Exercise and Food

For the past three days I have been waking up at 5 AM to get on the Elliptical for 30 minutes. I am not a morning person, so it has been very hard for me to wake up in the AM to work out. But once I am on it and I have a movie of some sort to keep me entertained, it has not been so bad.

The first day I was on the Elliptical I was able to do just one mile in the 30 minute work out. Yesterday I did a mile and a quarter by the end of the 30 minutes and today I did a mile and a quarter in 20 minutes!

The thing I love most about working out on the Elliptical is that I am not sore later. Since it is all just cardio and no strain on my muscles, I get a great work out with out the pain later. I sweat like crazy but at the end I feel good. My body feels great and I get a huge boost of energy from it.

Which brings me to my next topic, FOOD. My god am I getting hungry faster! I normally do not eat breakfast in the morning before going to work. But since I started in the plan I have started to eat right after my work out. A bowl of cereal with fruit and coffee. May not sound like a lot but for a person that does not eat breakfast it is a lot of food.

The funny thing is that a couple of hours later I am STARVING!! Has my metabolism really jump started that quick?

It almost does not feel normal. By 9 AM I am already looking around for something to eat. The thing is that since I just started WW, we have not had the chance to go grocery shopping so I have not been able to get snack foods. Luckily one of my co-workers brought me a huge bag of grapes and every time I feel hungry I eat a cup of grapes. At least I am fulfilling the fruits and veggies requirement that WW has.

I will definitely be buying snacks to keep at work for when I get hunger attacks.

As for the required foods that I must eat daily. So far the only trouble I am having is fulfilling the amount of dairy servings that I have to get in. I am going to have to buy some calcium supplements to help out in the department. The funny thing is that I thought that I would have difficulty with the water requirement but I have been doing fantastic on that.

Well, tomorrow is the day that I go in for my first meeting and weigh in. I am excited it is the official first day to a healthier me, though I started on this journey a few days ago.

Wish me luck and I will give an update tomorrow.

~S

My heart is super happy

OK, for some reason, today feels like the greatest day. I feel really good and healthy. I lost 1.6 at my meeting yesterday. I walked to work in record time (I was 20 minutes early!) We’re going to the Casino for lunch (hope that doesn’t ruin my mood! haha!) Off to the Penguin game tonight with a cousin we haven’t seen in over a year. Party tomorrow. Party Sunday. Whatever. My life is so great today.

Now the hard part will be keeping my food intake in check while attending all of these fun things. I’m going at it with a plan, that I hope I can stick to. I will eat an apple or some other light snack before all functions. I will not sit anywhere near chips. I will not eat a single chip, period (that would lead to a downward spiral.) I will take small portions of the things that I really want. I will count everything.

Any other tips are much appreciated.

Days 592 to 605 - Eat Clean, Run Hard

That’s going to be my motto for the next week.  I’m off to Cornwall with some friends for a week of relaxation by the sea.  I’ve been counting the days until this holiday for about three months, no lie!

The people I’m going with are some of my oldest friends and it’s fair to say that we’re known for partying quite hard (even though none of us are spring chickens any more).  This week could be an opportunity to sit on my arse, drink more red wine than most people consume in a month and feed myself with comfort food.  You know how it is … half an hour walking by the sea and suddenly you convince yourself that you have the appetite of ten men and start ordering extra portions of chips.  That would be disastrous.

I also have zero excuse for not keeping up the miles (I’m up to a comfortable 6 miles at the moment).  If I can run around London, breathing delicious lungfuls of exhaust fumes and other people’s fag smoke, then I can sure as hell run in the beautiful surroundings of the Cornish coast.  In fact, it will be a pleasure.  The only drawback will be dragging myself out of bed while everyone around me sleeps off the effects of the previous night’s dinner and beer.

Training in general is still going really well.  I’m well and truly in the swing of it, despite the minor setback of a bug over the last week (thankfully not the dreaded swine flu) that kept me separated from my trainers for a few days.  I’m intending to go out tonight for a decent 4 miles to get me back on track.

So keep them crossed that I don’t succumb to temptation and turn into a couch potato.  I hope to come back with tales of beautiful clifftop runs and healthy living!

