Mood:  energetic

So, out with the old and in with the new!  New program, that is!  I loved doing the OPT program that Leigh Peele wrote, but I needed a change, so I'm starting a program written by Rachel Cosgrove for the Women's Health Big Book of Exercises (a must own for ANYONE who exercises, IMO).

Its a 12 week program, consisting of 3 different cycles.  Goal is to drop at least 1 jeans size and 15+ pounds, so we shall see!

 I am still LOVING my Go Wear Fit.  I wear it everyday, mostly to make sure that I am not eating too much for what my caloric expenditure is.  Its really eye opening to see how realy active I am on the weekends, and what a sloth I am during the work week!

Posted by Jamie at 11:37 AM EST

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Mood:  lucky

Well, I survived my wisdom tooth extraction.  The first two days went fine, in fact, I was eating Skittles and rice cakes on Friday.  I think that was very ill-advised, because I developed intense pain on both sides.  I thought for sure I had developed dry socket!  I staggered through the weekend, doping myself up on Vicodin and Tylenol PM... only to learn on Monday that I just had food stuck in the holes.  The oral surgeon gave my a syringe to rinse out the particles, and its been smooth sailing ever since! 

Starting the following Monday, on November 9th, I joined an online challenge.  Normally I never do these things, but this one actually has some great prizes and an actual chance that I could win.  I had to enter in my weight, my goals for the challenge, and pictures.  Fun stuff.

 This was my original entry:

 1. Name- Jamie
2. Age- 32
3. Weight- 192.5
4. Height- 5'10"
5. Location- Massachusetts

6. Goal For Challenge- decrease scale weight to 182, improve hip flexor length and increase mid-back strength (to improve posture), hold plank pose for at least 90 seconds

7. Reason For Goal- I need to improve my core strength after having a baby, and my job causes me to have shortened hip flexors and a rounded back posture (aka desk job slump). Obviously, I also still have a lot of fat to lose as well.

8. Long Term Goal- Ultimately, my goal is to be around 160 or 19-20% body fat. I want to look like a slightly curvier version of the typical Hollywood actress- maybe something like Kim Kardashian.

9. Of note: I am 5 days post-op tooth removal with two, possibly three dry sockets, am on Vicodin and have stuffed clove oil soaked gauze in my sockets, have had the bare minimum of water to drink today, only some cold soup and a bowl of oatmeal to eat, and am feeling intensely sorry for myself. I think I am also retaining about 20 pounds of water.

Poor me.

 Anyways, I'm feeling tons better this week.  I have been able to eat meat now for a few days, so no more excuses to eat ice cream and pudding.  I did do the mobility program almost daily.  I only hit the gym twice though, which is completely pathetic.  This week my goal is to hit the gym three times and do some extra light cardio at home, and to increase the protein intake dramatically.

Here goes!

Posted by Jamie at 1:18 PM EST

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Well, I'm done with my first round of OPT. I think it went really well! I had to adjust my starting weight up two pounds (really started at 198) due to permanent water retention from BC pills, but here are my results as of today:

(* above measurements taken with a Quadscan machine- my Omron had me at 32% to start and 27.9% to finish)

Measurements:

Hips: 3.75" lost
Waist: 2.75" lost
Thigh: 1" lost

I'm taking the next week as a diet break, then doing OPT again with a couple of friends along for the ride!  Come on Michelle!  BRING IT!!!! 

 In other news... well, semi-related, I am back in most of my size 12 pants.  This is a feat not accomplished since late summer of 2007.  I missed my pants :)  Some pants I have been able to wear lately I haven't seen since 2005.  Crazy.

Salsa class is getting much better.  I am spinning better, moving better, and looking better in general.  I am still getting alot of "You have to spin her hard because she is big," directives from the teacher to my partners, which should piss me off, but makes me laugh.  I know he doesn't mean it meanspiritedly...at least I don't think so...

The gym is good.  I've been doing all these hardcore strength exercises while the meatheads bench in the smith machine.  Its awesome, I feel so superior :)  I'm getting alot of stares while I'm doing the exercises... partially because I'm the only female lifting free weights and partially because I'm hot.  lol...

Things are going great!

