Back when I was doing "Fit to Strip" as exercise and eating 1300 calories a day of whole wheat muffins and fat free yogurt, I set some goals for myself. No, no, I didn't want a muscle up or an HSPU or to do Fran in under 4:00 minutes or a double body weight deadlift (410lbs, baby - now there's a fucking goal!). Silly, silly you for thinking that! No, back when I gauged all my progress on the scale, there was nothing I wanted more than to be 135lbs.
Yes, how exciting. To go through life with gravity exerting just enough pressure upon me so that a calibrated scale would note in the morning, immediately after getting up and peeing, and while wearing no clothes, that there was exactly 135lbs of pressure being exerted on the ground underneath my stationary feet was a thrilling thought. Imagine that accomplishment! There could be nothing sweeter!
Well, it's taken five years but today I finally got to experience that tingling thrill. And let me tell you, it doesn't really mean a damn thing. I am sorry to report that there really is nothing different about today than yesterday. Or the day before that when I weighed something other than 135lbs. Robin, did point out one special and exciting benefit. When I'm doing body weight squats, it's super easy putting a pair of 45's on a bar. I'll let you know if she's right.
Edited to add:
I can't believe I actually typed the following sentence.
"Since I am a couch potato with no lung capacity, I’ve been sticking with the 40 minute basic routine and will add in stripper moves when I’m ready."
General enthusiast of sweaty activities. Cave girl foodie. This is a blog about that. And sometimes cats.
Showing posts with label PCOS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PCOS. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sometimes I kind of make sense...
Really, it sometimes happens. Not, like, all the time or anything. Actually, I talk out of my ass a lot - it's a skill I put to work quite often on the job site. Heh! Anyways, I belong to a couple of message boards that get traffic from people who trying to make some lifestyle changes. And sometimes I write shit that kind of makes some sense. Or, at least it does to me, based on what I've learned over the past five years. And then it gets bumped down the threads and eventually lost in the ether.
A few months later, I run across a similar question and have to retype whatever response I've come up with and it's never as good the second time around.
I've made a few posts over the past few days that I don't want to lose in case I want to use them again.
On Body for Life's binge/starve inducing "Free Day" concept:
Don't freaking binge then starve yourself. You're doing this to get fit and healthy. You're not doing this as a punishment for being overweight or unfit. So, stop treating food as a reward or punishment. It's neither. Food is good. It's life, it's community, it's sharing and it's fun. Celebrate food by eating good, real food. Starving yourself is just stupid and it's not going to make up for an earlier binge. It's telling yourself you're not worthy of life. And, to be honest, isn't binging just more punishment on your body? It's telling yourself you're worthless and someone to disrespect. Neither behaviour is going to bring you joy. And neither is certainly going to get you where you want to go.
On attempting to accurately gauge calories burned to calories consumed to ensure perfect two-pound losses each week on the scale:
Dr. Mat Lalonde, who is both exceedingly hot and smart, has a great quote. "You are not a bomb calorimeter."
You can't just weigh and measure the inputs and outputs and then get perfect results. Our bodies are way too exciting, interesting and complex for that. There is a whole host of wacky hormonal things going on as your body does this thing called living. On top of that, your scale weighs EVERYTHING. It doesn't show you body composition shifts. It doesn't tell you if you're retaining water that day. Yep, even those expensive ones that use bio-impedance (horribly inaccurate - FYI). It just tells you how much force gravity is asserting on you at any given time.
Stop doing math.
Your body is giving you feedback all the time. Now you need to start learning to listen to it. Focus on your actions. Are you eating food that is high in nutrients and that nutures your body? Are you constantly hungry? Preoccupied with eating? Are you gassy, bloated or constipated? These are all signs you need to tweak what you're eating. Or do you feel pretty good (i.e. hungry when you should be hungry, comfortable after meals with happy digestion). Are you moving your body and challenging yourself in ways to improve your fitness? Are you lifting weights to get and stay strong (you should be... weights improve insulin sensitivity, bone density and darn if they don't make you look pretty!)? How`s your cardio-endurance? Do you have lots of energy throughout the day? Do you feel pretty positive? Are you having fun? How do your joints feel? Are you getting stronger? Are you getting faster? If not, you might need to tweak your workouts. You'll want to make sure you're getting enough rest and recovery between workouts so you are seeing improved performance. And you'll want to make sure you're bringing it to your workouts. Lots of people make the mistake of working out longer and longer instead of just upping the intensity of what they're doing. Longer just means more wear and tear on your joints. Harder generally results in improved fitness.
