Clean start.

I'm about to head to my 'office', aka Starbucks.  I've chosen to have a liesurely start,  walk, grab a zero calorie passion tea, iced, and head home to clean.  I figure I need a clean environement to begin the busy work week I have planned for myself.  It's an hour walk there and back at a fast clip, and with my tennis skort, I'll look like I mean athletic business.  I attach this picture as proof to myself that my walking is having an effect on my legs, my worse feature.  I have athletic legs when in shape, but terrible when not.  I lost .5 inches off my hips in the last week due to clean eating and could easily lose another 3.  I didn't measure my thighs, too depressing.  They are firmer with all the work I've put into them and I'm happier than I was.  Yay!

In the last week I lost 2.5 inches under my breasts, at the top of the rib cage, 1 inch off my waist and lastly my .5 off the hips.  Clean eating and exercise is paying off.

 Goal to be sexier when the man returns!

IF

I'm doing my first Intermittent 24 hour Fast today. I've fasted before but this one is purposeful as it applies to primal eating. I had a steak last night at seven and my plan is to eat around sevenish tonight. I have a full work day and I plan on doing a high intensity workout just to see how I feel afterwards. My hope is I'll incorporate two 24 hours fasts per week.

There's quite a bit of research on fasting. Here's an article and here's another.

Here's the day broken down by how I feel:

10:30 am - feeling hungry but not starving. I feel like I can do this. I'm having a drink of water any time I feel a hunger pang.

2:30 pm - little hungrier. I still feel like I can do this. I am thinking about my meal for after my workout - perhaps a little too much?

3:30 pm - slight headache. Hunger still doable.

5:30 pm - had an orange juice at 4:30. Hungry, hungry hippo. It worked, I'm feeling better. Can work out and eat after.

6:30 - 8:00 pm - workout. I don't notice any differences in energy.

8:00 pm - grocery store to buy dinner. Hamburger which I'll put between wedges of iceburg lettuce and swiss chard.

8:30 pm = i'm quite hungry so eat a handful of grapes on my way home. I eat two burgers and am stuffed full.

10:30 pm - i watch my fav show Glee and have a coconut milk and banana smoothie. Yum.

11:00 pm - finish post and head to bed.

Week Five Primal

Start of primal week five. This is going swimmingly, must say. I'm not starving, not even close and am feeling amazing. I'd recommend this way of eating (WOE) for everyone in terms of how easy it is. Course you do have to give up pasta, potatos, pizza, rice, bread, milk, ice cream...but heck how bad is that really? (just kidding)

I'm an all or nothing person which is why I suppose jumping in with both feet was so successful. I committed for 30 days knowing I could give myself permission to end it after I'd made that goal. I honestly like this so much I can't see changing it any time soon. Perhaps when I reach my ideal size I'll add some more fruit and leave ketosis, but for now I'm content.

The most sugar I had last week was after a hard workout in the rain, coming home, opening the fridge and seeing watermelon. I ate a quarter of melon! 500 whopping calories and a ton of sugar, however the sugar didn't convert quickly to glucose and I didn't even leave ketosis. So if and when I get an urge to devour watermelon I will. heh

I've never been crazy about my legs but I've been working my legs off and I'm happier than I was. We'll see what the next few weeks and months bring.


And because it's soooo interesting to read my weeks nutrients here they are: (g/mg are per day averages)

Fat 46%
22.2 g saturated
Cholesterol 469.9 mg
Sodium 1,799.8 mg (had a fondue with beef broth put me over somewhat)
Carbohydrates 22%
14.1 g fiber
41.5 g sugar
Protein 32%
115.5 g

Gym Stories

Most embarrassing gym moment:
I'll set the scene. I'm on a treadmill. I've got new music on my iPod perfectly chosen to give me energy while I workout. The first song up is Lilly Allen's Fuck You. I looove that song. So I'm into it. Suddenly my gal pal on the next treadmill taps me on shoulder. I look at her with a questioning look. She says "you haven't plugged your earphones in." I look down and see that the plug hasn't made it all the way in and as I pull out my buds I hear my music tinnily playing for all surrounding peeps to hear. Niiiiice.

