How to Lose About 5lbs in a Week

Update: Please read the follow up post to this (above) so you can see how unrealistic a low carb diet is for healthy weight loss.

Note: Please remember that we are all different, our bodies store fat and metabolize differently so we will all lose fat and metabolize food differently. So if you see your results in weight loss not going as quickly as you like don't get down on yourself. Be proud of what you can achieve and keep working to achieve more. End note :)

Ok, that being said over the fall I hit a major plateau with my weight loss. I was still dropping inches from all my work outs, but the scale was staying the same and the fat wasn't coming off as fast as I wanted to. So I got fed up and decided to give up sugar and get really strict with my diet Jan 1. I did that for a week an half while I stuck to my low calorie diet and STILL the scale didn't go anywhere even eating 1500 calories a day. Normally I probably should have lost about 2lbs or more a week.

So I set up a meeting with my boot camp trainer to discuss my diet and he put it in pretty simple terms for me. My body was too used to my diet and my metabolism slowed down. I need to make a big change in what I was eating in order to shock my system and jump start my weight loss.

His solution: A weekly rotation of Low Carb, Low Glycemic, and Low Calorie/higher carb diets.

When I heard the words low carb I wanted to freak out! Low Carbs! I'm part German and Italian!

Give me my potatoes and wheat beer and my spaghetti, Italian bread and wine and I'm a happy girl!! I was raised on spaghetti and meatballs!

I'm also a firm believer that the Low Carb diet does not work. I don't need to be an expert to say this, I've seen it first hand happen to my father. He did the Atkins diet for months lost the weight really fast, went off the diet and gained it all back. Slow and steady wins the race and all things in moderation is my motto.

Needless to say I was actually a little afraid to try the low carb because of this, but what did I have to lose? I wasn't losing anything currently with my diet the way it was that's for sure, so I had to give this a try. What gave me the motivation to give this a try was that the diet rotated weekly. So essentially my body wouldn't adjust too much to the low carb's. When I switched my diet up after a week I wouldn't gain all the weight back right away and I wouldn't go crazy from not having some oatmeal or spaghetti :) WIN!

So far I've only done week 1: Low Carb. Yesterday was my last day and I'm happy to report I survived the week. Today I start low glycemic index, so I'll be posting about that next week.

Instead of focusing on what I couldn't have I was happy with the list of foods I was allowed:

-meats/dairy: beef, chicken, fish, eggs, cottage cheese, cheese, shellfish.

-unlimited veggies including asparagus, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, onion, lettuce, mushroom, pepper, snow peas, radish, spinach, tomato and zucchini. no carrots or green beans.

Mmmm... unlimited vegeeees!
(oh, but no fruit allowed for low carb week... sorry delicious apple!)

-allowable fats: cream/milk, canola and olive oil, nuts (almonds, brazil, peanuts, pecans, walnuts), avacado/guacamole, all natural peanut butter.

I was very happy that I could eat handfulls of nuts for a snack... if you recall I love nuts!

My daily goal was to eat 1600 Calories, 40g of Carbs, 89g of Fat, 160g of Protein

Here's an example of meals that I ate.

Sunday:

Breakfast - 3 egg omelet w/ salsa & cheese

Lunch - grilled chicken Caesar salad, no croutons

dinner - pork chop & salad

Monday:

Breakfast - two hardboiled eggs, 1 cup cottage cheese

snack - mixed nuts, dry roasted 1 oz.

Lunch - grilled chicken breast, salad w/ balsamic dressing, 4 celery sticks w/ peanut butter

snack - mixed nuts

dinner - 5oz Tilapia, asparagus

The Con's of this diet:


1. I don't recommend this diet to anyone who is just starting out with making a change in their lifestyle. It has a LOT of restrictions as to what you can and can't eat and you need to plan every meal. If I did this as a Newbie dieter I probably would have given up and that would have gotten me no where. If I had to follow a diet that said NO you can't eat this and NO you can't eat that then I would have had a very hard time because it would have been giving up too much too soon for me and I would have gotten overwhelmed.

I believe it's important to learn how to make healthy choices on your own with out restrictions first. Learn what foods (from all food groups) are healthy for you and learn how to properly portion your food before trying something like this. This is what sparkpeople.com teaches you. I had no restrictions on my diet starting out, technically I could have eaten what ever the hell I wanted to. But what I learned very quickly was well, I can't eat what ever I want beauce I won't see results. I had to learn on my own what healthy foods would fill me up instead of wasting my calories on an empty snack that would leave me hungry.

Now that I've learned all this, it was the right time for me to analyze my diet again and cut more out. Which is why I tried this low carb/low glycemic/low calorie rotation.

2. Removing carbs from your diet causes a HUGE DROP in energy. Carbs were my main source of energy before I gave them up. I would eat a cereal bar before working out and at 5am it really gave me that boost I needed to get through bootcamp. Eating protein for breakfast doesn't enter my system as quickly, so I found myself tired through my work outs, tired in the middle of the day, crashing at the end of the day and taking long naps.

3. I had to eat protein shakes some days to make sure I got enough protein. Can we say... blech!

The Pro's of this diet:


1. I learned that it wasn't so terrible to cut carbs from my life. I survived the week, granted I was tired a lot, but I did it. I've also realized that when I reach my weight loss goal and go off of this rotation diet, I don't need to depend on having carbs in my daily diet. I can go a day or several days with out toast, oatmeal, or pasta. And I figured out a scoop or two of peanut butter with a cup of milk will give me enough energy to get through my work outs.

