In limbo

Bootcamp ended at the beginning of December. I'm through with holiday eating and ready to hit the gym again.

It's closed today.

I don't make resolutions, but I do have a goal: I want to be able to run a 5K by summer 2008.

Bootcamp starts again in mid-January, and I'm still stoked about the new kickboxing class I've heard tell of.

Bonus: In all that eating frenzy, I gained two pounds. Now it's time to burn it off...

Where'd it go?

I weighed myself this morning and seem to have lost two pounds.

I don't know how. It just sort of went away.

Cool!

167

Last day

I came to bootcamp tonight completely prepared to get my butt kicked for missing two nights.

I didn't expect it to be my last. Class was light tonight - only 9 of what used to be 20+. It was the final evaluation.

Here's how I did:

weight: 169 (+/- 0 since midpoint, -2 total)
body fat percentage: 33 % (Seriously? No really. There's no way that can be accurate. Staton says you aren't supposed to eat or drink for five hours prior to using the calculator. We'll throw out this number.)
sit-ups in one minute: 35 (+/-0 since midpoint, +5 total)
push-ups in one minute: 44 (+4 since midpoint, +15 total)
laps in 10 minutes: 13 (+2.5 since midpoint, +1 total)

Something a little scary happened during the run. Around lap 11 I started hyperventilating, much like I used to lose my breath in high school during soccer games. Staton kept pushing me not to quit, and when there was about 30 seconds left my lungs felt clearer and I ran as hard as I could to finish out the 13th lap.

I don't know what caused me to not be able to breathe. I was pacing my breathing the entire time. I felt it come on and I couldn't make it stop.

Oh, bonus: Remember how I was worried about staying on the wagon once bootcamp was over? Another six-week bootcamp begins in mid-January.

Double bonus: Until then there's a kickboxing class. I LOVE kickboxing class.

Personal best

My husband tends to think of himself as my fitness coach, much in the same way Terry "Hulk" Hogan does for his wife in their hilariously staged show.

So when I came home from the gym one day content with my 10-minute mile, he asked when I was going to try to step up a little. Instead of running faster for shorter periods, why not try running a little slower and longer?

I tried it out yesterday. When I stepped on the treadmill I told myself I would try for 15 minutes at 5.5 mph (about an 11-minute pace) instead of 6 mph (which is a 10-minute mile). It started getting tough around three-quarters of a mile, as it always does, but I pushed through.

As I approached 15 minutes, I thought about my husband. The man gleefully plugging away on a stationary bike watching TV would be impressed if I ran the entire 20 minutes.

I did it.

Let's see if I can do it again...

Yikes!

Blame it on the sports writers!

I have to miss Tuesday's bootcamp for another game of the week (this time it's girls basketball: Statesville at Lake Norman, if you're interested in watching the highlights afterward).

Other than missing two bootcamps in a row, I think it's safe to say I'm back on the wagon. I dropped all my Thanksgiving weight and am back down to 169 (-2). Next week is a weigh-in for Maintain Don't Gain, so I'm hoping to do "double-time" and drop maybe one pound more before then.

It's hard to lose weight in the winter. Cold weather means hot soups, and my favorites are cream-based. It also means weekends filled with football tailgating (well, hopefully if App keeps chugging in the post-season).

So while I'm on a tiny involuntary vacation from bootcamp, here's how I did yesterday:

cereal with skim: 200
Brookdale's french onion soup: I'm guessing 200, with half of it coming from the cheese on top. It is divine on a cold day.
Brookdale's half chicken salad sandwich: 500
bag of M&Ms: 250 (does it make it better if I say I was walking around the block while I ate them?)
Can of potato, broccoli cheese soup: 360
total: 1,510 calories

exercise:
1 mile on treadmill and 15 minutes of abs: -175
A fast-paced walk around the block with a friend: You didn't think I was really going to count that did you?

Uh oh...

I'm in trouble. I'm going to miss a bootcamp class.

The Game of the Week is South Iredell at North Iredell basketball. It's at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday. Guess what else is at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday?

What a bad time to be on Fox's radar...

I smell a rat

I walked into the YMCA gym today thinking it would be like any other day: I would quietly go through the exercises then smile and leave, knowing a cold shower and fat, warm cats awaited my arrival at home.

But HiP guy has an informant. "Jill" I believe.

I've been outed. And now I'm on his radar.

...and he would like me to refer to him as "Fox."

Fox tried to kill me tonight. It seemed like an hour of pure tricep abuse. We ran to warm up, and there were some sprints mixed in, but mostly it was pain.

Fox made us go up two pounds in weights. The Y didn't have 7-pounders, so I had to go to eights. Mistake No. 1.

We did every possible maneuver you could think of to wreak havoc on my poor, underdeveloped triceps. Then when I thought we might be done with weights, we did two different kinds of push-ups.