Best gym moment
I have a crush at the gym. I refer to him as The Crush with my workout bud. He's hot, hot, hot. Body to kill for. He seems to be a friendly guy and once engaged me in a conversation about the benefits of the Summit machine. This little convo inspired me to take up the machine. Soooo where was I? Oh yeah, so I'm on the machine and working my butt off and I finish my 20 minutes. I get off and there he is. He looks like he's waiting for the machine so I let him know I'm done and he can have it. Then I notice he doesn't have his gym gear on yet. He tells me he's not ready for it but then says "good girl!" totally referring to how hard I'd just worked out. Nice. We begin what I hope will be a conversation when what should appear (no not eight fricken reindeer) a cockblocker that's what! She weasels right in to chat him up. This girl is no threat and I just move out of the way to grab the treadmill next to the Summit. Sure enough he shows up a few minutes later to grab the machine - do I know this man or what? I have my earphones in (fully plugged in thank the fuck) and he looks over and clearly wants to talk to me. I oblige of course, pulling out the earbuds. We chat it up a bit and then tell him he inspired me to work the machine he's on, that although he is capable of an hour I've only worked up to 20 minutes. He says, "20 minutes is a good workout!". A couple more minutes of conversation and we both got back to our workout. I learned he works out of town and I learned he's a very nice guy or at least that's my impression. And did I mention he's hot? Ya I think I did. My girlfriend said he was totally checking out my ass when I was the machine and I guess that was why he was waiting for me when I got off. Yay.

I know I'm showing off my body these days - but hell I'm working hard on it - so why not?

First day of Week Four Paleo

Today is start of week four for my new Way of Eating (WOE) - Primal/Paleo*. I can't believe how fast the time has flown. I'd said at the beginning I'd give myself 30 days to see if I could adapt and find myself satisfied. My worst fear was that I'd be hungry all the time and feel deprived. I also worried about my complete change in lifestyle from restaurants to stay at home eating. I shouldn't jump ahead to the end but I gotta say I can see this carrying on for the long term meaning a new way of life.

I was motivated first and foremost by weight loss. I'm closer than many to a good figure but farther than I'd like to be if that makes sense. I've dieted before only to gain the weight back when I resume my old habits. I'd 'arrive' and it would give me license to eat crap and the cycle would start all over again. This time my emphasis has shifted from weight loss which will occur naturally to health. I feel amazing. More energy and positive mental health than I remember having in a few years.

This particular time I started with friends and began a hardcore workout routine and wasn't really thinking too much about altering food. I knew the rules of what not to eat. No highly processed food, no deserts and light on the carbs (pasta, potatos) yada yada yada. I knew it all. Or so I thought.

As I began to increase my strength gains through 1 - 1.5 hour weight routines I was frustrated I couldn't see the muscle development I knew was happening. How to literally cut the fat? Thanks to two readers - II Capo and Shel - I discovered Primal/Paleo eating. I remember Roissy referring to it once but I thought it meant you had to eat everything raw and I knew I wasn't going to be able to stomach it (literally). I'm a learner by nature and have done a fair amount of research since discovering it and I can say it makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint. See bottom of post for links to sites which offer more info than I can.

I don't weigh myself because I have a tendency to obsess on the number so I can't tell you how much weight I've lost. I do know my fat ratio is dropping. I've been able to stay in ketosis (see links below) for three weeks and this is proof my body is burning fat for fuel. Side effect of ketosis - low appetite. I haven't had any sugar outside of fruit in three weeks and I can say at this moment I seem to have lost my craving for the manufactured kind. Can I tell you how good an orange tastes? I never knew!

For a quick refresher I'm not eating grains, legumes, dairy, tuber veggies (potatos) or sugar that's not natural. My cheats have meant soy milk for fruit smoothies (in three weeks I've had only 2 glasses) and cream in my coffee (I have one a day). I haven't experienced an increase in cravings after either so I'm likely to continue for the next while - I'll reevaluate as I go along. I have more problems getting enough food in than too much, it's a problem I don't mind having I'll tell ya.