2. I saved money, learned to plan ahead and ate better. At the grocery store I only bought chicken breast, fish, vegetables, nuts, cheese, cottage cheese, eggs and milk. I didn't eat a single processed, over salted frozen meal, and I didn't go out every day and buy a salad for lunch. I am a self proclaimed microwave queen and I usually buy salads for lunch or even frozen organic meals like Amy's brand. This week I prepared breakfast, lunch and dinner for myself and I learned to experiment more with some seasoning and I cooked a mean dish of tilapia! YUM.

3. I SAW RESULTS!!! After months of the scale not budging in either direction I FINALLY saw it go down again and it felt AMAZING!! I was so excited that after only a few days I saw the scale drop. After a week, my new jeans are already fitting me better! And people at bootcamp told me they saw a difference already!

But it's not just about the diet ladies!!

You got get up, get out there and exercise as well!

This was my work out schedule this week:

Monday: Spinning 1hr, Yoga 1hr

Tuesday: Bootcamp, 1hr (no soccer this week *sadface*)

Wednesday: rest (got a massage ;))

Thursday: Bootcamp, 1hr

Friday: Bootcamp, 1hr

Saturday: Run/walk (run for 4 min, walk 1), 6 miles and lots of hills!

Sunday: Run, 3 miles (not much hills)

Best part about my Saturday run was that I got a compliment for doing a good job from a cute stranger runner guy....who happened to pass me once when I was going down hill (enjoyed the view though) and when I was near the end he was already running back up hill (enjoyed that view too...I'm bad). But he was cute and said I was doing a good job so I forgive him for putting me to shame.

No Sugar: Week 3

Just want to give you all a little update on how I'm surviving the sugar cravings as I go into week three of my goal to stay away from sugary sweets for 45 days...

Yesterday, JE, my bloggy-mate/co-worker, brought Berger cookies into the office. If you're wondering what a Berger cookie is...

Yep, that's a big ol' slab of chocolate on top there.
I think there's about twice as much chocolate as there is cookie.

These are locally made here in Bawlmer (Baltimore to you non-local folk)... don't be fooled they're not that fabulous, unless you really are trying to achieve death by chocolate. In my opinion these cookies are over the top sweet. On top of the Berger cookies another co-worker brought in...

Erm, wasn't Christmas almost a month ago?

There's also two bags full of miniature chocolates lying around. At any given moment there are 4 different areas of temptation in my office: File drawer near my desk, supply closet, kitchen, co-workers ledge.

But wait there's more...... Every month a cake is brought into the office to celebrate birthdays...it just happens to be here today...

Best birthday cake ever!

Anyway, so with all that temptation at my finger tips... have I caved???

NOPE!

I haven't been tempted to touch a single bite... it's kinda like being a married woman... I'm married to my new diet. I can look but I can't touch ;)

Let me put this into visuals you, my fellow fangirls, can all understand...

repeat with me now ladies.... you can LOOK at that delicious tasty treat:

Look at this GQ motha-trucker


But don't TOUCH...
Naughty, naughty!

Just once more ladies so that you don't forget.... Look

at the sexual white chocolate

at the goodies

But don't TOUCH!!

Even if it's so very tempting... especially when the goodies look like they want you to take them to bed (chocolate + bed = messy sheets... and you really don't want to ruin your 500 thread counts, do ya?)

The Skinny on Sugar

Sugar... do do do do do do Oh Honey Honey do do do do do do... You are my Candy Girl...

I somehow don't think this game would be as popular if it was called "vegeland"...

So I've got a sweet tooth, I've always had a sweet tooth (I wonder if it's candyland's fault for brain washing me as a small child ;))...I'm sure most of us are in the same boat... but as I've announced in my 2010 Goals, I've given up sugary sweets for 45 days.

My reason for this are not only because the holidays season and all its delicious cookies killed me, but also because I've been reading a nutrition book that's helping me look at the foods I've put in my body in a different way.

Once I read about sugar I had to consider either being more watchful about my intake or cutting it out of my diet completely. I chose the later obviously for the time being. I am a firm believer in all things in moderation, but I've hit a plateau and I am hoping that cutting sugar from my diet will help me break through that.

I've been reading this really informative book called "You Are What You Eat" by Dr. Gillian McKeith



Here's what the book says about Sugar Cravings:

You will crave sugar if your blood sugar levels are constantly out of balance; if you have nutrient deficiencies, yeast overgrowths; if you eat a diet high in refined, processed carbs and junkie foods. Sugar cravings are a sign that you may suffer from a condition known as hypoglycemia, causing you to crave even more sugar.

You end up becoming the victim of a seesaw effect of soaring and plummeting sugar levels. This is why if you start to eat just one chocolate bar, you are bound to crave more. The sugar gives you the rush, but this drop is never far behind. The best way to to beat the sugar fix is to go cold turkey: no sugary foods or sweets for a month. The herb astragulus can give you a natural energy lift (500mg daily). ...

Certain foods help regulate blood sugar levels and tame sugar cravings. Whole grains and fresh veggies are great choices. Yams, sweet potatoes and squash help to curb a sweet tooth too and they don't elevate blood sugar levels in the way that sugary sweets do.

