3 Weeks Post Boot Camp: Transitioning
Wow, a month has already flown by since boot camp. It's funny because during boot camp it seemed as if time never passed and I'd die before it ended, and now it decides to fly by. Who knew? After vacation life got back to it's hat old tricks; work, grad school, being a homeowner, and let's not forget, TAM. When I began thinking of the time that has passed and the things I've done post TAM, I gotta admit I was appalled. I feel like such a slacker! Granted, the first week I was on vacation and managed to do 25 reps of 1 ab and arm exercise a night), but since then I've only completed 3 workouts (Beginner Dance Cardio 20-50 minutes, PD1)...Um, that is REALLY sad. How I went from working out everyday for 30 days to a mere 3 times in 2 weeks is unexcus-eable. Then I found my answer. I was letting excuses cloud my reformed TAM driven mind. Granted, we didn't arrive home till 2 am Tuesday morning from vacation, but I let my exhaustion cloud what was REALLY important, which is to get in my workout, or if we are calling things as they are, my daily "Come to Jesus meeting" with my body. I've come to a realization that I feel better (mentally and physically) when I get in a workout, no matter how short. When I don't, that leads to negative thinking and, let's face it, I don't have as much pep in my step that day. Regardless of my lame-ass excuse dujour, it still boils down to the fact that I HAVE to make TAM a priority like I set out to do. Dedicating 30 days was the first hurdle, now, post TAM dedicating each day to bettering myself has got to become number one again in order for me to be successful.
Food choices haven't been 80/20. More like 70/30, and some days 60/40. I've had one MAJOR food hug post TAM, it was the day from HELL and instead of coming home, working out and letting my endorphins kick in, I went to the cupboards. BBQ Lays, sunflower seeds, and olives. Quite a salt-fest right? Well, it was, and my mini baby abdominals were swollen...it's not a charming look, so please don't try that at home folks. In addition, I found praline pecans at my last grocery store excursion, and I'm gonna go ahead and continue to lay all my cards out on the table...I hid them from the boy and hoarded them like a squirrel, grabbing nibbles over the next week and reveling in the sweet yum-tas-ticness of it all, at one point CONVINCING myself it was healthy because underneath all the praline crunch, was a pecan. Thank God he found them and they are now gone from my cupboard and mind, "taunt me no more naughty pecan treats". I've noticed breakfast I do the best, kefir, oatmeal, fruit or some combination. I've even refined my Starbucks addition, sort of. B.T. (Before TAM) I would get a toffee mocha or Pumpkin spice latte (these are seasonal-thus my justification I HAD to drink as many as possible), or a skinny caramel latte. Now, the flavored coffees are TOO sweet for me, (thank God, the calories in those are ATROCIOUS!) due probably to the fact I had ZERO sugar in my green tea for 30 days (so glad I kicked the need for sugar in my tea; sometimes I use a bit of honey if they are stronger than green). So now, I get either a Venti sized tea of some sort (Iced Green, Refresh and Zen are really good-Zen is a green tea blend, they don't have a hot pure green tea) or a skinny caramel latte (grande or tall-it's got good flavor and still not awful calorie wise). I will say the last few days at work have had me in a caffeine induced haze (how many espresso shots are in that? double it) to keep me alert enough to function on 2 hours of sleep, get all my work done AND drive 2 hours each way per day, but otherwise I've done better than I ever expected with my beloved Starbucks. Oh, I forgot I had a drunken food trip to McDonald's, and let me tell you it was HELL the next day, I felt like SHIT! Don't get me wrong it tastes great, but my body HATES me afterwards. I've noticed when I eat my 20 (of the 80/20) I get HORRENDOUS cramps, my guess cuz I shouldn't be eating it, which is why my body basically shuts down (I learn the hard way). If I haven't mentioned this before, my job is on call 24/7/365, so I'm constantly on the go. While I do "try" to keep normal office hours, it doesn't always work that way. I've done well packing snacks in my bag each time I leave the house, my go-to favorites are; mango slices, fruit (something you can eat and drive with), my Sigg water bottle, and sometimes my coffee cup and tea bags. I ALWAYS carry a granola bar in my purse (Larabar is the only brand post TAM that doesn't taste like cardboard), and I'm going to add a green tea bag because I've noticed some places only have funky green tea blends if any at all, so that will help too. Being on the road I've got to be prepared and choose the "lesser of the evils" to stay as clean as possible. It's doable, but I've gotta be sure to plan ahead as much as possible. Ooooh, remembered ANOTHER food 20...a horseshoe (actually mine was a pony shoe, thus 1/2 the size). It's a local favorite in Springfield, IL, so I "had" to try it. It is a piece of Texas toast, topped withmeat (chicken breast), covered in fries and smothered (literally) with white cheese sauce. I'll say now it was AMAZING and AWFUL at the same time. Again, it went down wonderful, but I had cramps like nobody's business afterward (must listen to body next time). Yep, had a great food day until then...kefir, small Starbucks, horseshoe. Not one of my finer moments.
