Hydroxycut Week 1

It's been a week since I started the Hydroxycut and monitoring what I eat and drink, and honestly, I have to say I'm pretty pleased. I started out at 202.2, and this morning I'm down to 196.8. 5.4 lbs in a week? Not too shabby. I'm not feeling all that great, though. My sinuses are super sensitive, and with a smoker in the house right now (even with the smoking outside) my head is constantly hurting and it's hard to breathe. So incredibly sensitive to smells right now. My throat is scratchy and sore from the constant coughing, and it's just miserable right now. But hey- the weight is coming off ;) This week I'll go outside and just do some walking, and tomorrow since there is no orchestra rehearsal, I'll be able to hit up the rugby pitch with my team. They lost in the championship game for their conference, but for a first year team, second place ain't half bad. Light fun practice tomorrow with our coaches, and that will be it until the spring. Which means it'll be up to me to buckle down and train to be able to play 15s and keep up with the younger girls. I'll say this, their scrums are getting better, but I don't think anyone has my size or strength, so I at least have that going for me. 

Last Time, I Promise

I have the hardest time keeping up with blogging. I guess it is because I don't find myself to be that interesting, nor the things I experience to be interesting enough for anyone to want to read about them. Couple that with my propensity to not really fully commit to blogging and we have this blog here- a mishmash of Start Ups and Do Overs. I think I may have finally conquered it, however. I don't think blogging daily is the answer- weekly is more my style. So we'll go with that.

Today marks Day 2 of the latest weight cut. I hate the term "diet" because it has such a negative connotation to it. I took up rugby in July and have been having fun with that. With practices twice a week, I was cutting weight quickly and efficiently. Once orchestra was back in session, however, and my practices were cut to once a week, I could feel the weight coming back. The pants were tight, I was feeling sluggish- all the classic crap. I took one of my credit cards that we had paid off and bought a 60-pill supply of Hydroxycut after reading some great reviews online, and so far I'm a little iffy on it. I love the fact that I have dropped exactly 2lbs since yesterday morning, but the adjustment to the high caffeine count leaves me feeling a little sick at times. It does give me a good amount of energy, though; yesterday I was a little too bouncy and had a hard time sitting still. I ended up going home and running some intervals on the treadmill. I also went a little too hard and almost got sick afterwards. Now it's time to hone the food intake. Lunches are soups or salads- my favourite thus far is a Thai Kitchen instant ramen. The noodles, though, are rice noodles and they are FANTASTIC. I pack one into one of my lunch boxes and make it just before I pick up The Hubster, and simply eat in the car. Easy to track, easy to make, and easy to stay the course.

My goal is to hit 125, but still stay strong enough to continue as a rugby prop. Even though it is the only position I've played, it's my favourite. It's the big boys in the front, pushing and hitting- definitely right up my alley :)

Wagon Train

Here we go again. Fallen off the wagon, getting back on.

How Sad...

I completely forgot about this blog. I wasn't able to post for a while and it completely slipped my mind.

Guess I need to remedy that.

Walking the British Isles- Day One

I'm going to keep this pretty simple. We did a little bit of walking yesterday, but not the amount I would have liked. I'm going to only keep track of what I do that is specifically for the WTBI trek, so today is Day One. I'll be going 3.6 miles, long enough to go the distance from the Land's End Visitors Center to the Lower Treave Caravan and Camping Park. There I'll set up my virtual pup tent and see where I make it to on the morrow.

Now, for a quick warm up, then I'm off!

*FACEPALM*

No one can do a more effective facepalm than Jean-Luc Picard, and in my case, he's doing it for good reason. I'm off the wagon- way, WAY off- and have actually gotten a lot worse. I'm going to follow the formula I had set up last year, but try to do it

1. WORKOUTS:
It's been a long time since I've done anything that even slightly smelled of exercise. It's terrible, really. I am signed up online to do the Runner's World Holiday Run Streak. The idea is to run every day, at least one mile, from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day. I think this is something I can legitimately accomplish. Even if it's just a single solitary mile- it'll be up and off the sofa. I need to fit in some strength training as well. It's all going to be about time management, but that should get better starting the 20th. I'm leaving my current call center job and starting an IT job as a data center tech. Big step in my career, and one that I'm excited about. I'll schedule my workouts around my new work schedule.