Food Cravings:

Sugary, carbohydrate-rich foods and sweets raise the level of the feel-good chemicals in your body (these are the endorphins serotonin and norepinephrine). The trouble with eating high sugar foods is that sugar enters your bloodstream very quickly and causes a rush of insulin along with a rush of serotonin. If there is a sudden rise in sugar levels, the insulin breaks it down very quickly, leading to a drop in both sugar and endorphins. this leaves you feeling worse than before and you may reach for more sugary foods to boost your mood, setting up a cycle of food cravings, weight gain, fatigue and mood swings which is hard to break.

Don't deny it we all know once you get started on one little sweet it turns into a lot of little sweets. That's why I had to go cold turkey! The book breaks it down even further to talk about insulin levels and how the body deals with all the excess sugar...this is where it gets really interesting... I had one of those *light bulb* moments after reading this section of the book:

Insulin Imbalances:

When you eat food, glucose from the digestive breakdown of the food is absorbed into your gut and blood. The body takes what is requires and then produces insulin to lower glucose levels back to normal, converting the excess glucose into a compound called glycogen which is stored by the liver.

On a healthy diet this process works perfectly, but excessive consumption of refined carbohydrates, particularly sugary foods, upsets the balance and everything starts to go haywire. Your body has to produce increasing amounts of insulin to break down the sugars. Eventually you become resistant to the insulin, and instead of converting excess glucose into glycogen, it turns into fat. You are then caught in a vicious cycle where the more unstable your blood sugar levels, the more prone you will be to craving sweets and unrefined carbohydrates like bread.

An imbalance of the hormone insulin can often be the root cause of overweight. Too much sugar causes glucose intolerance in the body, and when you are overweight you break down sugar less effectively. It's a Catch-22 situation.

I couldn't believe this was happening in my body when I eat sugary foods but there was the explanation plain as day. It completely made sense as to why it was difficult for me to eat just a little bit of chocolate bar instead of the whole damn thing. Now, I'm not saying I'm not to blame in as well, I know better and should have the will power to resist...hell we should all know better than to gorge on sweet foods, but it's easy to see how the reaction to sugar in our blood stream makes it harder to say no.


Whats that you say, you only use sugar substitutes?

Just in case you might think your body was off the hook because you only eat foods with artificial/no-calorie sweeteners think again. Have you ever wondered why our grocery store shelves are filled with diet products, non-fat, low-fat, low-carb, no calorie, sugar free products and yet our society is still just as overweight as ever? Those sugar substitutes aren't helping you in fact they might make you gain weight.

Artificial sweeteners trick the body into thinking you're going to get a rush of energy from calories. Don't think of the word "calories" as necessarily a bad thing. Calorie is the term used to measure food energy. We need this energy to survive. It's where you get your calories from that make all the difference. Anyway! So Artificial sweeteners enter the blood stream your body thinks its going to get a natural rush of energy from calories, but then there are no calories. Long story short, studies show you might be more likely to eat more food through out the day to make up for tricking your body...

When it comes to dieting, most of us are willing to resort to a trick or two to help us curb our appetite and eat less — drinking water to fill up when we're hungry, for example, or opting for artificial sweeteners instead of sugar to get the same satisfying sweetness without the offending calories. But new research suggests that the body is not so easily fooled, and that sugar substitutes are no key to weight loss — perhaps helping to explain why, despite a plethora of low-calorie food and drink, Americans are heavier than ever.
In a series of experiments, scientists at Purdue University compared weight gain and eating habits in rats whose diets were supplemented with sweetened food containing either zero-calorie saccharin or sugar. The report, published in Behavioral Neuroscience, presents some counter-intuitive findings: Animals fed with artificially sweetened yogurt over a two-week period consumed more calories and gained more weight — mostly in the form of fat — than animals eating yogurt flavored with glucose, a natural, high-calorie sweetener. It's a continuation of work the Purdue group began in 2004, when they reported that animals consuming saccharin-sweetened liquids and snacks tended to eat more than animals fed high-calorie, sweetened foods. The new study, say the scientists, offers stronger evidence that how we eat may depend on automatic, conditioned responses to food that are beyond our control.

Read the full article on Time.com


If this research isn't a deterrent from fake sugar, I'm just going to remind you that these sweeteners are CHEMICALS.

Read this... Aspartame Controversy:

Aspartame was discovered in 1965 by James M. Schlatter at the G.D. Searle company (later purchased by Monsanto). He was working on an anti-ulcer drug and spilled some aspartame on his hand by accident. When he licked his finger, he noticed that it had a sweet taste.

So let me get this right, someone is researching for an anti-ulcer drug and discovers this chemical was sweet and then somehow we decide it's ok for human consumption? Sure opinons are going to vary on the safety of Artificial Sweeteners depending on what research report you read, but personally, I don't want these un-natural chemicals in my body.


Hopefully it will make you think twice before you decide to grab a diet soda.

In fact it seems with all soda's you're in a bad situation. Regular soda's are loaded with sugar and high fructose corn syrup. And diet sodas are loaded with bad fake sugars.