My tummy has always been a better feature for me, but it's flatter than ever as you can see here. This picture was not altered to flatten, minimize or any other technique designed to make me look better than I am. My trouble spots remain my thighs and my back ass, it'll be a celebratory day when those babies get slimish.

Primal/Paleo links:

Mark's Daily Apple

Primal Eating Modern Table

Cosmopolitan Primal Girl

What is ketosis?

Here's a link and here's another

Red Hot Primal

I haven't updated on my Primal life lately so thought I'd update y'all.

I'm doing great - ketosis remains. That's the state your body is in when your body produces ketones from low carb intake and is proof the body is buring fat for fuel. It's a state that reduces hunger too, which is a terrific side benefit!

I went clothes shopping with my gym buddy today and although I see much room for improvement the improvements needed are significantly less than they were three months ago when I started hard core workouts. I'm starting week 4 on Monday with my primal plan.

Here's a dress I tried on at Le Chateau a medium which frankly I wouldn't even have dared try on before. I didn't get it, but give me a month and I will.

Oh and for the detractors - this was NOT photoshopped so suck it.

WOE is me

WOE = Way of Eating

Here's my day's food - I'll follow with my bod so hopefully it will keep you entertained.

Breakfast:
Smoothie - with Soy Milk, fresh strawberries and blueberries
Coffee - two cream. This is my indulgence - Shel says it was okay. (thanks Shel)

Lunch
Salad - carrots, lettuce, radish, apple and a salmon fillet

Dinner
Steak - four ounce
Steamed broccoli
Mashed squash
Salad with all the above fixing - I make my own dressing with olive oil and white wine vinegar

And that's my day of food. I worked out for 1.5 hours with a combo killer Summit machine - I did over 1700 feet and weights. I'm using a High Intensity Approach in order to get maximum benefits.

I'm shocking myself when I look in the mirror at the gym - I can see a huge difference in my shape - starting to show in my clothes. And I'm getting close to bikini ready. See.

Week Three about to Begin

Week 2 Primal Completed. I'm feeling good although today I spent almost the entirety in bed. Fighting a sinus thinga-ma-jiggy.

I did a new weight routine yesterday and that might have contributed although I hope not. I did my Summit Machine climbing to 1300 feet and then walked at a moderate pace for 25 minutes. Afterwards I did a 20 minute weight routine using High Intensity Training on six different machines using a weight I could reasonably do a number of reps and continue until I experienced burnout/positive fatigue in my muscles. In my butterflies I was able to complete 52 before having to stop. I'm sore today, but not overly.

I'll be happy when I see that back fat start to disappear.

Anyone else think about twins when they looked at that pic - or was that just me?

And here's a skin pic - cuz you know I wanna!

Beef and Broc

I may one day stop half naked picture day and concentrate solely on food...

Nah.

I do notice red wine hits me FAST. I rarely drink alone but tonight as I prepared my dinner (and the leftovers which would remain) I had a glass. Ketosis the state my body is in right now due to low carb consumption allows the alcohol to hit my blood stream rather fast. Too bad I don't have a boyfriend right now he could SO take advantage of me.

I climbed another 1327 feet today (who's counting? ME). I feel sweat running off my back as I push it to the limit on the Summit machine. This machine is rarely used. You know why? Cuz it's damn hard.

Climbing Higher

Gotta love Primal eating don't you?

Oh and I'm back in ketosis after getting the Pumpkin Pie (didn't eat the crust) out of my system.

I'm somewhat discouraged reading Primal Posts on Forums by Women. Some are annoying about their lack of weight loss - encouraging.

I climbed 1300 feet in 14 minutes yesterday and my t-shirt actually showed sweat front AND back. That's a first.

I also biked 3.5 miles and lifted weights for an hour. I added some abdominal work using a ball and today I'm sore - glad to know I have muscles there after all.