We wrapped up with abs. I've been practicing the 6-inch leg lifts during my non-bootcamp days, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. The worst part about it was the pain shooting from my thumb (I ripped my fingernail to the quik and it throbs every time I apply pressure).

The good news is if I can make it through a night like tonight's bootcamp, I may just be able to make it through the whole thing. (Staton - er, I mean "Fox" - please don't get any ideas! I think I may have just made Mistake No. 2)

Not going to do it

I sat at two feasts over the past two days. The first was spaghetti and garlic bread. The second was turkey, potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes, rolls, etc.

When I saw the first feast I told myself I would fill up on salad so I could be good over Thanksgiving.

It didn't work. I love food, and this is one of two days out of the year that I get all my favorites in one spread.

I indulged and it was blissful.

Now it's time to get back on the wagon, and until I'm back on track I will not step on a scale.

My best gauge is that I still fit in my blue jeans for the football game Saturday. It couldn't be all that bad if I still fit in my jeans...

Yum!

I must have looked like a zombie walking around the grocery store last night. I stopped off for some Turkey Day goodies after bootcamp, so patrons were treated by a half dead woman in baggy pants and a baggy shirt, probably reeking of B.O.

Who cares? Clearly I didn't.

So as I'm dragging from aisle to aisle picking out items from our we're-out list, I happened upon these rice side dishes I hadn't seen before.

I've already cheated by chugging V8 Fusion to get veggie servings. Now, apparently, I can eat rice and get some veggies!

They are made by Knorr, and there were two or three flavors. I just ate the "roasted chicken rice." Each packet serves two, and each packet has two servings of vegetables. This one has peas, carrots, leeks and a few mushrooms. Bonus: it tastes just like chicken Rice-a-Roni.

Sure it has a lot of sodium, but if it means I get some veggies, that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.

The other flavor (I haven't tried yet) is Southwestern rice. I think I saw black beans on the package.

Mid-point evaluation

Overall I'm doing well, according to the evaluation tonight. Here's the lowdown:

Weight: 169 (-2)
Body fat percentage: 31.8% (-0.3%)
Push-ups in one minute: 40 (+11)
Sit-ups in one minute: 35 (+5)
Laps in 10 minutes: 10.5 (-1.5)

I know I ran slow tonight and I can't explain it. I just didn't have it in me. I'm wondering if it's possible to get worse at running when you do it a lot. I don't go for long distances or long times, but I run several times a week for about 10 minutes then do some intervals before weight training.

It was the last thing we did in the evaluation, so not hitting my previous mark AND having a few bootcampers lap me really hacked at the confidence I had going.

It could be worse, though. Some bootcampers' body fat percentages went up. Yikes.

Pre midpoint evaluation

I'm worried about bootcamp ending. I guess it's like my mid-bootcamp crisis where I start thinking about the after life.

Will I be able to push myself this hard when there isn't a group of people and an instructor pushing me?

I think I'm on the right track, though. Despite a night of theater and Olive Garden, and despite a day of college football and tailgate grub, I managed to hover at 169. That means I'm down two pounds from the beginning of this adventure. With the two nights of bootcamp and at least two additional gym visits each week, I'm staying active.

But this isn't a sprint this time. If I'm going to take it off and keep it off then I'm going to indulge every once in a while.

Tomorrow I find out if I've improved my weight, body fat percentage, endurance and arm/core strength. Until then, I'm determined to get the recommended amount of water through me.

Where are the results?

I don't weigh myself.

I should rephrase, I stopped weighing myself. I guess that's part of the reason I slipped back up to 171 pounds. It wasn't until my pants were a little tight that I stepped back on the Confidence Squasher.

I had to weigh myself for the pre-bootcamp measurements. 171.
I had to weigh again for Maintain Don't Gain. 170.

How is it I only lost ONE pound after a week of bootcamp AND supposedly dropping PMS water weight?

My coworker says I've added muscle, then reiterated that I shouldn't weigh myself.

Isn't that a sign of success? I have one tiny, miniscule sign of success.

One. ONE.

This morning I weighed myself: 170.

It's hard work. I know I'm not doing 100 percent. I haven't gotten back in the fruits and veggies groove yet. But shouldn't so much exercise have bigger results?

My pants aren't even getting looser.

It's a good thing we've got this little competition going on between me and Megan (read her blog at http://watchingpoints.blogspot.com). Wanting to see results pushed me to do a mile run and a half-mile of intervals this morning before work.

My goal is 155 pounds. That is how low I got on NutriSystem, and it was a healthy weight for me.