When I started my weight loss I switched to drinking sparkling water instead of sodas. Even today a regular coke is a rare treat. Last time I had one was on Christmas eve. I found that what I really missed about soda wasn't the sugar it was the carbonation so I don't miss it at all. I'm a sparkling water junkie (watch out for the sparkling waters that add fake sugar to them though!).

Are there ANY healthy, natural no-calorie sugar substitutes??

I haven't tried this personally but I have heard of this product. Dr. Gillian recommends Stevia as a natural alternative to sugar.

Stevia: Craving Curber

You are going to fall in love with this incredible green-leafed plant belonging to the chrysanthemum family. Stevia is a sweet herbal plant that is much sweeter than sugar. But unlike sugar Stevia has the ability to regular blood sugar levels, suppress sweet cravings and lesson hunger pangs. It's helpful for diabetics and hypoglycemics and contains protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates and vitamins.

To top it all off, Stevia has no calories. The glycosides are note metabolized in the body and are thus eliminated with out any calories being absorbed. Load of credible research supports the use of Stevia. I use it with patients who have a real sweet tooth. in almost every case, the patient reports a significant decrease or the complete eradication of sugar cravings. It is available in powder or liquid extract.

Agave Nectar is another natural alternative to sugar. I've also had liquorice root in tea as a sweetener.

And here's one more thing I wanted to touch on because I was slightly confused about the term I've been seeing on a lot of nutritional labels especially on products from the health food store: Evaporated Cane Juice... don't be fooled it's just a fancy term for sugar!


Here's an article on Glamour.com with more deets:

If you're an avid ingredient label reader like me, you've probably seen "evaporated cane juice" on a million different food products lately. It's everywhere! So, I wondered, what the heck is it, really, and is it any better for you than sugar? Here's what one expert had to say...
****
It's easy to see the absence of "sugar" on an ingredient label and think that you're scoring yourself some health points. But is evaporated cane juice really any better for you? Here's what nutrition expert Melina Jampolis, M.D. had to say:
"Evaporated cane juice is pretty much just sugar," she says. "It is less processed so it retains trace vitamins and minerals but has the same amount of calories as sugar. It is a little sweeter so you might get away with using less sugar which is always good."

I hope this post helped you look at your sugar intake in a different light. Maybe you might even consider cutting it in half, or eliminating it like I did.



P.s. So I was thinking if it's true we are what we eat.....that would make me....

A Trader Joes.

What's Your Excuse for Not Going to the Gym?

Too tired, not enough money to join, too self-conscious, traumatic childhood experiences in gym class...drank too much cheep wine the night before...I'm looking at you Charles Shaw...

There are literally a million excuses one could come up with for not going to the gym... Here's some excuses a certain prissy friend gave to me... and Oh, yes... I am judging you missy...hardcore! lol

Bad hair day? Wear a hat or just chop it off like I did, it'll always look funky fun.
Socks don't match? Seriously who cares, wear a pair of pants.
Shoes don't match? How in the world is that even possible??! You lost a shoe??
Clothes don't match shoes? Ok, Seriously! Stop being such a girl you're going to a place where you sweat like a pig not the cotillion.

Truthfully there are no excuses for being lazy and not making it to the gym! Even if you're having a bad hair day or don't have enough money to join a gym, live to0 far from a gym or are too self conscience to work out in front of other people... a lot of exercises can be done at home with out worrying about whether or not people are staring at your pony tail or spending a dime on exercise equipment.

Here's something I never thought to use as a piece for work out equipment...

A paper plate... no i'm not kidding.

Paper plates can be used on carpeted surfaces to reduce the friction/resistance and as a result you'll be using a lot more muscle to hold yourself stable. You can use paper plates to work out hips/thighs/legs and arms here's an example from about.com:



A push up can be modified with plates by simply placing both hands on the plates and as you lower your body push one hand straight up away from you, then on the next push up do the same with the opposite hand.

A plain old chair can be used for tricep dips:



What about cardio? Simple exercises like high knees (or running in place but the goal is to get your knee up to hip level), jumping jacks (you can also add a squat to this when you jump your legs out lower your body to a squat), mountain climbers (these can also be done with paper plates to make it a bit harder ;)), squats, lunges etc.

What about your core? There's a whole variety of sit up exercises that can be done to target every area of your abs... here's a 15 minute Abs work out from Sparkpeople.com! One of my favorite is circle crunches or "around the world" crunches. You will feel these working every corner of your abs! Team Six Pack here I come!



If you want to spend a little bit on some exercise equipment here's what I have lying around my house and what I used this evening to get my work out in because a certain someone was Ms. Lazy Bones all morning and afternoon:


Some El Cheapo dumbells.... most retailers sell a light weight set for about $12.00. I even saw them for sale at target so you can pick a set up anywhere.

With these I did chest flies, Russian Twists, lunges (both letting the free weights hang and using them to twist and work my abs.), and Push ups with a row.





Resistance bands, again these are also El Cheapo... about $12-13.00

with these I did standing chest flies and rows, I also used them the help stretch my hamstrings at the end of my work out.








Indoor bike trainer... these can be pricey... first you need a regular old bike to hook up to it, second the trainers are about $130-400.00 or more depending on the model. Fortunately this one didn't cost me a penny because my sister aka the twi-hater is obsessed with bikes and owns several and she got one of these for x-mas a few years ago :)

However don't let the cost deter you. These are great because in the cold months you can turn any bike into a stationary bike and work out in your house then fold it up and put the trainer away and the bike back down the basement, unlike that treadmill laying around your house that is now used as fancy laundry storage system. I spent about 45 minutes on this bad boy tonight.


