BTW

Sundays are going to be my weigh in days.
I will measure the first of the month.

Where Was My Camera?

Today was my first day of grocery shopping and I wish I had my camera with me.   I was label reading like a mad women!  Nothing was purchased with out a thorough test of the ingredients.  I shopped in produce and bought a ton of colors.  And I stayed to the outside lanes.  I did not go down one inner lane.

Tonight I made a stir fry with carrots, brocoli, cabbage, mushrooms, red pepper, onion, and some beef.  And of course, I made choc covered strawberries for dessert.  ONLY 2!

Vegas Report Card

I think I did pretty darn good while I was in Sin City.  I made two of the three goals.  I didn't make it to the pool because I was really only here one afternoon.

On the food side, I had:
brekkie - egg white omlette
lunch - shrimp cocktail
dinner - BUFFET!!!

Most people know that I loathe buffets but we got to go for free to one of the best buffets on the strip.  It is in the new casino, Cosmopolitan.  Very club like, very trendy, very Dylan Smith.  Before we went I made some rules in my head:
1 - only 1 plate, one trip up
2 - stay with 1/2 of the plate as veg, 1/4 protein, 1/4 carb
3 - keep with clean food where possible

I did really well.  It was about 70% veg, 20%protein and 10%carb.
I did take dessert which was just like FR - 2 chocolate covered strawberries.
(The girls at FR will be happy to note that the berries are BETTER at FR.)

I am not sure what I am going to do on the plane tomorrow.  I need to review my notes before I leave for the airport.

The Kluth Women Light It Up

Mary joined me as I did a mountain class on the treadmill this morning at the hotel.  We kicked butt.  Mumma did both speed and incline.  I did incline.

Vegas Baby.... Vegas

I am in Vegas for three days.  My goals are:

1 - to work out once in the hotel gym
2 - to swim once in the hotel pool
3 - eat within my calorie range

I don't honestly think eating will be crazy.  Even though tonight we are going out for steak!!!  YEA!!  5 weeks without red meat - I can't wait!  There are healthy choices on every menu in Vegas.  For lunch I had a mineral water, a cup of tomato soup and a garden salad with dressing on the side.  So, I have just under 1000 calories to spend tonight on steak!!!!!  YUM.

Also, I will be spending so much time at the tables, I won't have time to worry about eating. :)  Vegas Baby!

The Results are In...

Americans -

Weight Lost - 23.9 lbs
Inches Lost - 16.25"
     Chest 6.25"
     Belly 6"
     Hips 4"
Body Fat Lost +4.6%
BMI - down 4 points

Australians -

Weight Lost - 10.86 kg
Centimeters Lost - 41.3cm
     Chest 15.9cm
     Belly 15.2cm
     Hips 10.2cm
Body Fat Lost +4.6%
BMI - down 4 points

Europeans - use one of the tables above :)

I did have a bit of a pout this morning as my numbers were not what I was hoping for, but they are what they are.  I am still thinner and healthier so I need to be happy with that.

Tomorrow Morning is Weigh-in

In the Middle Ages, they had guillotines, stretch racks, whips and cahins.  Nowadays, we have a much more effective torture device called the bathroom scale.  ~Stephen Phillips


I am torturing myself all night worried about what that scale is going to say in the morning.


They will tell me:
number of pounds lost
number of inches lost (chest, waist, hips)
% of body fat lost


I will now continue to weigh myself weekly and keep the blog postings going so that I can track my progress.


Please think thin for me!!!!

My last class

WOW!

I had my last class this morning.  It was so hard but I felt great after it.
It was a two hour cardio blast.

I started with 45 minutes of incline on the treadmill.  I got up to level 9.
Then I had sprints on the treadmill.
I think I ran for at least one minute at 7.0mph.  I was a little delirious by that point.
Then we had these weight/cardio drills for about 20 minutes.
Then we had to run around the pool for a few minutes.
Then it was back into the gym for 35 minutes of up and down hills.
I got on the elliptical machine which made me smile because I was up to a level 9 at one point.
I can't remember how fast I was going, but it was no big deal being on the elliptical.
I didn't even think twice about doing it.

Our cool down was dancing to Beyonce and a few other songs.  SO FUN!

It was the last class for both Melanie and myself.  So, I told her we should jump in the pool after with all our clothes on and I am sure the rest of the posse would join in.