Survived Easter*

I am still in ketosis even after having Easter dinner at my sistah from the same mistah's house. (There are no other mistah's for the record.) She made a delicious ham which she'd boiled and then drained and then baked which reduced the salt consumption a fair amount. There was a honey, mustard glaze but I chose meat that wasn't glazed so I could eat a ton -which I did. I didn't have any potatos and they looked delicious so that was a pretty big accomplishment in and of itself. I did however have a scoop of lazy cabbage rolls which contained rice, but I only had one scoop and refrained from putting sour cream (dairy) on it. There was an ice cream cake for desert and I do confess to having three small tastes amounting to about a tablespoon. This was enough to give me the taste and I felt satisfied afterwards. Yay me!

On the good side my mother who'd be in Florida for three weeks announced "You're skinny!", when I walked in the room. She is all about the 'skinny'. I'm the fat one of my two sisters. They are both runners, in fact one is running in the Boston Marathon in April. I have rebelled pretty consciously against my mom's fat obsessions by being rounder for the last ten years. In the end who am I hurting? Me. I'm not doing this for mother approval which makes this much better. I wasn't even pleased she was so pleased - I've come a long way baby!

I read about almond flour a couple of days ago - which is not obviously made from grain and which is very low glycemic. This excites me - not that I'm a huge pancake fan - but the idea of having a pancake once in a blue moon kinda excites me.

Favorite meal of the week was two lean hamburgers grilled and then placed between very thick wedges of iceberg lettuce which had been spread with baba ganoush (eggplant dip). It was soooo yummy and very satisfying. Oh ya and I fried onions in real butter and put those on too. mmm mmm mmmm

On the exercise front I did my cardio outside yesterday and over pulled my Achilles on a hill (running up it) and although not down and out means the treadmill is not in my near future - Summit, Crosstrainer and Biking here I come.

Well I'm off to brekkie once again - eggs over easy and bacon. I did have 1/2 a glass of orange juice last time and it didn't throw me out of ketosis so I may do that again.

*I was going to say survived Easter just like Jesus but thought you know that might be just a bit too much. *grin


Who wants my meat?

Day five

Day number five of primal eating. The first couple of days I ate quite a bit - purposely to avoid feeling deprived. Starting something new can be psychologically freaky meaning I'll set myself up to fail before I start if I feel like I'm giving up too much. Now for a refresher I am giving up grains, dairy, legumes and any manufactured sugary treats...well sugar in general I suppose. This is a big change folks. I have a sweet tooth mind you I was lactose intolerant so giving up dairy was not a biggie. Oh and I'm not eating potatoes of any kind.

So as I was saying I ate quite a bit in the first two days. Making sure that I didn't feel hungry and/or deprived. What I've noticed especially yesterday was I wasn't very hungry. I had probably less than I should for the day but didn't feel like I needed to eat. I'm sated. I've heard there is a connection between sugars we eat and food cravings and that the removal of sugars will stop cravings in three days. This seems accurate so far.

My biggest sacrifice is in my morning coffee. We have a coffee place in Canada called Tim Hortons and I'm a daily visitor. I didn't drink coffee plain, I half and half it with a french vanilla concoction which made the sugar and calorie content high. I don't drink coffee black and I can't have sugar or dairy so this means my coffee ended. I usually only had one a day so the headache I had on day two of quitting was mild at best.

I'm noticing changes in my body. Even the picture on the previous post shows me my torso is leaning out. The last to be affected seems to be my butt and thighs. I'm confident that will eventually disappear. I changed up my weight routine a couple of days ago to throw my muscles into some confusion and I was sorer the next day which pleased me.

I've always had head turns, more when I was much younger of course, but I've never noticed that they stopped completely. What I have noticed recently is an increase, it's either from increased confidence or my body is getting hotter. My face certainly is getting slimmer and my skin smoother. I'll have to make sure I don't get gaunt that's an unattractive look at any age.

I'm heading out to breakfast which I do every weekend. The only change is I won't be having toast. Not bad.