So even my typical excuses this time of year for not working out because it's cold outside and I don't have a shuffle anymore for work out music aren't valid. As I said there are no excuses because A) I can (and you can) work out at home with little or no equipment and B) I stole the sisters ipod mini for music...shh don't tell ;)
.

Happy 2010: My Goals for the New Year

Dear Readers, Happy 2010! I'm a little late updating my blog because I was out of town visiting family. So I am just now getting to ring in the New Year on my blog! I've made a series of goal that I want to accomplish this year most are fitness related, others are sort of "wellness" goals, but here's my list for 2010....

Fitness Goals:

1. No Sugary Sweets for 45 days

Captain's Log: Day Seven. I have turned my nose up at the chocolate drizzled cheese cake laying out at BREAKFAST TIME in the office kitchen. Seriously! There's a cheese cake sitting out at breakfast time! What is wrong with you people! Breakfast: 1/2 a bagel, light light smear of reduced fat garden vege cream cheese, orange, and low fat string cheese with a cup of tea & 1 tsp of sugar. Calorie totals: 489

I've started a new diet challenge. On January 1st I gave up sugary sweets. I'm doing it a little longer than a month because of #2 below...more on that later. So for 45 days that means...

No Candy
No Sugary Latte-frappa-mocha-chinos or whatever
No Cake/cupcakes
No Chocolate
No Ice cream
No Muffins
No Cookies
No Desserts
No Soda
No Juices

NO NO NO! To basically anything where the main ingredient is refined sugar, or high fructose corn syrup.

I'm only allowing myself a little bit of sugar or honey in tea.

2. Win the biggest loser contest at the office

Before Christmas we started a biggest loser contest at the office. Now I know what you're thinking that's impossible to do at the holidays! But I managed to maintain my weight since thanksgiving. Now I really want to see some numbers drop on the scale. So far I've only lost about a pound, and my evil co-worker came up to me yesterday to rub in my face about how she's lost 5! If she keeps at it there's a chance she could lose up to 10lbs by the end of the contest. I've got some catching up to do. So to help me gain an advantage in the contest as I stated in #1, no sweets, I'm joining an indoor soccer team starting next week to get another opportunity to work out added to my routine. I also have to make sure that I get to the gym or outside for a run (weather permitting) 1 -2 extra days a week. I'm also trying to be strict with watching my calories.

There's $120 riding on this so I don't want to lose! Plus I lost last year to a man who gave up soda and lost 11lbs in a month (I swear men are freaks of nature when it comes to weight loss). I know in my heart that I AM the office biggest loser because I've lost the most consistently over almost a 2 year period, but I'd love to be able to claim the title and win that money! Momma needs a new pair of shoes baby!

Shoe Whore recommends....

cute plaid shoes!!

3. Reach my weight loss goal

This is my long term goal for the year. April 2010 will be my two year anniversary since I made a life style change. I want 2010 to be the year I reach my goal! I feel like at this point I need to lose about 30lbs to reach my goal, but we'll see what happens as I get closer to that number. I'm not fixated on a number on the scale, what I really want to achieve is an athletic body. To make sure I stay on track I'm going to keep work-work-working out 5 days a week or more and I'm going to keep introducing new diet challenges through out the year to my diet to try new things and see what works for me. One thing I'm thinking of doing besides giving up sweets is limiting or removing dairy from my diet. I'm currently reading a lot about nutrition so I can try new things or remove things from my diet.

In the spring soccer season will be back in full swing (yes!!) and I'm also thinking of training for a half marathon.

4. Do something creative

Music and art has been a part of my entire life. I played music since I was in 3rd grade and my college degree is a BFA so yea I'm pretty much an artsy fartsy type. But life after college hasn't been so much fun and I've had less and less time for the things I enjoy most. So this year I want to make sure I set aside a little time each month to do something creative.

Most of all I really miss playing music so I'm going to take a few piano lessons again to brush up...lack of piano has made me very very rusty!

5. Go back to school

It's been five years since I graduated college. Where the hell did the time go? I feel like I'm in an intellectual slump right now and I also hate my job so it's time to work towards a career change...I want to take a class or two hopefully by the summer to see if this little idea I have in my head might be something I enjoy or could feasibly major in successfully...it's a bit science based and that's so far removed from anything I've ever studied before.

So that's my list, please share yours!!

Have a Happy Healthy Holiday!

I hope everyone's been having a great morning so far! It seems my family caught wind of the fact that YES I am dead serious about keeping fit and they got me fitness related presents for Christmas this year! WOOHOO! I was so super excited I had to rush to the blog to share all my goodies!!


My Christmas Goodies include:

a set of resistance bands for strength training...

"The Stick" which is a handy little tool to help work out all the kinks and knots in my muscles after working out

A replica Team USA match ball for the 2010 Fifa World Cup (In case you couldn't tell from reading this blog I am mildly obsessed with the sport of soccer)

A pair of smartwool running socks

And my very own chalk bag for rock climbing so I don't have to steal my sisters when we hit the climbing gym. I asked her if she purposely bought me one that said "moon" on it and she said she did...haha she's knows me too well! Check it out, Moonclimbing.com!