So, we did.  CANNONBALLS!
And they did!  CANNONBALLS!

It was AWESOME!  Then our instructor, Sione, jumped in as well and we had pool games like handstands and summer saults.

It was an absolute GREAT last class and a GREAT way to end my last class here.

EVEN BETTER!

I just googled 5k because I wanted to know the exact mileage (I was always told it was 3.2 miles.)  According to many googled sites 5 kilometers = 3.10685596 miles! I ran .1 OVER a 5k.

That is the good news.
The bad news is that I didn't even burn 400 calories.
That is about 1 big margarita or 1 martini with my olives.
It is about 3 champagnes.

So, every time I want a drink.... I have to run a 5K.  Now that is something to think about.

5ks are so easy

Yes, you can tell from the title that I did run the 5k!  YEA!  I did it first thing this morning.  I figured it would be about 13-14 songs so I created a new playlist to keep me going.

As I was going for duration, I did jog at a very slow pace but towards the end of each mile I would kick it up.  It took me a little under an hour.

I broke it down into 1 mile segments.  I already knew that I could run 1.5 miles, so 1 mile didn't seem like it would be too difficult.  It is only about 4 songs.

My first problem came almost as soon as I got on the treadmill.  I needed to pee.  After about 15 minutes I thought, "there is no way I can go another 45 minutes like this."  So, I paused the machine and took about a two minute break.  It really was SUPER quick and I ran there and back.

I was a bit mentally fatigued at about mile two so I stayed on the machine and did a one minute pause for water and to towel off the sweat.

I was really starting to hit the wall at about 2.5 miles so I took another 1 minute pause at 2.7.

And then, a miracle happened... INXS' The One Thing from their absolute best album (Shabooh Shabah) came on my headphones and I cranked it up.  I was able to finish the rest of the run strong and actually a bit under the time I thought it would take.

I have one cardio class tomorrow and I am not sure what my goals are going to be but I would love to do this one more time without my breaks before I leave.

Very impressive, I'm just not doing it

Just to give you a feel for the type of hiking they do here, I am attaching a few of my friends photos.  These are really serious hikes.  No wonder they are burning so many calories!

Another Day of Rocking It

I was pretty exhausted after yesterdays run, but was able to do a great treading class and get through the afternoon.

After dinner, I did an emotional release message and had my chakras realigned.  I am feeling very positive now that the negative energy has been released from my body.

Tomorrow is my last full day.
Dare I tell you my goal?
It is to run a full 5k on the treadmill.  My original goal was to run for 30 minutes, but then I thought about it... why not go for the 5k?

Thanks for the song recommendations!!!  I will add them to my ipod tonight.

I FUCKING ROCK!!!!!!!!!!

Did anyone watch Biggest Loser last night?  (Was it on in Australia?)  Well, the show started with the contestants being dumped in the middle of the desert and then having to walk/jog/run 1 mile to get to their chosen trainer.  Some of the them struggled even walking the mile.

This gave me a goal for today which was to run one mile non stop.  I have four weeks of working out under my belt and I want to be able to run a 5K so this seemed like a good goal.

I thought I could give this a fair go as:
1 - I had been building up my times
2 - one of the trainers said it is all about controlling your breathing.

One of the things they have been teaching us here is your actual rate of exertion vs your perceived rate of exertion.  I am assuming my running/jogging is a perceived rate as I keep beating my times and I am not hitting my max heart rate which is the strongest indicator.

I got on the treadmill and decided that it would take me about 4 or 5 songs to run the mile.  I covered the time and distance indicators on the machine and just started going.  When I realised I was going to hit the mile (no problem!) I decided to move the goal to 1.5 miles.

I rocked.
I was awesome.
I looked like a track star.  (in my mind)

I did it and I can't wait to try again.  It might not be until Friday because my knee and ankles are throbbing!

Merilyn and Bryan, I don't know how you run those long distances without an ipod.  You are amazing.  I could not have done it without music.  (I know I asked this awhile back, but if you have a fav workout song, send it to me.  Music makes my workout.)

It has become so obvious to me that the things I do not think I can do are all in my mind.
I really can do anything.

Watching the Biggest Loser

Tonight is the premier of the new season of the Biggest Loser (USA).  Needless to say, this is a very big event around here.  While I don't really follow the show, I am watching tonight as this will be the talk of the compound tomorrow.