First day of the Rest of My Life

First day of the PRIMAL diet. Or should I say lifestyle, don’t want to give myself permission to see that as temporary. That said I’m setting a goal of 30 days to evaluate my progress. I’m feeling pretty confident this would be what the doctor ordered if in fact he knew anything about nutrition which he doesn’t. I already know I’m lactose intolerant and I wouldn’t be surprised to find out I was gluten intolerant too. This diet/lifestyle will address both of these concerns easily.
I had hoped to make a delicious soup last night but ran out of time which kind of sucks because I love it and I could eat a fair amount as it’s mostly broth and veggies – with very lean hamburger thrown in for protein. C’est la vie…there’s always tonight. I’ll domesticate it up. I admit I eat out a lot because I work long hours and have grown lazy in the kitchen – I’m looking forward to getting down and dirty with him again.

I have strawberries and apples at work to keep my sweet tooth under control and have already had a poached egg which I did up in the microwave. Okay perhaps I’ve just killed all the nutrients in an egg by cooking it that way – but once change at a time folks! Tuna is on the agenda for lunch and I think I’ll have some chicken and steamed veggies for dinner after my workout.

Yesterday I started my Tabata training and had my first exercise induced asthma attack. I had been diagnosed with asthma a few years ago. It was a condition I’d never known I had but signing up for a research study my friend’s pathologist husband was doing they needed to divide the study participants into two groups – asthmatic and non. Of COURSE I was non. But nope some definitive testing in a pulmonary lab and a methacholine challenge showed I was moderate. Mind you until Sunday I’d had no worries, I guess I hadn’t pushed myself that hard? Tabata training has you push really hard for 20 seconds and easing off for 10. I climbed the Summit machine after a five minute warm-up and started. I was only on the machine for 7 minutes and maybe only pushed it for three but my chest hurt like a bugger. My heart rate wouldn’t slow either when I took up the treadmill for a cool down. I had chest tightness for approximately 45 minutes after. I will see my doctor for a puffer – cuz I honestly think this strategy is going to burn fat.

You know that saying “today is the first day of the rest of your life”? Well I hated it, but you know something, I think this may just be that day.

Going Paleo

I'm a pale pink princess but now am going to add Paleo so I can be known as the four-p...ya never mind dumb, half-assed attempt at a joke - it's in there somewhere.

Movin' on...I've been doing some research and thanks to some readers (like Shel) I believe I've found something that makes sense for me. Watch this video for a cute video on the basics. http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=uCFZoqmKf5M

In this video the author recommends Tabata training which II Capo has advised me is a great idea and much healthier than long, drawn out cardio sessions. http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=wGXep32_qiI

Tabata training is all over the net. Here's a link to help you understand.
http://www.intervaltraining.net/tabata.html

I'm going to start Paleo and Tabata on Monday. Whoo hoo new body!

I thought I'd change the dress and make it a bit sexier for interests sake. It's all in the interest of science doncha know.

It's once again humbling to put myself out there - but heck someone has to do it. Can I change this semi-hot little bod into hard body by summer? Let's try it shall we?

Oh and the captions say:

1. Collarbone starting to show (yay!)
2. Back fat still present (I could have added thigh fat too)
3. Boobage still supersized...no bra though (which heck I'm rather proud of - just sayin')


I'll take a shot of myself in this dress one month from now and we'll compare.

Before and after

Through the miracles of modern tech stuff I have done a 3-D model of myself before and after my weight loss. I somehow appear to grow shorter after. Weird. I need all the height I could get.

These pictures inspire me truthfully. If I were a dude I know which chick I'd choose. Just sayin'.

Dress size in one month

I know, I know I'm going on a bit about my exercise shtick. But heck it occupies a minimum of five days a week - two hours plus each time. I'm focused on getting the best, strong, fit bod I can. I'd lost my focus the last year and was internetting too much and I became soft and a little plump. The picture below shows changes in my body in one month. I don't have a picture from my first month which is too bad because we'd really see the progression. The first month I couldn't get the zipper up without a ton of fooling around.