Looks like I'm going to need to hit the rocks again! This is me on my very first climb ever almost a year ago at Pilot Mountain in North Carolina. I had just reached a milestone of losing 50lbs.

I've lost another 30lbs since then...

Day 2 of our trip

Climbing indoors over the summer... I'm sweaty gross cause I ran three miles before I took my turn climbing (clearly I just follow the "rainbow" instead of the routes ;)). So I'm definitely long over due for a trip!

Back to the gifts!

My mom also got me this super awesome shirt for cold weather runs (and when all this damn snow melts hopefully i'll get some soccer time in too before spring season). It's light weight, but warm and wicks away the sweat, it's also got thumb holes so I can cover my wrists....

LOVE IT!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
TO ALL!!!
And to all a Healthy New Year!

Snow Day Work Out

So we had a pretty massive snow storm this weekend. And I was going stir crazy in my house trying to think of ways to work out this weekend...turns out I didn't need to worry about it because it took me two hours to dig out of this:


I had to dig around the car and then dig out my drive way down to the street, clear the side walk, steps and porch.

Hopefully next week I'll actually have some fitness related things to say.

Some Girls Like to Shop

Clearly not all girls but some of us do! This one goes out to the girls who enjoy a little retail therapy.



You're probably wondering what this has to do with fitness... well not much, but it does have a lot to do with general wellness :). Sometimes it's nice to go out and shop and be able to try on clothes you never would have been able to fit in 6 months ago. And it's even better when said clothes are ON SALE! All the more reason to celebrate with a blog post :) And if you don't like it tough cookies, this is my blog you can go watch a zombie movie.

Stop #1: Anthropologie (aka my clothing addiction)... Office holiday party is thursday and I have nothing to wear but dresses that are several years old and probably several sizes too large! Anthro sale rack to the rescue!

Gathered Together Dress on sale for $59.95!

The best part about this purchase, I had a gift card for $75.00 that I was holding on to waiting for that special must have purchase so I still have $11 left to spend on something small. JE talked me down from buying yet another copy of Pride and Prejudice:


It's my favorite book of all time, and yes I already own several copies including a Zombie version and an illustrated children's book version...don't judge...so do I really didn't need another one? Yes, because this one has a super CUTE cloth cover! I'm glad she talked me out of it though because Anthro wanted $20.00 for this and it's on sale at amazon for $13.60! Score! :D

Stops #2 & 3: J. Crew and Gap. Self restraint was exercised at these stores. Clothes and cute head bands were tested, but I had to tell myself no.

Stop #4: Nordstroms. JE introduced me to the wonders of the Junior section. I had never thought to shop there before thinking I wouldn't fit in the clothes but they have cheep accessories! And accessorize I did!

Hat - $7.90!!
Cute little ball earings - $6.00

Belt to go with anthro dress $6.90

Gotta love a good sale :)

Dear Santarob... I've been a bad girl today!

If you insist ;)

I've been a bad bad girl. Yesterday was our office staff party. I made ginger cookies since everyone brings a dish and I've never made these cookies before. They turned out relatively amazing. Minus the part where I swore repeatedly (see told you I was naughty) at the dough because it wouldn't cooperate with me and transfer the men onto the cookie sheet with out turning them into mutants and/or elasto-ginger bread men! Hence I made ginger snaps instead:

Cookies to spread holiday cheer in the office!

So yea, I over ate yesterday... and then today there were left overs and it seems I made too many cookies because my chewy delicious ginger cookies were still left!! I kind of have a problem with ginger snaps... I kind of love them... hardcore.



So I kind of ate several of them today along with some other left overs, please don't be angry Santaward! I'll try better tomorrow!

-Team Six Pack

p.s. Can I still stay on your "naughty" list though ;)

*ahem* ANYWAY! ;)

So today and yesterday were a diet bust! I still worked out Sunday (running/weights), Monday (spinning) and today (bootcamp). I'll try harder with my diet tomorrow to try and get back on track! Unfortunately there's another holiday party to attend Thursday! Help! I really do hate this time of year!



[Super awesome/hilarious "Naughty" Rob pic from 2 sisters blog!]

The Biggest Loser: Not Your Typical Weight Loss Reality

Whenever I talk to people about weight loss they always ask me inevitably if I watch the Biggest Loser and whether or not I found inspiration from the show. I never watched the show before, of course I had heard of it, but I'm not a regular tv watcher. That is up until a few weeks ago I finally watched my first episode of the Biggest Loser second chances. (A perfect storm of free time, boredom and nothing else being on tv lead me to actually give the show a chance, not kidding I probably watch less than 30 minutes of tv a week on average.) The episode was down to the final 4 contestants, they were sent home to learn how to live the lessons learned on the ranch in their every day lives and to train for a marathon.

It was interesting, but my feelings on the show are mixed. I've heard a lot of criticism and praise of the show and their methods for weight loss. The contestants were very obese and they lost large amounts of weight very quickly. Roughly 2lbs of weight loss a week is a healthy average. My doctors have told me this and I've read about it over and over on sparkpeople.