+ + +

cereal with skim: 200
coffee: 40
Wendy's kid's meal (oops): 320 + 280 + 50
butternut ravioli: 320
V8 Fusion: 120

TOTAL CALORIES: 1,330
grains: 4 (I count potatoes as a veggie since they're a starch)
veggies: 3
fruits: 1
dairy: 2
protein: 1

EXERCISE: 30 minutes moderate to high intensity: -250
WEIGHT: 170 (-1)

Slipping

I slipped today. Work was especially stressful (read: excuse) and I knew I had bootcamp to burn off the calories (read: excuse no. 2). When my coworker craved chocolate, we decided to walk to Farmhouse Bakery, about three blocks away, to get a cookie. Besides (excuse no. 3), we were walking there, right?

Peanut butter chocolate chunk and a chocolate chip. That ended up being my lunch because I completely ruined my apetite for real food. That ended up being even worse because I crashed just before bootcamp.

HiP guy didn't show up to bootcamp, but there was this incredibly taut woman setting up stations. 10 to be exact. 3 minutes each.

We alternated between heavy cardio and ridiculous calesthenics (sp?). I chose to start with leg lifts so I wouldn't dread them through the entire half-class. Three minutes of holding my legs 6 inches off the ground. I held them up longer than I thought! Not 3 minutes, but longer.

I then ran two laps around the track, did suicides, tricep dips, side bends and jump rope. As I was about to die doing push ups without a mat, a bunch of volleyball players edged us out of our gym space.

Salvation!

We had the choice of spending the other 30 minutes running the track or leaving. I slipped again...

+ + +
cereal with skim: 200

veggie chili: 350
cornbread: 140

two cookies: 1,000,000

coffee with splenda/cream: 40

more chili (it's good!): 350
more cornbread (ditto): 140

TOTAL CALORIES: 1,001,220
grain: 5
veggies: 0
fruits: 0
dairy: 1
protein: 2

EXERCISE: 30 minutes moderate to high intensity: -200

A slip-up

cereal/skim milk: 200
coffee: 40

turkey/cheese panini: 325
V8 fusion: 120

sesame chicken: 250
rice and carrots: 400 (here's the slip-up - mall food)
Diet Coke: 0

milk: 90

TOTAL CALORIES: 1,425
grains: 4
protein: 1
dairy: 3
vegetables: 2
fruit: 1 (V8 Fusion is my godsend)
water: 30 (yikes)

EXERCISE: 20 min cardio (intervals on treadmill: -200 calories)

Smells like competition

I'm heading into Week 3 and want some results.

I may have more energy, and I may feel a little more comfortable in my favorite dark wash jeans, but I'm impatient. (Plus my jeans may be more comfortable because they are slightly stretchy and in need of laundering).

For Lake Norman Navigator readers, you may recognize reporter Megan Sprague's name. She started Weight Watchers last week. The editor proposed a little competition.

What shall we measure? I'll leave that up to Editor Amy. What it means to me is I have to step it up.

I have to step it up in my workouts and I have to step it up in keeping track of what I do. So at the end of my entries I'll give a little recap (yes, this one isn't so little). Here goes (as I breathe in deeply and convince myself that I won't be judged for being completely honest):

Breakfast:
Honey Nut Cheerios and skim milk: 200
Coffee with Splenda and half-and-half: 40

Snack:
peanut butter: 190

Lunch:
broccoli cheese soup: 200
toast with shredded cheddar: 150

Snack:
Coke with Splenda: 0
sugar-free pudding cup: 60

Dinner:
veggie chili*: 350
corn muffin: 140

Snack:
corn muffin: 140

TOTAL CALORIES: 1,470
Servings of grain: 4
of protein: 2
of dairy: 3
of vegetables: 1 (oops - this one is always hard for me, unless you want to count beans, which I'm sure you don't)
of fruits: 0 (and this one, too)
Ounces of water: 42 (trust me I catch a lot of flak about this one since I'm married to a fanatic water drinker)

Exercise:
Does cleaning the house count? If not, then 0.

*Homemade vegetarian chili if you'd like to try it:

can of kidney beans
can of black beans
can of pinto beans
two Boca hamburger patties
handful of green onions
clove of garlic
jalapenos to taste
can of diced tomato
splash olive oil
pinch of cilantro
spoonful of unsweet cocoa powder (sometimes I do lime juice instead)

Cook the burgers and chop it up into a slow cooker. Toss in everything else and cook on high for about an hour. (I use a slowcooker because it's big and out of the way when I make dinner for my I-don't-eat-vegetables husband). This will make about six or eight servings. I divvy out the leftovers into individual containers to take to work or freeze for later.

Make it stop!

You know in the movies when the drill sergeant everyone do something awful because one person lagged behind? It's real.

It hurts.

We had to do squats against a wall with a big ball. We had to jump on just the balls of our feet with our hands in the air. And worst, we had to hold our legs 6 inches from the ground for what seemed like 10 minutes.

It all hurt. And on those leg lifts I was the loser that made everyone do it longer.