Next, obviously is weight. Miraculously I came away from vacation unscathed, only .6 over my goal of 120. Then my monthly gift came and blew me up like a Macy's parade float, getting up to 123.8 at my worst (damn you mother nature). Thankfully, after Aunt Flo left I went back to 120.4, a bit over my goal, but still in spitting distance.
Lessons Learned:
1. Eating processed foods like it's your last day to live is NOT smart, its 20 percent, not how much you can get in your belly in 20 minutes. This only leads to bloating, self loathing, and cramping.
2. Not working out causes thoughts of rage, depression and squishiness.
3. Instead of snacking thru stress, workout. A good sweat-fest never lead to a truffle shuffle...
4. Just like a girl scout, always be prepared: pack snacks (lots), bring a water bottle and make smart (clean) food choices/modifications when you cannot bring your own food.
5. NO excuse is ever good enough NOT to get in some kind of workout.
6. Snacking after dinner (other than eating your daily snack) only leads to pounds gained overnight, and cursing your scale the next morning, not too mention a fat layer covering over your newly found "mini baby abdominals".
7. Drunken eating, snacking, nibbling is NOT a wise choice. Your inhibitions go out the window and your inner squishy girl goes buck wild on anything she can get her hands on..
8. While Aunt Flo holds you hostage each month, drink PLENTY of pure Chamomile tea (especially the first day) to reduce bloat and stay AWAY from anything that even resembles a hint of sodium or you will blow up like the marshmallow man.
9. Keep you mind clear and TAM driven. Don't let work, school, family, etc get in the way of your well being. Be sure to make time for yourself each day, no mater how small. Effort is better than nothing at all.
10. Be proud of how far you have come, cherish the little hurdles, and don't take life too seriously (i.e. have a little nibble of naughty, not the whole damn thing).
My goals from here are pretty much the same, but due to my lack of motivation thus far, have been tweaked a bit; stay under 120 (115-120 to have a range as suggested by Tracy-so smart considering the "gift"), tone (upping cardio to 6 days a week 40-60 minutes), Mat work 5 days a week, eat clean (80/20 or better), blog once a week, journal daily, measure in my TAM-iversary.
Lastly, I'd like to thank each of you for your kind words when I completed bootcamp. I printed out all of your sweet words of congrats and put them in my workout room for encouragement. Well, off to workout, Lord knows I need to.
Hoping this week is better than the last 3 cuz I'm not giving up these size 2's without a fight,
-Marcia
Food choices haven't been 80/20. More like 70/30, and some days 60/40. I've had one MAJOR food hug post TAM, it was the day from HELL and instead of coming home, working out and letting my endorphins kick in, I went to the cupboards. BBQ Lays, sunflower seeds, and olives. Quite a salt-fest right? Well, it was, and my mini baby abdominals were swollen...it's not a charming look, so please don't try that at home folks. In addition, I found praline pecans at my last grocery store excursion, and I'm gonna go ahead and continue to lay all my cards out on the table...I hid them from the boy and hoarded them like a squirrel, grabbing nibbles over the next week and reveling in the sweet yum-tas-ticness of it all, at one point CONVINCING myself it was healthy because underneath all the praline crunch, was a pecan. Thank God he found them and they are now gone from my cupboard and mind, "taunt me no more naughty pecan treats". I've noticed breakfast I do the best, kefir, oatmeal, fruit or some combination. I've even refined my Starbucks addition, sort of. B.T. (Before TAM) I would get a toffee mocha or Pumpkin spice latte (these are seasonal-thus my justification I HAD to drink as many as possible), or a skinny caramel latte. Now, the flavored coffees are TOO sweet for me, (thank God, the calories in those are ATROCIOUS!) due probably to the fact I had ZERO sugar in my green tea for 30 days (so glad I kicked the need for sugar in my tea; sometimes I use a bit of honey if they are stronger than green). So now, I get either a Venti sized tea of some sort (Iced Green, Refresh and Zen are really good-Zen is a green tea blend, they don't have a hot pure green tea) or a skinny caramel latte (grande or tall-it's got good flavor and still not awful calorie wise). I will say the last few days at work have had me in a caffeine induced haze (how many espresso shots are in that? double it) to keep me alert enough