I also thought it was unfair that the men were put up against the women. I believe when it comes to weight loss there should be a separation of sexes. Men and women store fat in their bodies differently! (read this article for more info). Similarly you should NEVER compare your weight loss to another person whether they're the same sex or not, everyone will always have different results. The men were much more obese than the women starting out. They had a larger BMI and more fat to burn off, so naturally when you have that much weight to shed it's going to fall off relatively quick and in large numbers. But once it got closer to the finish the poor women were struggling to achieve 8 lbs of loss where as the men (again, larger BMI to start) were still dropping 20lbs or more. And I felt sorry for those ladies because you could tell they were comparing their results to the men and beating themselves up about it and there was no way they could compete.

They also had them train for a marathon in 60 days. 60 days of training to run 26.2 miles. That's seems a bit drastic to me! Hell I had that amount of time to train to run 7.3 miles. I'm sure if I focused ALL my time on running everyday I might have been able to run a marathon, but I do a big variety of work out activities and I like it that way to keep me from getting bored! I kept my regular boot camp schedule, had my weekend soccer games, got sick and injured during training, but in the end I was able to complete my 7.3 miles.

Coincidentally I read two articles on sparkpeople discussing the lessons you should take away from the Biggest Loser and the lessons you should forget! Pretty much everything I was thinking when watching the show is outlined in these articles. Let's take a look shall we!

Lesson to UNlearn: this one covers exactly what I was talking about, healthy weight loss averages about 2lbs a week:

Their results are not typical. "Biggest Loser" contestants weigh in once per week. In the first few weeks of each season, the contestants lose massive amounts of weight. I am not talking about four or five pounds either. I'm talking about 15, 20, or even 25 pounds gone in a single week! Healthy weight loss guidelines, like SparkPeople's, state that up to two pounds lost per week is safe for adults. Occasionally, adults with BMI's higher than 30 can safely lose a little more than that. Losing two pounds per week on "The Biggest Loser" would send you home very quickly! Later in the show, everyone's weight loss slows down, and they're disappointed with four-, six- and even eight-pound losses. In reality, even these "small" amounts are more than what most people can expect. In real life, most dieters can lose up to two pounds per week. Remember the lesson from the tortoise and the hare: Slow and steady wins the race! You're more likely to keep the weight off that way (and not go crazy with exercise or dieting extremes during the process).

Lesson to LEARN:

You won't always see results. It happens every season — some of the participants actually GAIN weight instead of losing. Whenever they'd stand on that scale, only to see the numbers pop up as a “plus” instead of a “negative,” I wanted to cry with them! But just like ups and downs are part of the show, they're a reality for the rest of us, too.

Lesson Losing weight isn't as simple as a mathematical equation. Sure you need to burn more calories than you consume to lose weight, but even when you do everything right, sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. Is it frustrating? You bet! But when it happens, all you can do is accept it and continue on. Trust that your efforts will show eventually. Remember, that even when the scale doesn't budge, your efforts are making a difference. Try to focus on other ways to measure your progress — like how you feel, your health improvements, and how your clothes fit. If all else fails, take steps to bust through your plateau!

My next step... reading that busting through your plateau article cause boy do I hit them!!

Lesson to UNlearn:

They are often overtraining. Behind the scenes, participants are closely monitored by physicians and trainers to make sure they can hold up to the rigors of training. All, if not most, of the participants go from zero fitness activity to training every day for hours. In the controlled environment of the campus, they can rest optimally, eat optimally, and recover optimally. But this isn't a good training philosophy for the everyday person. In essence, they go from inactive to athlete, but that can be dangerous for many people, inviting injuries, pain, and health risks. The best bet is to start slowly increase the intensity, duration and frequency over time. Even then, no one person needs to exercise for hours a day. Allow your body the time it needs to adjust to workloads and remember that there is more to life than fitness.

As I stated above going from not running to running a marathon in 60 days is over the top extreme, I'm surprised there weren't injuries!

Lesson to LEARN:

You have to work hard. Sometimes when I'd watch the Teams work out I'd think, "Their trainers are heartless!" In reality, those trainers know that weight loss takes hard work. You see them exercise when they have nothing left, choose the healthy foods even though they'd rather have their favorite comfort foods, and even leave their families for weeks at a time — these things are not for the faint of heart.

Lesson: It won't always be easy. Lots of people want to lose weight, but most aren't willing to pay the price or make sacrifices to get there. You will not be successful with a half-hearted effort or by looking for shortcuts or the easy way out.

Weight loss is going to take a lot of time and hard work and dedication. Even if the biggest loser contestants overtrain don't use that as an excuse to play it safe and to not train at all! I've had lots of little injuries, muscle pains and bumps along the way that might have temporarily slowed me down, but I don't regret any of them because over all I'm healthier than I was before!! I'd rather be able to claim that I hurt my foot playing a sport than saying I twisted it on my way to the fridge to get more ice cream because I got up too quickly and my head was spinning from staring at the computer screen!


Lesson to UNlearn:

They compare themselves to others. Each week at the weigh-in, the person who loses the most weight gets "immunity" and the people who lose the least are likely to be eliminated. No one wants to be the one who loses the fewest pounds. Inevitably, someone gets discouraged because they compare their weight loss to the losses of others. This is part of the TV game, but in real life, comparing yourself to others is a losing game. The only person you should be concerned with is yourself. Everyone loses weight in different places and at different rates. Don’t let someone else’s victory or defeat determine whether you view yourself as a winner or a loser. Keep your eyes straight ahead as you eat right, exercise hard, remain consistent. If you do this, everything else will eventually fall into place.