It seemed as if all the drills we did Thursday revolved around my wrists. What muscles are in my wrists?

We did crab walks across the gym. We did push ups and side planks.

So as I wrap up week two of bootcamp, I tell myself that I can complain. I can moan and groan. But I cannot quit. It may hurt, but that means change is happening.

So instead of ending on a complaint, I'm going to point out the good that has come from bootcamp:

I notice I have more energy. It feels as if I'm constantly downing caffeine. I'm giddy and giggly, and I fidget.

I also crave running. This morning I woke up and wanted to go to the gym and run.

I'm still a little freaked out about that.

Day 3

As soon as I got in the car for work I was dreading bootcamp.

I'm tired from a long day at work. It's so cold I'll probably freeze on the way back out. I'm so achy. All things I threw at myself on the short drive from Broad Street to Wesley. Just shut it, Jess. Suck it up and go to bootcamp.

There were 21 people there. Most were the same, but there were a few new faces. Volleyball forced us to spend half our time in the gym, then the other half we were on the track.

That means 30 minutes of muscle stuff (including the dreaded planks - which I prefer to call the Devil's ab routine), then 30 minutes of running. Yes, 30 minutes. My current best was 10.

30.

I got through the first mile and tried to psych myself into running more. Nope. I had to walk two laps (12 = 1 mile). Then HiP Instructor made us do Indian runs. Wow, that sounds disgusting now that I type it... Basically we formed a line and the person in the back sprinted to the front while the rest jogged.

There were 21 of us plus HiP Instructor.

That meant basically an entire mile of jogging. I'd already done one, what did they expect out of me?!?

But I stayed with the pack the entire time.

All in all I'd say I ran 20 out of 30 minutes. I was highly impressed with myself.

... well until I came back to the newsroom for election night and had three slices of pizza. Oops.

Pre Day 3

Since I seem to be in the joining spirit, I joined another YMCA program today.

The Maintain, Don't Gain program posters said if I gave them $5 and was weighed, I could win a healthy cookbook (if I stayed within 3 pounds) or I could be entered for a cash prize (if I maintained or lost weight).

Sounded like a nifty proposition.

So I went in this morning for my weigh-in. Got on the scale and wasn't surprised.

Then I went into an office for the pinch-your-fat test. My first.

Those things hurt! Not to mention I really think she pinched some muscle in there. Especially on my quads.

So after doing a little calculation, I am apparently obese. Not overweight. In that "very unhealthy" level of fat range.

The measurer recommended I do cardio and weight training.

With that I'm off to Day 3.

Day 2

Owwwwwwwww.

It took me 2 minutes to write that. I feel mushy.

Now that I've gotten the melodrama out of me, I must say bootcamp is kicking my butt!

Today we burned out our upper body, with some sprints and ab work mixed in.

There were 21 people in class today, but they weren't the same people. A few people skipped out, and in their places were younger people. I mean "Class of 2011" young. So when we did these leg lifts where we had to keep our legs 6 inches off the ground, I was worried. When HiP Instructor said if your legs dropped you'd have to run, I started to moan and groan. But when he said we'd have to run until the last person's legs fell, I panicked.

There were two high school cheerleaders and an abs instructor in the room. I was screwed.

It turned into an ab-off between the ab instructor and Class of 2011, all the while us ab losers ran around them in a circle. JUST DROP YOUR LEGS! DO IT!

It's good to be so tired (at least that's what I keep telling myself). Being in a group setting with a guy who pushes you to go harder makes me actually work out instead of flopping around on machines until Brad finishes his weights.

Of course we need to see how enthusiastic I am when my nearly cramping triceps start to get sore.

Day 1: Pre-test

Body fat: 32.1 percent
Push-ups in one minute: 29
Sit-ups in one minute: 29
Laps in 10 minutes: 12 (one mile)

I walked into the YMCA and saw an empty lobby. The sign did say to meet in the lobby, right? It took me a moment (during that moment I daydreamed that I was the lone participant, and would be drilled into the ground by some ex-Marine until I cried or barfed), then I asked one of the ladies behind the counter for directions.

They were in the gym.

And they were all women. At least at first. When everyone grouped together there were 20 of us: four men, 16 women, HiP Instructor and a body fat calculator.

The first class was a fitness test. Push-ups, sit-ups, running. Just like high school.

But this time I wouldn't qualify for national merit. Why couldn't we do the sit-and-reach? I was always good at that.

But I'm getting off track.

I was impressed that I was able to do a mile in 10 minutes. I was especially impressed because I walked at least a lap and a half. I must have really busted it during the other laps. I was also impressed because just last Saturday I tried to do a mile at Mac Anderson Park but couldn't keep up a jog beyond a quarter mile. Maybe I am destined for indoors running...

So I survived day 1. Day 2 is on Thursday.