Things I heard the trainers say which both scared me and inspired me for tomorrow:

Do not hold onto my treadmill
Incline 20
Your in my house right now

Saturday Night Party!

YEE HAW!!!!  I just got this picture from Caroline of our night off.  This is the posse on the way to the St George rodeo!!  We had a blast.  

Please no comments on how 43 year old women shouldn't be wearing braids - I was looking rodeo-style.

cardio, smardio - can't I just get off my bum?

Learned all about the cardiovascular system - I really should have paid more attention in Ms Demith's 8th grade health class.

In case you are as clueless as I am, subtract your age from 220 and that is your maximum heart rate.  (Obviously, there is some room for variance.)  220-43=177

Once a week, I need to get my heart rate up to 177 during a cardio work out.
That is a lot of sweat.
I will do this with a mountain or treading class.
By doing this I will will burn complex carbs which is the body's fav food - which burns more calories.

Then, the rest of the my workouts should be ~60-80% of the maximum.  ~106-141
This burns less calories but is easier on the body.

I always feel I am at my max heart rate.

Goals for this last week

The things I want to accomplish in my last week are:

1 - Burn an extra 500 calories/day which will equal one extra pound off of my ass
2 - Work out every morning before breakfast
3 - 100 situps every day
4 - Give 100% in every class
5 - Run every day (I want to get to as many consecutive minutes as possible.)
6 - No extra snack calories
7 - Be grateful for the opportunity

1 week left!

I just finished my fourth week.  I am exhausted.

It still pisses me off that I just did a 2 hour power cardio class and didn't even burn 500 calories.

The FANTASTIC news is that I just looked up a Johnsonville Brat and it had 279 calories!

So, not everything is bad news.

Would You Be Happy with 50 lbs/21 kg Lost This Year?

I went to my class today on setting weight loss goals and it was so full of math, I struggled.  The resort really operates on calories in - calories out so your loss per week is the math of what you eat and drink minus your RMR, your natural activity and your exercise.

I know you will all be interested in this but I will have to explain it to you over an herbal tea because I couldn't blog it if I tried.

At the end, unless you are trying to be perfect, they recommend shooting for 4-6 lbs/ 1.8-2.7kg per MONTH.  A 50 lbs/21 kg loss per year.

This doesn't work with my 44kg by my 44th birthday.

I Was Tricked!

All the trainers have you set a goal or an intention before the big cardio classes so that you have something to work towards.  In today's mountain class, I wanted to run for 7.5 minutes which would be tough, but... I would like to be a runner again so bring it on.

Just as I was going to finish my 7.5 minutes, Sione (our trainer) added a surprise two minutes on to the total!  He tricked me into an extra 2!  I was ready to give up.  I could not suck enough oxygen.  I barely made it but I did it.  9.5 minutes for the day.  Of course, my knee and ankles are throbbing but sucking it up.

I haven't decided yet, but I may try and do my treading class tomorrow as a run/jog.  That would be:
5 minutes run at your top speed
5 recovery (not at your lowest, at about a 5 on the 1-10 scale)
4 run top speed
4 walk
3 run
3 walk
2 run
2 walk
1 run
1 walk
It sounds easy, right.  :)  I'll be looking for partners to do this with when I get back to Melbourne!

I'll let you know how I do.

No Mad Men! No Glee! No Way!

Today we talked about success strategies in maintaining your weight after you have lost your weight.  In other words, this is what I have to do for the rest of my life after I lose the weight.  (This is from a study of 5000 people who kept their weight off for 1 year or more.)

Eat breakfast every day.
Weigh themselves at least once a week.
Exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day.
Watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.

This is fake

I definitely do not smile when I run.

Did I Tell You I am Using Men's Deodorant Here?

Because I am sweating like a #$%^&* pig!

Back up....

The reason I even have men's deodorant is that they recommend you bring some for your feet to keep them dry on the hikes.  So, I bought some.  But now that is all I use.  What little piece of femininity I had has gone to heck!  It doesn't smell boy-ee but it doesn't smell girl like either.

Look at my running time picture.  Do you see the towels draped on the machine?  I need 4 towels for mountain class because the sweat isn't going into my eyes, it is coming out of my eyes!  I am dripping grossness.

While you are here, you don't wear makeup or jewelry or anything except t-shirts and lycra.  And now, mens deodorant.