You can see how my back fat is starting to disappear and how my waist is going in more now. I haven't lost much boobage although I have lost some and have dropped at least two inches from my bra size - cup size still the same. C36 was where I was for years and then I went to D38. Now back to 36 and aiming for a C. At one point in my life I was 34, 24, 34, but I'm not aiming for that particularly. I'm aiming for same curves, smaller frame.

Unfortunately I didn't take the pictures the same distance and they're not the same scale, but I still think you get the idea.

Shoulders

As I've mentioned I've been going to the gym rather frequently. Five to six times a week is not unheard of. I wasn't fat before, but I was and am carrying more than I'd like on my small frame.

I work out with a co-worker/friend and we're very motivated for our own reasons - hers a cruise with her husband in May and me just to look hot. My friend is much younger and smaller than I am and it's motivating to say the least.

We were looking in the mirrors at the gym the other day and I said my goal is to have my collar bone show by summer. I love the look of a sharp collar bone combined with a shoulder bone protrusion. I'm not there yet, but over the last couple of weeks I've noticed the bones are beginning to show. I'm encouraged.

I've been doing cardio five days a week and weights every other day. The weight routine is pretty heavy duty - 10 exercises using every muscle group which I do three sets of 12 for. The 144 weighted squats are killer but I think making the most overall difference in my body. I've increased weights in the 12 weeks since I've started - almost 20 pounds more for my shoulders than when I first began. I've started using this summit machine for 10 minutes of cardio and try to climb around 1000 feet and then I hit the treadmill for 30 minutes more.

I realize the pictures don't show ideal shoulders, chest or neck yet - but they will my friends they will.

potential realized

I've been on a mission at work. I have a focus I haven't experienced in awhile and I think I'll attribute it to working out like a feminine demon. Wait...demons are sexy so maybe they're ALL feminine. Never mind.

I feel great because I got off my round ass and started doing something physical. My addiction to the interwebz - mostly Roissy and crew - took a toll on my energy. Now don't get me wrong on a down day I still outdid most I know, but for me was less than stellar performance.

Back to the work subject. I'm on a mission to make this place the most efficient, excellent, strengths-based agency it can be. I have had to demote, fire and promote in hyper drive. I see where we are going and it's good. The potential is more realized than not - a good thing.

I have picked up pieces that now as I look closely see the holes large enough to walk through. My work load will increase temporarily ---the necessary evil. I see my life getting better not worse - the sacrifice for the later gain.

Life is good in this moment.

Dressage

I've been working like a horse to get ready for my Mexico trip. I am working out in the gym six days a week to look bathing suit ready.

I mentioned a dress that I was squeezing into and hoped to have fit better before I went. The picture on the left was just at the beginning of working out and the middle and right are after. I am losing the boobage. Always the first to go. Oh and my face looks slimmer which I'm happy with.

Mexico in two days! Dress is still not fitting but it's fitting better - I can be happy with that. (for now)

DRESSed to kill

Newest obsession: Excercise

I'm always needing a new fix. For a long while it was Roissy, before that it was something else. After Roissy it was my blog, followed by Girl Game and now it's exercise.

Work is the same. I keep jobs for years but when the challenge wears off - sometimes after months I need to create something new or I'll go crazy. I'm able to be very creative where I am - throw in the logistics piece of running an organization like I run and I'm never bored.

I've hit the gym eight days out of nine. No less than 90 minute work-outs each time. I have a work-out buddy who is no less motivated by this obsession than I am. I'm vacaying in Mexico in February she's cruising in May. We are motivated. Some have said that after our respective holidays we'll be done but to this I say - no way José . If I have the right partner I'm inclined to keep going for ever. My last work out partner moved and I just couldn't get motivated after she left to do hardcore workouts.

I tried on a dress this am to see if I've dropped inches and I have. I'll post a picture later to show where I'm at now and then where I'll be when I leave for Mexico in two weeks. I can't wear it comfortably right now - pulling a little in the midriff area. But it'll fit like a glove in two week - guaranteed.