The weirdest thing starts happening as you stop doing math and, instead, just get consistent with all those behaviours that promote health and fitness. Eventually, you start looking like a healthy and fit person. And that's because you are. Surprisingly, the number on the scale generally goes down as well.
A few months later, I run across a similar question and have to retype whatever response I've come up with and it's never as good the second time around.
I've made a few posts over the past few days that I don't want to lose in case I want to use them again.
On Body for Life's binge/starve inducing "Free Day" concept:
Don't freaking binge then starve yourself. You're doing this to get fit and healthy. You're not doing this as a punishment for being overweight or unfit. So, stop treating food as a reward or punishment. It's neither. Food is good. It's life, it's community, it's sharing and it's fun. Celebrate food by eating good, real food. Starving yourself is just stupid and it's not going to make up for an earlier binge. It's telling yourself you're not worthy of life. And, to be honest, isn't binging just more punishment on your body? It's telling yourself you're worthless and someone to disrespect. Neither behaviour is going to bring you joy. And neither is certainly going to get you where you want to go.
On attempting to accurately gauge calories burned to calories consumed to ensure perfect two-pound losses each week on the scale:
Dr. Mat Lalonde, who is both exceedingly hot and smart, has a great quote. "You are not a bomb calorimeter."
You can't just weigh and measure the inputs and outputs and then get perfect results. Our bodies are way too exciting, interesting and complex for that. There is a whole host of wacky hormonal things going on as your body does this thing called living. On top of that, your scale weighs EVERYTHING. It doesn't show you body composition shifts. It doesn't tell you if you're retaining water that day. Yep, even those expensive ones that use bio-impedance (horribly inaccurate - FYI). It just tells you how much force gravity is asserting on you at any given time.
Stop doing math.
Your body is giving you feedback all the time. Now you need to start learning to listen to it. Focus on your actions. Are you eating food that is high in nutrients and that nutures your body? Are you constantly hungry? Preoccupied with eating? Are you gassy, bloated or constipated? These are all signs you need to tweak what you're eating. Or do you feel pretty good (i.e. hungry when you should be hungry, comfortable after meals with happy digestion). Are you moving your body and challenging yourself in ways to improve your fitness? Are you lifting weights to get and stay strong (you should be... weights improve insulin sensitivity, bone density and darn if they don't make you look pretty!)? How`s your cardio-endurance? Do you have lots of energy throughout the day? Do you feel pretty positive? Are you having fun? How do your joints feel? Are you getting stronger? Are you getting faster? If not, you might need to tweak your workouts. You'll want to make sure you're getting enough rest and recovery between workouts so you are seeing improved performance. And you'll want to make sure you're bringing it to your workouts. Lots of people make the mistake of working out longer and longer instead of just upping the intensity of what they're doing. Longer just means more wear and tear on your joints. Harder generally results in improved fitness.
The weirdest thing starts happening as you stop doing math and, instead, just get consistent with all those behaviours that promote health and fitness. Eventually, you start looking like a healthy and fit person. And that's because you are. Surprisingly, the number on the scale generally goes down as well.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Bloaty McBloatersons
First the positive – I am feeling fracking fantastic and I’m utterly driven. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so focused in a challenge. Seriously, I totally had a complete and utter shift in my thinking and it is amazing how quickly I’ve been able to turn around my behaviours. Tom Venuto is a rock star.
I succeeded in hitting 150 on the scale this Thursday and that was after drinking a liter of water and two cups of coffee right before weigh in. So, I was super excited to finally see a number in the 140s on the weekend and, what happened? Bloat. I packed on five pounds (or more) of water weight over night and now I have to wait for who knows how long before I debloat and am no longer look a squidgy mess. So, far, the measurements have not gone up, which means I’m still shrinking – it’s just not showing. It also means that my end of challenge results and end photos are going to not represent how well I’ve actually done. Yay for being a chick.