2. MEALS:
I need to go back to my Hobbit Schedule- 6-7 meals a day, about 200-300 calories each, depending on my workout that day. Shouldn't be too terrible hard. The Hubster had a health scare and now has to adjust his own diet, which will make my changes a little easier to handle. He's not to a vegan state, but who knows- maybe he'll want to join me on a ovo-lacto-veggie diet.

3. INSPIRATION:
"One step at a time, I get to make positive choices to fulfill my dreams!"
                                                         ~Deena Kastor

4. BITS AND PIECES:
I'm nervous about starting my new job. I'm not the most techy person, but they are willing to train me as long as I'm willing to learn. I'm sewing a little bit, and knitting- I have a scarf on my needles that looks like the carpet in the original Shining movie that is giving me fits- and am trying to fit in things to sell in the shop. I'm also doing the National Novel Writing Month challenge- can't say I've written anything, though.

5. WEIGH IN:
This is where I'm not happy. I looked into bariatric surgery and had to do a weigh in- 217. Can you believe it? I about cried when I saw the scale. I honestly have not weighed myself since, and it's been 5 weeks. Five weeks of not paying any attention to what I was eating, which means I KNOW I'm a lot heavier. I'll weigh myself in the morning, and plot a plan from there. The Hubster is talking about taking a vacation to Ireland next year, since we will be making enough money to start saving for it. I want to be at my goal weight by the time we get there. It's doable. I hope.

Guess What

Yeah, fell off the wagon after a fantastic 5k run. Then jacked up my back last week doing yard work. Starting over. Again. Today.

I'm about to kick my own ass if I don't stop this and just do it right.

Blargh!

I keep saying I'll blog, I'll blog, and yet I never do. I have it on my phone (the Blogger app) so I think nightly before I go to bed I need to make it a habit to jot down a few thoughts at the very least. I think I need to redesign this blog too, to include everything I'm doing- or at least what I'm SUPPOSED to be doing. 

1. Today's Workout:

Since I have a workout I'm supposed to be doing daily, be it strength or running, this is where I'll put the information. I'll list what is to be done, what I did, and how I felt afterwards. This should be fun. 

As far as a general schedule, here's what I have so far:

• Monday: Spartacus Workout (Men's Health)
• Tuesday: Run (morning- interval)
• Wednesday: Spartacus Workout (Men's Health)
• Thursday: Run (evening- interval)
• Friday: Spartacus Workout (Men's Health)
• Saturday: Run (morning- pace)
• Sunday: Rest/Yoga

2. Today's Meals:

I'm using My Fitness Pal, both online and via the Android app, so I'll post the link in this section. That way I'm accountable for what I eat and I may be more apt to watch exactly what I"m eating. 

3. Today's Inspiration:

At one time I was getting almost daily quotes from Runner's World that dealt with running or just plain motivation. I think I'll find a bunch, print them off, and pull one every day. That way I have some new means of inspiration to hopefully keep me on task. Or maybe a picture- I know I have several I've used before for "thinspiration". 

4. Today's Oddities:

Or something similar. This will be anything else that is going on, be it activities, knitting, arts, Dorkenstein, or whatever. I don't know if I'll keep the title or not. 

5. Today's Weigh In:

Yep, I'll go back to weighing myself daily. I seemed to do better when I was weighing myself all the time. 