I hit the wall

Yesterday I was so over this place.  Thank goodness it was our day off else I don't think I could have made it to class.

I was sick of exercising.
I was sick of eating not fattening beautiful things.
I was sick of the trainers.
I was sick of attaining an energy level worthy of an enormous amount of exertion.
I was over it.

So I sulked for the day.
Went shopping.  Then got even more crappy because I haven't dropped a size yet.  (Although this could be wrong as my clothes could have been getting tight.)

Came back to camp to a lightening storm that hit the building here!  (That was the loudest thing I have ever heard in my life!)

Went to bed early because Monday is a big day.
I am trying to be good for Monday morning.
Hopefully, no more sulking for the remaining weeks.

YEA! My fat is measurable!

Today I had my three week assessment as I am at my half way point.  They take your weight, your measurements of your chest, waist and hips and then do a fat measurement with a machine.

I am still not letting them tell me my weight and measurements.  But they were really excited about my fat reading.

It turns out, I was over 50% fat and unmeasurable when I arrived.
Today... they could measure my fat.
I at at 46%.

Who ever thought I could be excited by that statistic?

Situps and Running

Now that I have conquered the elliptical, my next two things are:
1 - situps per day
2 - running

I tried to do one situp before I got here and I was unable to do one.  I built up to 10 a day my first week.  I did 20 last week and 30 this past week.  I am going to try for 50 this week.

Running/jogging/shuffling faster than walking I need to build up my endurance.  I haven't really been monitoring but I ran for three minutes at 5 miles/hour today.  Then had another 30 seconds so I'll see how I can improve on this one.

How much do Zumba instructors make?

I think this could be my next profession once I am fit.  We have Zumba on Friday afternoons.  Everyone knows what a great dancer I am :) but I am so out of shape I can't get through the class.  So, I made it about 2 songs the first week and then fudged.  Last week I made it about 3 songs.  This week I made it 4 songs and did not have to fudge as much.

Must find Zumba classes to booty shake.

When am I going to breakdown?

I have been waiting to have a huge epiphany, a gigantic meltdown.  And, it just hasn't happened yet.
I thought it was coming yesterday.  I cried during two workouts, but just a little bit.

I only have a few more weeks - I hope it comes soon.

Why are Morman's so $%^&* happy?

As this place is located in Utah, it is not difficult to believe that it is owned and run by Mormans.  Almost everyone associated with the facility (trainer, guides, servers) is Morman and they are ALWAYS happy.

This morning I was really achy and just wanted to be crabby, but no... the HR director comes by the pool and asks:

How is the water?

Isn't it a beautiful day?

Isn't this weather great?

Blagh, Blagh, Blagh.  I am just trying to be crabby in peace and they won't let me.

Then one of the trainers comes by:

How is the water?

Isn't it a great day?

Seriously?  I have never seen any of them frown.  It's not normal.

The Posse

Here is a pic we took this morning as our friend Casey was leaving.  I think I look tired but I am tired!    This was a big day for me as it was my HALF WAY DONE DAY!!

Groceries are good

Today they took us grocery shopping - it was a very interesting trip.  Your natural reaction is, "what can they teach me about grocery shopping?"  But it was really informative and it was good to get away from the compound for an hour!  Of course, they do take you there in the Biggest Loser van - so embarrassing!  (Have I showed you guys a picture yet of the vans?)

A few shopping tips for all of you!

1 - enter the door closest to the produce
2 - buy as many different color fruit and veg as possible
3 - stay to the outer walls
4 - read the labels

Professional Athletes Must Have Crappy Lives

or also titled, "I love Brett Favre even more."

My knee is the size of a grapefruit.
There are bruises all over my body.
There are gouges all over my body.
I have pulled muscles, sore muscles, cramped muscles and muscles yelling at me that I didn't even know existed.
Everything hurts and is tired.
And, you just have to suck it up and keep going.

What must it be like after a professional football game?

THE ELLIPTICAL IS MY BITCH

I did it!

I still can't believe it but it was all with the help of my friends.

I signed up for this morning's mountain class* on the elliptical.  Normally, I would never do this as mountain is way too difficult and you need to stay on the same piece of equipment for an hour.  But, I was talked into it by being told, "when you can't go any longer, jump on something else.  They won't care."

All of my friends were cranking it out so I just stayed on that damn elliptical even though my calves were cramping and my toes were going numb.

I did 60 minutes, 45 seconds.