As for the challenge itself, I’m totally rocking it. I’m working out HARD and keeping it clean. I’m feeling really good and I’m not having any problems with my movements. A day without any spasms or postures is a good, good day. Just goes to show you how stress has a negative impact on generalized dystonia.
I succeeded in hitting 150 on the scale this Thursday and that was after drinking a liter of water and two cups of coffee right before weigh in. So, I was super excited to finally see a number in the 140s on the weekend and, what happened? Bloat. I packed on five pounds (or more) of water weight over night and now I have to wait for who knows how long before I debloat and am no longer look a squidgy mess. So, far, the measurements have not gone up, which means I’m still shrinking – it’s just not showing. It also means that my end of challenge results and end photos are going to not represent how well I’ve actually done. Yay for being a chick.
As for the challenge itself, I’m totally rocking it. I’m working out HARD and keeping it clean. I’m feeling really good and I’m not having any problems with my movements. A day without any spasms or postures is a good, good day. Just goes to show you how stress has a negative impact on generalized dystonia.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Drivelly Goodness with a Side of Whine
I’ve managed to keep up with challenge though it has been living up to its name. After enjoying over two weeks of my dystonia raging out of control, am now starting to regain modicum of ability to control movements again. It is touch and go at present but I’m confident this weekend I should be able to get back to lifting and HIIT as well as get some meals cooked and in the freezer. I have shrunk a wee bit since I first started so, even though it hasn’t been a challenge for the records, it is still something to be proud of.
I had an opportunity to review Afterburn – it looks like an amazingly difficult program but I’m very much looking forward to tackling it for my next challenge. Tracker is holding a spring competition and will be starting next challenge in time to compete – will be very exciting to throw myself wholeheartedly into this and am expecting to kick some serious butt.
The lawsuit against my GP is moving forward. We went through mandatory mediation in early January and examination for discovery is going forward in March. It is turning into a very interesting case – I am one of the first in Canada to go forward with this type of lawsuit for this kind of reaction (tardive generalized dystonia was as a result of an undiagnosed adverse reaction to an antidepressant and would have been preventable if diagnosed earlier). A part of my feels for the doctor in question as this must be a very stressful situation but, at the same time, this is something that I strongly feel I have to do.
I think I’ve come a pretty long way since first being diagnosed but I also think I’ve got a long way to go yet in accepting this. Your life certainly changes. All of a sudden, this future idea that you have created for yourself of your life is completely up in the air. What is possible, now? What isn’t? By accepting new limitations, am I giving up? Or, do I now need to look at more of a balance so I can not just succeed in life but enjoy it? Or are the two now an irresolvable dichotomy? If I give up my plans for myself in terms of career success, can I really be happy? But can I also be happy if my ambition and my work destroy the time I now enjoy to move freely? Stress really does kick up my symptoms. So does burning the candle at both ends. I’m just very torn.
I had an opportunity to review Afterburn – it looks like an amazingly difficult program but I’m very much looking forward to tackling it for my next challenge. Tracker is holding a spring competition and will be starting next challenge in time to compete – will be very exciting to throw myself wholeheartedly into this and am expecting to kick some serious butt.
The lawsuit against my GP is moving forward. We went through mandatory mediation in early January and examination for discovery is going forward in March. It is turning into a very interesting case – I am one of the first in Canada to go forward with this type of lawsuit for this kind of reaction (tardive generalized dystonia was as a result of an undiagnosed adverse reaction to an antidepressant and would have been preventable if diagnosed earlier). A part of my feels for the doctor in question as this must be a very stressful situation but, at the same time, this is something that I strongly feel I have to do.
I think I’ve come a pretty long way since first being diagnosed but I also think I’ve got a long way to go yet in accepting this. Your life certainly changes. All of a sudden, this future idea that you have created for yourself of your life is completely up in the air. What is possible, now? What isn’t? By accepting new limitations, am I giving up? Or, do I now need to look at more of a balance so I can not just succeed in life but enjoy it? Or are the two now an irresolvable dichotomy? If I give up my plans for myself in terms of career success, can I really be happy? But can I also be happy if my ambition and my work destroy the time I now enjoy to move freely? Stress really does kick up my symptoms. So does burning the candle at both ends. I’m just very torn.
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