Posted by Jamie at 1:36 PM EDT

Updated: Friday, September 18, 2009 2:06 PM EDT

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Mood:  a-ok

I don't know if I can believe it or not.... the scale is all over the place too.  I weighed in at 197 this morning.  WTF?  Hmmmm....

Posted by Jamie at 11:14 AM EDT

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Mood:  hungry

Boy, its been a while since I updated.  I done been on vacation, people, but not from working out and trying to eat right, and learning new and cool stuff about fitness...

I'm still plugging along with the OPT program, and am in the beginning of week 8, which is similar in scheduling to the 1st three week, but the style of lifting and cardio is different.  Basically, I do 4 days of superset lifting routines and 4 days of interval cardio, with 1 day of rest.  I haven't been 100% perfect with getting all the workouts in, unfortunately, but I think I've been pretty good with the calorie intake, which for these weeks is about 1750 cals per day with 40% of those from carbs, 35% from protein and 25% from fat.

Another bump in the road came when I started taking my BC pills, which apparently cause you to "cloak" water in the amount of 2-3 pounds, so my nice 6.5 pound loss went down to 4.5 lbs.

Last week on Wednesday I took my current weight and retook my bodyfat using the same device, and lo and behold- some great changes!  

Starting Statistics
Weight	198	lbs
Body Fat %	34.5	%
Fat Mass	68.31	lbs
Lean Mass	129.69	lbs
Current Statistics
Weight	193.5	lbs
Body Fat %	31.4	%
Fat Mass	60.759	lbs
Lean Mass	132.741	lbs
Results
Fat Lost	7.551	lbs
Lean Mass Gained	3.051	lbs
Weight Lost	4.5	lbs

 Everyone has been complimenting me on my progress and people are amazed that I have only lost 4.5 pounds.  Me too, but I'm happy with what I've done so far.

Course, I'm not quitting aiming for fat loss until that body fat reads somewhere between 20-22%.

So there.

Posted by Jamie at 2:00 PM EDT

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Mood:  chillin'

This week is supposed to be a rest week for exercise, and a lower calorie week with 50% protein intake, 30% fat, and 20% carbs.

 I'm grumpy without carbs people.  Thank god I'm not exercising because it'd be vicious.  I had a mild "re-feed" this weekend when we went to Boston and I consumed a lobster the size of my head.  With drawn butter and everything.  Delicious!!!

Weighing in tomorrow, but I'm not sure what to expect.  Going on vacation tomorrow too for 5 days in Maine, and you know vacations are!  Wish me luck :)

Posted by Jamie at 2:31 PM EDT

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Mood:  a-ok

Heading into the last few days of week 3 of OPT, and I'm am cruising along really well!  Hit 191.5 pounds this morning for the first time since summer of 2007 before my trip to Europe.  Of course, if I had to estimate, I'd put myself at about 5% more body fat than I had back then.  Darn you, baby fat.

So far on OPT, I've lost 3 inches and 6.5 pounds.  Pretty damn impressive.  Plus, I've finally lost a half an inch around my thigh which is the smallest its been probably in 5 years or at least since I started measuring before my wedding in 2006. 

Whatever it is about this OPT training design, its working!

Last night I put a pair of capris on that I haven't worn since my bachelorette party... I was so happy :)

Posted by Jamie at 11:33 AM EDT

Updated: Thursday, July 23, 2009 2:30 PM EDT

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Mood:  celebratory

I'm 9 days in to this program and kicking ass!  I've exercised every single day, ate clean every single day (in fact, I haven't had a single cookie in all that time- shocking, I know!), and eve gotten up several times in the morning to do cardio.

As of last Friday I had gone down from 198 lbs to 195 lbs, and the scale has been up since then to 197 yesterday, 196 today, and hopefully 194 tomorrow :)

Most notably though, I'm back in all my size 14 capris and a few of my size 12s from 2 summers ago before I got pregnant.  My stomach is really flat, and you can actually see my muscles in my arms!  You can see the cuts!

I haven't been this motivated since before my wedding, and honestly, I might even be more motivated than then.

Is there a such thing as fat loss euphoria?  Hmm....

Posted by Jamie at 10:51 AM EDT

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Mood:  caffeinated

Starting a new program today, and its completely kick ass.  Its designed by Leigh Peele, a personal trainer and "Fat Loss Expert," and is really hardcore.

