Week 5

Day 29

A new week!

Precor 50 minutes, 650 calories. A set of squats, arm exercises and crunches.

Day 30 Training

Ok, today I am ready! Bring it on Holly!! I can handle it!

Oh such were the words of a foolish fat lady: ME!. Holly has more tricks up her buffed muscular arm than that scantily dressed floozy on the corner downtown has in her little black book, know what I mean?

I know, these 19 steps do not look like much.
But YOU try running up and down them 15 times
in a row!!

After the usual running up and down stairs, squats and arm weights, Holly had me jump rope. I groaned. What!!?? At least I should have fair warning if I am to do any sort of jumping. My bras do not support long sustained periods of jumping. As I am going down, my boobs are still going up. It is far from a pretty sight. Nor is it comfortable.

I think Holly is not that sweet kind gal I met on the first session, but some sort of evil vixen with evil intent.

But I still love her. Someone has to.

Day31

Last night, I watched the Biggest Loser. So today I am inspired.

Still feeling frustrated because as of yesterday, the scale has not budged. It is really discouraging after all this sweating and eating really responsibly. I doubt I can cut back much more and still function.

Weigh in is tomorrow. I am NOT looking forward to it. I am afraid of no progress for the second week in a row.

Oatmeal for breakfast 140 calories

Cottage cheese for lunch 200 calories

Kashi bar 120 calories

Dinner: salmon burger with bun 400 calories

Salad

2 oreos

mint tea

Pretty typical of what I have been eating.

Precor set at 11/11 50 min 700 calories

Arm exercises with 8 lb weights, squats, and tricep bench presses

Day 32 Weigh in #4    

  

I am so tempted not to go today. I fear the scale, since yesterday when I went on, I was still not down one single pound (discouraging). And I have no energy. I can’t decide if I have the beginnings of a cold or an allergy. I have a bit of a sore throat and sniffely nose. But I REFUSE to give up or give in.

Today, I tried a different machine. It is an elliptical type of machine with a brand name of Cybex. Standing foot pedals, and handle bars that move like you are cross country skiing. I like these type of machines as you get a really good workout for the time you put in.

Every machine has a different intensity to the numbers you dial in. This one, I had an incline of 7 and needed a resistance of 33 to “feel it” in my legs. Let me tell you, by 30 minutes I was dying. I so wanted to ramp down. I didn’t. I kept my mantra up ”Don’t give up…Don’t give up…”

I made it to 40 minutes before I dialed it down to a resistance of 20.

My total on this machine: 50 min, 727 calories

I added 3 sets of 50 crunches

Weigh in result: Loss of 1 pound! Not much, but it is one pound less. I will take that over a stand still. I have never been so pleased to lose one lousy pound. I left the gym feeling quite happy, and with new encouragement.

Day 33

After a long day at work, and despite this cold that makes me feel like I am dragging my butt on the ground, I stopped at the gym on my way home. I decided to take it easy. I got on the Cybex again. I put the incline at 8 and the resistance at 25. I was dying at 20 minutes. I pushed through to 30 minutes. I called myself a wimp. I continued on to 40 and thought of hiking in Nepal. I have to get in shape!! I struggled on for another 5 minutes, then “cooled down” for 5 minutes.

Total: 50 minutes, 756 calories.

How’s that for taking it “easy”?

I went home and collapsed…sort of. The beads were calling me to work, so I played with them for a little bit, and then I collapsed!

Day 34 ZUMBA

Pre Class: Precore set at 10/10 15 min, 125 calories

I love the Zumba class. The time goes really fast!  The music is great (makes me think of being somewhere in the Caribbean, on the beach with a fruity rum drink). It’s impossible to be anything other than happy, it’s impossible not to want to dance.

I was all left feet today. What was easy for me to follow last week with some semblance of grace,  had me nearly falling over my own feet. Still, it was fun and I still felt like I had something of a workout.

Day 35

I still have a cold. My head is pounding. When I got up this morning, I contemplated not going to the gym. I have not taken a day off in 34 days. Missing one day won’t throw a wrench in my progress, slow as it is.

Then I felt guilty. I HAVE to go…

I got dressed and went out the door before I could change my mind.

I climbed on the Cybex, set the incline to 8, resistance to 25 and pedaled at a slower than usual speed. I figured that just my effort in being at the gym was enough. Anything I could do was better than not going.

I cut my workout short by 5 min. Calories expended : 615 at 45 minutes. Still not bad for feeling crappy.