronger...and perhaps thinner!

I have completed another six-day week of torture.

This week, he added a new twist to his sadism—20 second intervals.  Work 20, rest 10…but you do this eight times—160 seconds, or two minutes, forty-- instead of just pushing for a minute secure in the knowledge that it ends.   Once again, I was made to do “dips.”  That's where you put your hands on a bench or some other surface behind you, and push yourself up and down from a sitting position in front of the bench.  Who knew someone’s triceps could be so wimpy?  I made noises I haven’t made since I was in labor!  The pitosin drip labor!

This was a day of late starts for us, and one day, my trainer decided on the special torment for me.  It's supposed to give you a maximum calorie burn.  First, I was set on the treadmill to run at a pace I hadn't set since I was in the military and told to run a mile.  I did run a mile, but with the breaks, the treadmill ran a mile and a quarter.  Still I ran a mile, and I will take that victory!  Ah, but then he directed me to my nemesis, The Ladder.  "1000 steps," he said.

So, "old friend," we meet again...

Half an hour of pure pain later, he informed me I had just set a newbie record.  Apparently no one so early in the program had ever done 1000 steps (without passing out, throwing up, or requiring the EMTs, I surmised).  After a high five and a moment of sweet victory, he then put the nautilus machine on 55 pounds and made me to 50 sitting bench presses.  Oh, yeah, I was tired that day...although not nearly as sore as the first week.  I think my muscles are becoming inured.

Friday, I was even later, and ended up missing half the class, so I was given homework:  100 burpees and 100 crunches.  If you don't know what a burpee is, please, check out this link.  (For some reason, blogger will not call it up or let me embed it, but it explains it the best.  Essentially, you drop down, push your legs out, do a push up, bring your knees in to a squat, and jump.  Now, my burpees look more like drop, do a girlie pushup, struggle to bring my knees in and make a pitiful hamster-sized hop, but I did it a hundred times (in spurts, with breaks).  Saturday, I didn't feel well, so I stayed home from the gym, but did another 50 and 200 crunches.  Yes, I am now torturing myself.

However, I measured on Friday, and the past two weeks have resulted in a loss of 3.8 pounds; 1.8 percent body fat, an inch off the chest, 3.4 inches off my waist, 1.8 inches off my hips and 1.9 inches off my abs. Somehow, to my complete bafflement, I gained in my thighs.  Don't even ask--maybe it's the Curse of The Ladder!

I joke about the torture, but really, I'm enjoying pushing my body, sticking to a program, and of course, I'm liking the results.  The other day, I put on pants that I usually can't sit in without undoing the button, and they fit.  I've got a long way to go, but I think I can do it.