Essentially, its three different sections of training separated by a week of recovery and diet only... so:

weeks 1-3:

1. eating at 35% deficit
2. weight training 4x/week
3. cardio for 50 minutes 3x/week

week 4:

recovery (stretching only) and eating at 40% deficit

weeks 5-8:

1. eating at 30% deficit
2. weight training (in supersets) 4x/week
3. cardio (intervals) 3x/week for 40 minutes

week 9:

recovery (stretching only) and eating at 35% deficit

weeks 10-12:

1. eating at 40% deficit
2. weight traing, full body 2-3x/week
3. cardio, easy, 5-7 days per week, up to an hour

Here goes day 1 !!!!

Posted by Jamie at 10:58 AM EDT

Updated: Thursday, July 23, 2009 2:38 PM EDT

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Mood:  bright

Down 0.5 pounds today, which is actually better than I feared because I am a) probably premenstrual, and b) weaning and thus emotionally eating, and c) tired.  I don't know what the connection is either.

This week went well- I did two a.m. HIITs, two great weight workouts in the gym, Pilates several times during the week, and salsa class last night.

Eating has been so-so.  Maybe a C+?  Am working on revving it up to a solid B next week.

Goals for next week:

1.  196.5 on the scale
2. 3 A.M. HIITs
3. 3 successful gym workouts
4. Solid B eating all week.

Posted by Jamie at 1:21 PM EDT

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Mood:  a-ok

Finally.  I think I might have some ass muscle in there.

Yesterday was legs, and it was an extremely annoying workout because the gym was packed.  I can't wait for the really good weather to hit so all the annoying "bad weather only" gym peeps get up out of my gym.

I got up this morning to do my HIIT and almost passed out.  I had forgotten how hard it is to do cardio, especially intense cardio, on an empty stomach.  I was able to do my cardio, take a shower, put on my makeup and clothes, and dry my hair before all in an hour's time!  I am SUPERWOMAN!

Week 4 of my HIIT program has me doing this: 

• 5 Min Warm up
• 8 Sprint Intervals - 30 Seconds each
• 8 Rest Intervals - 30 Seconds each
• 5 Min Warm Down  

Its a crazy intense workout, but the advantage of doing it over steady state cardio is that it is over quickly.  You really feel like you have done something, but without hanging out on the treadmill or elliptical for 45+ minutes.

Eating has been pretty good too.

Breakfast: eggbeaters with veggies and cheese, 1 packet oatmeal

Lunch: salad with turkey deli meat and watermelon

Dinner (planned): Meatloaf, roasted potatoes, broccoli

Snacks: Fiber one bar, apple, and the naughty stuff: 2 pieces of Dove chocolate, 1 mini York patty, a bite of a cookie, and a bite of a muffin.

C'est la vie!

Posted by Jamie at 11:24 AM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, June 16, 2009 12:13 PM EDT

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Mood:  down

Not sure why exactly, but I fell off the wagon this weekend.  It probably had something to do with making these delicious jumbo peanut butter cookies for Walter.  Or the two boxes of frozen cookie dough (so yummy right out of the box).  Or the lack of desire to do cardio.  Or the lack of time to do any Pilates.  Or the strong compulsion to mess around on the internet instead of spending time making healthful snacks and meals.

That being said, I have 4 days starting today to make the most out of until weigh-in on Friday, where I WILL be 197.

Posted by Jamie at 2:39 PM EDT

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Mood:  happy

Down to 198.5 today, which is a half pound down from a month or so ago when I finally broke the 200s to 199.  This is very slow going, but clearly I'm on the right path with the exercise and cardio plan. 

Yesterday was supposed to be HIIT, but I couldn't drag myself out of bed yesterday morning and after work I came home to help Walter with dinner before I headed out to salsa class with DeShaun.  I took the beginner class with him for a change, which was fun, but a little boring.   The teacher of that part of the class is about 4'5" and male, but dances very femininely, which is hysterical to watch.  He also is good at teaching the very very basics, but sucks at teaching leaders the intricacies of leading.  I think DeShaun would do better in the advanced beginner class up in Northampton or even just learning at home with me.  Maybe he, Walter, and I can set up our own mini-salsa class, learning off youtube and from the instructional DVDs that I bought way back when.