Like I said above, I felt so bad for those girls who got down on themselves for their 8lb loss! Take this one to unlearn to heart and read the lesson below!

Lesson to LEARN:

Your attitude matters. The wrong group can drain your motivation and energy. Did you notice the Black Team in season five? Granted, they were fighting an uphill battle and constantly facing the elimination room, but they were so down in the dumps that they often reminded me of a group of Eeyores. That negative energy could have contributed, on some level, to their constant struggles.

Lesson: Surround yourself with positive people. A fitness buddy with a negative attitude isn't fun to hang around, and that can be detrimental to your workouts and your consistency. And if you find that the negative attitude is coming from you, chances are you won’t stick with it. Change your perspective and stay positive for good results!

Lesson to UNlearn:

They rely on trainers. At nearly every workout, Bob or Jillian tells the "losers" what to do, when to do it, how often to do it, and how long to do it. It sure would be easy to reach your goals if you had a trainer standing over you, motivating you, and forcing you to work harder than you would on your own, right? I believe in personal training (heck, I am a trainer!) but you don’t need a personal trainer to be successful. For my clients, I teach them how to exercise and then to let them go. A dependent relationship between client and trainer is not a good idea. SparkPeople has all the tools and resources you need to work out, get motivated, and lose weight on your own!

Lesson to LEARN:

You shouldn't go it alone. Do you think that the contestants would be as successful if they went at it alone? In season five, for example, the Blue Team was a serious force to be reckoned with. Roger, Mark, Jay, and Dan seemed to never lose a challenge or a weigh-in. Did you notice how they supported and encouraged each other to push harder, work out longer, and stick to their diets? The support and camaraderie they exhibited definitely helped them succeed as often as they did.

Lesson: There is strength in numbers. Doing everything by yourself can be lonely and discouraging. But having a buddy — or a team of supporters — can help you to stick to it when the going gets tough. Instead of just going solo on the treadmill or bike, consider taking a group fitness class or joining a team sports league.

I use a personal trainer, however I get his expertise in a group setting at bootcamp along with a group of women who are all working hard and supporting each other during our work outs. It's very important to stay positive. These women have become my support group. They always tell me they see a huge difference and that I've slimmed down so much. It's hard for me to accept their praise but it's so nice for them to offer it!

Sometimes the people closest to you might be the ones that are most skeptical, your families etc. I had this problem. My family was used to me being the fat one, my mom still tells me I shouldn't lose too much weight! A reader told me that her husband pretty much had no faith in her when she said she wanted to lose weight, jerkface! All I had to say to her was DON'T LISTEN TO HIM! Listen to yourself and do what you need to do. I can't listen to my mom because I KNOW I've still got a lot of work left to do. Even if your closest loved ones can't step up and be supportive, don't let it discourage you. Like the article said, take a group exercise class, join a sports team. One of my biggest supporters that always tells me i'm looking great and to never give up all my hard work is my spinning/yoga instructor, and also my soccer team mates have been very encouraging and tell me I've improved my game so much! Trust me before you know it you'll have new friends that will support you 100%, and eventually those that haven't been supportive will figure out you're serious and step up to the plate as well.

Lesson to UNlearn:

2. They put their lives on hold. Probably the single biggest factor that makes these folks so successful is that they spend weeks on the "campus" with NO outside distractions. They have no jobs, school, family responsibilities, last-minute meetings, errands to run, bills to pay, cell phones to answer or obligations to attend to. Their only focus is exercising and losing weight. When contestants finally go home, you can see the fear on their faces. They know how hard it will be to continue their diet and exercise plans when LIFE resumes. In the perfect environment—with trainers and dietitians and doctors overseeing every step, we could all be big losers. But weight loss doesn't require putting your life on hold. Sure it'd be easier, but it's pretty unrealistic and it doesn't teach you how to really deal with life and weight loss. Those of us who learn to lose weight and live in the real world are far better off—because we can build habits that really work and create lasting change.

This is something I never did. I never put my job or the things I enjoy in life on hold, I re-prioritized and worked around my existing schedule. Like I've posted about before, I still have my dorky online habits, however....

Lesson to LEARN:

You have to change your lifestyle. The participants on the show understand that this is a complete lifestyle overhaul— a total transformation for life, not a diet for a little while. No matter how hard they work or how much weight they lose while on campus, it will come back if they revert back to their old habits at home.

Lesson: There are no quick fixes. Getting healthy and managing your weight it is not a temporary thing. It's a series of day-to-day, meal-by-meal choices that you have to stick with for the long haul.

I would have never seen any results if I didn't get away from the computer into the gym and out on the soccer field!


Here's a realistic summary of what to take away from the Biggest Loser:

Although it isn’t realistic for everyone to follow everything they see on "The Biggest Loser," the basic principles hold true: Making healthy food (and portion) choices, surrounding yourself with supportive people, and exercising regularly will lead to weight loss. Changing your habits into a lasting lifestyle will ensure that the weight stays off.

Click the links to read the full articles of 6 Lessons to Unlearn and 8 Lessons to Learn.

Hopefully this article might help you take a more realistic approach to weight loss, just remember the lessons learned as well and start changing your life style today.