YEA!!!!!

*mountain class on Saturday is for two hours

You sign up for a machine and you stay on that machine for the first hour.

5 minutes warm up

2 minutes at base

You must increase one level every 2 minutes until you get to level 12. (speed or incline)

3 minutes at level 12

2 minutes at level 8

2 minutes at level 4

Increase one level every 90 seconds for 10 levels

Then you go up and down with some sprints on the machine

20 minutes of upper body weights with cardo in between

20 minutes of cardio running around different parts of the gym

20 minutes of cardio on a different machine than you were on

An Attitude of Gratitude

Today in class (the topic was monitoring your heart rate during workouts for those who are interested) the trainer mentioned attitude as an important part of attaining your goals.  I freely admit that I have a terrible attitude about working out.  I hate it.  It makes me sad that I have to do it.  I don't want to do it.

But... she said, "you shouldn't think 'I have to exercise.'  You should think 'I get to exercise.'"

This was totally groundbreaking for me on two fronts.

1 - I should be grateful that I am healthy enough that I can exercise.  Yes, my knee is fucked and my ankles are doomed.  But, I can still go to the gym.  I do have one healthy knee which is better than none.

2 - I don't have to come to Biggest Loser.  I GET to come to Biggest Loser.  I am really lucky and instead of being happy about each class and the opportunity, I am sour about every single one.

So, this was a big turning point for me.  I truly am grateful for this opportunity and that I get to be here.  I do GET to be in these workouts.  I am fortunate.  I will try harder and have a better attitude.

Where was Justin Timberlake?

Today's slice of humor came when I decided that I was sick of wearing my speedo to the pool.  I am in the pool 3 or 4 times a day but because it is for exercise, I never wear one of my cute swimsuits, I always wear the speedo.

Today, I had enough of that.  I am so sick of that speedo.  I took out one of my two piece bathers and went to my afternoon class.

The first problem was that the skirt floated to the top of the water and I couldn't use the water weights.
The next problem was top kept floating up so I was yanking it down all the time.
The last problem was that with all of the jumping around... I almost had a Janet Jackson malfunction.

Tomorrow it is back to the speedo.

My nemesis... the elliptical machine

I have always thought of the elliptical as the skinny girls machine.  It was always so difficult to do and I hated it.  When I went to Golden Door, I used it and I liked it and built up a bit of endurance.

When the Pookeys and I went to the St Kilda gym, I was up to 30 minutes.  I would occassionally do 35-45 minutes.

That was before the knee surgery and the fact that I have no muscle left in my legs.

I got here and jumped on the #$%^&*& elliptical machine and I swear, I could only do 20 SECONDS!  I physically could not go any further.  During class the other day, I did 2 minutes.  Today, I did over 7 minutes.

My goal is now 45 minutes and this is why I now have the elliptical count on the side bar.  I will be kicking elliptical ass!

FRUIT LOOPS RULE!

I thought I knew everything there was about reading product labels.  Sugars, fiber, etc.  But, one does get complacent in their knowledge.  In today's class we went through breakfast cereals for best choices and the worst option (of the choices we had) was Kellogs Smart Start which is one of their healthy cereals.  Also, Special K was a pretty poor choice as well.  Comparing Fruit Loops to Special K made the Fruit Loops look like a good choice!

The moral of the story is read the labels.

Banana guilt

While we are on a 1200 calorie per day diet, there are extra calories you are allowed to eat.

Banana, apples and orange are available almost all of the time.
Hard boiled egg, almonds and edamame are available twice a day.
Salad is available at lunch and dinner times.

So, you can add onto your total, but... of course, this ups your calories.  Because I am not going on the hikes, I do not take ANY extras.

Except today.
I had TWO bananas!  I ate the second one and I wasn't even hungry!
THE GUILT!!!
I am disgusted!
It is 35 minutes on the treadmill to get rid of these stupid bananas!!!!

I can't make this crap up!

Last night we had a yogurt parfait for dessert.  It had vanilla yogurt in the bottom, chocolate yogurt in the middle and some crushed fruit on top.  It was really yummy.  Everyone commented on how good it was and left their glasses on the table and went to class.

My friend MFM (Margie from Minnesota) went into the dining hall and found one of the other guests going down the table scraping up the leftover bits of yogurt and eating them.

I can't even be that grossed out by it because if I had known that was an option, I might have done it too!