This week's goals:

1. Down to 197 lbs.
2. Tuesday and Thursday a.m. HIIT
3. Saturday UBWO
4. Squeeze in 3 Pilates sessions during the week at lunch
5. Take measurements and body fat at end of week

I will get to 197 this week :)

Posted by Jamie at 11:26 AM EDT

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Mood:  accident prone

Yesterday was cardio day and it was a killer... I am following a HIIT prgram that is slightly different than the BFL style HIIT.   Its an 8 week program that starts slow with 6 fairly easy intervals and increases to 15 very intense intervals.  I am on week 4 now.

Week 4 Interval Training Program

• 5 Min Warm up
• 8 Sprint Intervals - 30 Seconds each
• 8 Rest Intervals - 30 Seconds each
• 5 Min Warm Down
• Do the routine 3 times in the week with a rest day in between each workout

Its challenging, and fortunately not boring.  I cannot stay on a cardio machine just endless moving at a steady state any longer.  I don't know how I used to do the stair stepper in college for 45 minutes! 

I did great yesterday with continuing to eliminate sweets, although today I had a little bit of chocolate.  I'm well under my points allowance for the week, so I think I'm due for at least a pound lost on Friday.

I BETTER have lost a pound. 

Posted by Jamie at 3:43 PM EDT

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Mood:  a-ok

So Friday I restarted my slightly more strict, but still forgiving, workout and diet thing.  Basically I am stuck around 200 and want to get down to 170-175 eventually, but I'd be psyched to get down to 180 by mid-fall.  Its very frustrating, but completely my own fault, as I have had tons going on and have not really been focused on it lately.

 So Friday was a great day, ate really clean, had a great workout at the gym.  Weighed in on Saturday at 200, which was 2.5 pounds down from the previous day.  So far, so good.  Saturday I ate fairly well, but went out for dinner and drinks with two old college friends.  Overall, it was definitely a success because I really only nibbled on everything, despite drinking two Mojitos and a glass of sparkling wine.  Those Mojitos tasted like the best drink I have every had in my entire life.  It could have been that I was just happy to get out though!

Most noticeably, I have had no really sweets except a couple bites of the "Tres Leche" cake that we all shared.  That is major, as I have a huge sweet tooth.  The less I eat of sweets, though, the less I want them, so I'm off on the right foot so far.

Today everything is back to normal- I'm at work and I plan on having:

1.  egg beaters and oatmeal (done)
2. Fiber One bar (done- although I need to come up with a better option)
3. Salad with steak, apple
4. Rice cakes with peanut butter
5. pasta with chicken sausage, salad

Tonight at the gym is legs day, and I'm trying a new workout.  I got this from Stumptuous.com... the full workout is as follows, and I am doing Day 1 tonight:

 day 1 - legs

1. Squat
   3 sets x 6-10 reps
2. Split squat or lunge
   3 x 8-10
3. Stiff-legged deadlift
   3 x 8-10
4. Calf raise
   3 x 6-10

Day 2 - chest, shoulders, triceps (or “push”)

1. Bench press or dumbbell press
   3 x 6-10
2. Standing shoulder press or side press
   3 x 6-10
3. Dips OR assisted dips (if you are able to do these)
   3 x 6-8
4. Ab crunches or Swissball crunches
   3 x 8-10

day 3 - back, biceps (or “pull”)

1. Deadlift 3 x 6-8
2. Pullups OR lat pulldowns
   Do 3 sets of as many as you can do for pullups (if you can do more than 6-8 pullups at once, put a 5-lb plate between your knees and do them), 3 sets of 6-10 reps for lat pulldowns
3. Dumbbell row 3 x 8-10
4. Back hyperextension 3 x 8-10

 Should be great- quick, not complicated, and tough.  A nice change from BFL's method, which after 5 years is really getting old.

Posted by Jamie at 11:14 AM EDT

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Mood:  irritated

Darn it.  A whole month has gone by and I have had NO progress?  Literally.

 I need to get aggressive and bust out of maintenance.  I have a plan and it involves some sacrifice, but I think I can manage it.