to function on 2 hours of sleep, get all my work done AND drive 2 hours each way per day, but otherwise I've done better than I ever expected with my beloved Starbucks. Oh, I forgot I had a drunken food trip to McDonald's, and let me tell you it was HELL the next day, I felt like SHIT! Don't get me wrong it tastes great, but my body HATES me afterwards. I've noticed when I eat my 20 (of the 80/20) I get HORRENDOUS cramps, my guess cuz I shouldn't be eating it, which is why my body basically shuts down (I learn the hard way). If I haven't mentioned this before, my job is on call 24/7/365, so I'm constantly on the go. While I do "try" to keep normal office hours, it doesn't always work that way. I've done well packing snacks in my bag each time I leave the house, my go-to favorites are; mango slices, fruit (something you can eat and drive with), my Sigg water bottle, and sometimes my coffee cup and tea bags. I ALWAYS carry a granola bar in my purse (Larabar is the only brand post TAM that doesn't taste like cardboard), and I'm going to add a green tea bag because I've noticed some places only have funky green tea blends if any at all, so that will help too. Being on the road I've got to be prepared and choose the "lesser of the evils" to stay as clean as possible. It's doable, but I've gotta be sure to plan ahead as much as possible. Ooooh, remembered ANOTHER food 20...a horseshoe (actually mine was a pony shoe, thus 1/2 the size). It's a local favorite in Springfield, IL, so I "had" to try it. It is a piece of Texas toast, topped withmeat (chicken breast), covered in fries and smothered (literally) with white cheese sauce. I'll say now it was AMAZING and AWFUL at the same time. Again, it went down wonderful, but I had cramps like nobody's business afterward (must listen to body next time). Yep, had a great food day until then...kefir, small Starbucks, horseshoe. Not one of my finer moments.
Next, obviously is weight. Miraculously I came away from vacation unscathed, only .6 over my goal of 120. Then my monthly gift came and blew me up like a Macy's parade float, getting up to 123.8 at my worst (damn you mother nature). Thankfully, after Aunt Flo left I went back to 120.4, a bit over my goal, but still in spitting distance.
Lessons Learned:
1. Eating processed foods like it's your last day to live is NOT smart, its 20 percent, not how much you can get in your belly in 20 minutes. This only leads to bloating, self loathing, and cramping.
2. Not working out causes thoughts of rage, depression and squishiness.
3. Instead of snacking thru stress, workout. A good sweat-fest never lead to a truffle shuffle...
4. Just like a girl scout, always be prepared: pack snacks (lots), bring a water bottle and make smart (clean) food choices/modifications when you cannot bring your own food.
5. NO excuse is ever good enough NOT to get in some kind of workout.
6. Snacking after dinner (other than eating your daily snack) only leads to pounds gained overnight, and cursing your scale the next morning, not too mention a fat layer covering over your newly found "mini baby abdominals".
7. Drunken eating, snacking, nibbling is NOT a wise choice. Your inhibitions go out the window and your inner squishy girl goes buck wild on anything she can get her hands on..
8. While Aunt Flo holds you hostage each month, drink PLENTY of pure Chamomile tea (especially the first day) to reduce bloat and stay AWAY from anything that even resembles a hint of sodium or you will blow up like the marshmallow man.
9. Keep you mind clear and TAM driven. Don't let work, school, family, etc get in the way of your well being. Be sure to make time for yourself each day, no mater how small. Effort is better than nothing at all.
10. Be proud of how far you have come, cherish the little hurdles, and don't take life too seriously (i.e. have a little nibble of naughty, not the whole damn thing).
My goals from here are pretty much the same, but due to my lack of motivation thus far, have been tweaked a bit; stay under 120 (115-120 to have a range as suggested by Tracy-so smart considering the "gift"), tone (upping cardio to 6 days a week 40-60 minutes), Mat work 5 days a week, eat clean (80/20 or better), blog once a week, journal daily, measure in my TAM-iversary.
Lastly, I'd like to thank each of you for your kind words when I completed bootcamp. I printed out all of your sweet words of congrats and put them in my workout room for encouragement. Well, off to workout, Lord knows I need to.
Hoping this week is better than the last 3 cuz I'm not giving up these size 2's without a fight,
-Marcia