Let's see how well I can keep this up. I signed myself and Dorkenstein up for a 5k run here at the office at the end of April. It gives us 5-6 weeks to train for it. I may have to start taking her with me on the evenings I go running, and of course on Saturdays. Maybe do a fun run (Zobies, Run! maybe?) or something. I don't know- I'll figure it out as I go along :)

Stuck

I think I need to make myself blog at least once a week. Maybe Sunday nights? I'll think of something. I'm just stuck in a rut right now. My weight hasn't moved on the scale in about a week, although on the brighter side I've been able to tighten up my belts by a notch. That honestly is a good feeling overall. I've decided that my weight training is actually going to be a circuit. I'm using the Men's Health Spartacus Workout (I mean, I watch the show weekly, so it only makes sense). It's 10 exercises, 60 seconds a piece, with 15 seconds rest in between. Once one circuit is done, you rest 2 minutes, then do it all over again twice more for a total of 3 circuits. It's a total of 41 minutes long from start to finish, but that 41 minutes is killer. I can see why they suggest having a rest day in between. I'll do it just 3 times a week starting out. As I get stronger, I'll add another day or so. I'll continue running, of course. I think I'll keep that up daily and do the interval runs. I seem to always feel better while I'm doing them constantly.

My eating hasn't been too bad. I did cheat one night and had Wing Stop with the family, then had the leftovers this past Tuesday. I had finished a double red blood cell donation a few hours earlier and had taken a nap. Needless to say when I woke up I was famished. The wings seemed logical at the time. I'm thinking I should have known better. This week the Hubster has been on a business trip, so being in charge of dinner has made it easier to eat better. Dorkenstein wanted to make grilled cheese on Monday, so I baked up some garlic fries. Tuesday was ranch chicken and peas. Yesterday was a cinnamon-spiced Moroccan chicken pieces with couscous and peas. Tonight I'm not sure what I'll be making. Eating at work has been really simple. I was eating a granola bar and a bowl of instant oatmeal for breakfast, but after dropping my caloric count to 1200 I'm just on oatmeal. Since I leave early all this week I'm having a protein shake for lunch. I bought some Jillian Michael's Whey Protein and mix it with some 2% milk. When mixed in the blender it's really not half bad. Just chill it in the fridge, then drink it while I'm taking calls. During normal weeks the shake is dinner since I run after work and I have a ramen for lunch. I found some really good instant soba noodle kits that I heat up here, then munch on (with chopsticks, of course) as I read or watch a little HBO Go.

I did do some baking over the weekend. I made some Italian bread mini sub buns that turned out really good, and I made a loaf of Italian bread using the same recipe that we sliced up and made French toast with. It turned out to be just amazing, really. I may have to freeze some of the buns though- it made a lot, and they aren't getting used as quickly as I would like.

I guess the rest of this week will be to keep running, stay on top of strength training, and see what I can do to retweak my diet. Something has to work better.

Update

I really am not good at the whole blogging daily thing, am I? I didn't meet my January goal- in fact, I lost 6lbs, then went up 2lbs by month's end. I adjusted my goals again, and am working furiously to stay on track this time. The hubster has decided to help, too, which is nice. I reaaaally want to see Henry Rollins perform at UNT in early March, so it has been decided that if I lose my allotted 12lbs and hit a weigh in of 194 by 29 February, I'll have tickets in hand to see him. If not, I'll be sitting at the house watching the Tate-Rousy fight on Strikeforce. Good motivation right there to keep on track.

I have been keeping pretty consistent with my running. I'm using the JogTracker Pro app to mark my time and distance to get my pace, then I'm using the C25K Pro app to get moving. I've found that if I do an Indian Run from the military, I do much better. The Indian Runs are just interval runs, with time spent at a light jog and some sprints thrown in. We used to run in 2 lines and the last 2 people would sprint to the front, then slow back to a jog when they got to the front. With the C25K program, I'm jogging during the walking portions and sprinting during the runs. I've felt better doing it, and I think my times are dropping. I'm trying to remember to log everything into my Runner's World profile as well. So many places to keep up with what I'm doing- there's no reason to fail again.