1. Wake up at 5:45 for a.m. HIIT cardio on cardio days (T,TH,Sat)
2. Change my upper body and lower body routines (BFL style has me in a rut)
3. Cleaning up my diet (cut out the salty stuff and take out most of the sweets)
4. Get back into my daily lunchtime exercise
5. Consider upping my caffeine midafternoon with another dose of green tea
6. Go back to daily blogging when possible.   It helped before to keep me accountable.  I got sick of writing "I had more Oreos today."

All this stuff takes major organization.  Good thing that Organized is my middle name.

Posted by Jamie at 10:29 AM EDT

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Mood:  a-ok

So, its been a year now since I done popped out that baby :)  She's a beauty, if I do say so myself!  I've had a wonderful year, gone through a lot of growing pains finding myself in this new role of "mom," and I'm just now rediscovering my old passions and sense of self.

I've been back in the gym most days after work now, thanks to the wonderful support of my husband.  I get home an hour later than I should because I stop by and get my arms or legs done, and even a few cardio sessions.  Things are finally starting to feel tight again... although parts of me may never be the same.  I definitely think my legs and butt have seen better days, for instance, and my arms are way wobblier than before.  However, I am within 5 pounds of prepregnancy weight- 200- and will eventually get into the 190s, probably as I continue to wean her off breastmilk.

Salsa classes have started up again, although I haven't yet been out social dancing.  I don't feel ready yet... my skills are still way too rusty, and I'm not completely happy with how I look in my cuter dancing tops.  Its not about looking sexy, but I'd at least like to feel semi-attractive for my own sake!  I bought myself a cute pair of dance sneakers to help me get used to spinning again.  I was so wobbly the first class I took that I felt pretty bad about myself.

My minigoals for May:

1. Get down to 195 (need to be aggressive to meet this)
2. Go social dancing once (in Noho perhaps?)
3. Start blogging fitness more often
4. Redesign leg workout.  My current one is not challenging enough.

Here we go :) 

Posted by Jamie at 12:01 AM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

I started WW online back in September.  I was miserable then.. still wearing my maternity pants and a size 18.  Nothing fit right.  My body was still a complete disaster- no stomach muscles, aching hips and knees, no coordination.

Fastforward to the present time- I've lost about 25 pounds since then (on top of the 30 pounds that I've lost since giving birth).  I'm knocking on the door of the 190s!  Its been 20+ months since getting pregnant and being around this weight range.  My body is finally starting to feel good again- I have so much more physical energy.  I have better balance.  I feel cute- well, cutER.

I'm getting there!

I've started taking salsa lessons again.  Its amazing how uncoordinated you can get in 20 months.  I almost fell over at least 5 times last week in class.  It was so embarrassing, but I stuck it out.

I've been going to the gym too- at least 4 times a week, and I'm getting much better at sneaking downstairs to get on the Precor while Mia's sleeping on those nights that Walter works.

Hey.. I'm getting ME back!  I'm so happy about it!

Posted by Jamie at 10:24 AM EDT

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Mood:  a-ok

Finally, two months later and I am again seeing progress.  Alot of that is learning that I've been eating too many calories, and I had a "duh" moment last week when I realized this.  Basically, I've still been following WW online (its so easy!) and figured out that because Mia now eats solid food, even though I am still nursing, I am no longer producing as much milk and therefore my body doesn't need quite as many calories.  As soon as I figured that out, I swear, my body instantly dropped 3 pounds.  So freaky!

I am now down from my highest weight of 255 to 205.5.  I am still up from my prepregnancy weight of 195, which was then, in turn, up from my desired weight of 175.  But I think 50 pounds is pretty damn good.

I did squeeze into some of my old size 14 jeans yesterday though.  That was an amazing feeling!  They were still uncomfortably tight, but ina couple weeks when I have lost another couple pounds, hopefully they'll fit much better.

You know what's weird?  My thighs are about the same size as they always were (although less muscular, unfortunately) but my waist is a good 5 inches larger than its ever been.  Weird feeling, considering my waist was always the thinnest part of me.

Oh, and my body fat percentage?  Ugh.  You don't want to know.

Posted by Jamie at 1:41 PM EST

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