The Journey Of Weight Loss - Week 1

This is the first week of my 10 week sharing series. In my last article, I wrote about “Getting the Last Few Pounds Off”. The last week mostly was taken up with organizing myself. I now have an exercise schedule to follow and have started with some cardio. Actually, I did 1 session of cardio last week and have done 3 this week so far. Definitely not enough but I am glad I have started. Diet has been good and meals have been prepared at home. I have consciously reduced the portions as well. Although, I have not noticed any difference, the confidence is there that with more improvements and adjustments, I will start shedding the pounds.

Let me share a little about my goals. When I delivered my second child at the end of 2007, I was more than a little overweight. Since then I have lost 10 kilos or 22 pounds. Overall, in inches I probably lost about 20 all over. However, I have stopped there and just maintained myself at that weight. My initial goal at the end of 2007 was to lose 15 kilograms or about 33 pounds and an additional 5 inches. This is where I am headed now. I plan to lose the 11 pounds over 10 weeks, which is in with the healthy weight loss range.

For sure, many changes can be and will be done. I am happy that I have taken this first step toward my goal and made myself accountable to everyone.

Thank you very much to those who posted comments to my previous article and I will definitely take your suggestions and tips into consideration.

Below are my pictures taken May 2008 and July 2009 respectively.

Jasvin - Before and After

Tags: diet, exercise, goals, journey of weight loss, motivation, pounds, weight loss, before after

Yoga and Weight Loss

flikr::Eric Lon

Great news for all the yoginis out there! The Journal of the American Dietetic Association recently published a study which found that yoga is linked with more eating awareness, leading to less weight gain.  Practicing yoga leads to healthier eating habits because mindfulness is such a major component of yoga.

The study collected data from people who practiced yoga more than one hour per week, people who walked for at least 90 minutes per week, and people who got more than 90 minutes of moderate to strenuous activity per week.

The findings:  People who ate mindfully (meaning, those who were conscious of their reasons for eating and who stopped eating when full) had a lower body mass than people who ate mindlessly in response to sadness, stress, or when they were not hungry.

The yoga practitioners scored highest on a Mindful Eating Questionnaire.  Engaging in the other activities (walking, strenuous activity) was not associated with mindful eating.  Som in sum, yoga can = mindful eating = weight loss!

This is definitely motivation to pick up my yoga practice again! I used to go 3-4x/week and now I’m lucky if I make it to one class.  The focus on the breath and mindfulness that is associated with yoga is my favorite part and it carries over into the rest of my day. If you spend your time in the gym on the treadmill or cardio classes, try a yoga class. It’s a wonderful complement to your existing routine (runners swear by it for their tight leg muscles)

But remember, while yoga is wonderful for your body, mind, and spirit, don’t neglect other forms of exercise, such as cardio and strength training. A combination of all 3 is ideal!

You can call me sick!

So my intention was to blog everyday… and then I woke up sick on Thursday and have been in bed since then.  Today I made it through my first day back at work only to come home and find my brand new scale awaiting my return.  For a bathroom scale about to deliver my doom, it is very sleek and fancy looking.  Not your average spin around a circle scale.  Anyway… enough about the glass scale.  So big news… emphasis on the BIG.  My weigh in comes to 414.8 lbs.  At this point I am just done.  I am done with being this big.  I am done with living like this.  And I am really done with hating myself.  I am determined that I am going to stick to my diet regardless of this set back.

I had orginially wanted to lose 200 lbs however that was back when I thought I only weighed 378… so now my plan is to lose 230 lbs.   I have been on nutrisystem now for a week… but like I said before I have been sick so I didn’t eat for a few days.  I am back to eating and sticking to my plan.  I am eating between 1200-1300 calories a day and drinking tons of water.

Tonight I am excited because Biggest Loser is on. I can’t wait to watch and get some additional motivation.  More to come… I promise.

Peace out!

Who am I?

Who am I?  I am Patricia Gustafson, 36 years old.   I am a wife, daughter, and sister.  I am a mom to a crazy dog named Zeus.  I am too much at times and not enough at other times.  I am beginning another weight loss journey and have decided to share it with the world.

I am a strong-willed, hard-headed, stubborn woman.  When I put my mind to something, I can accomplish anything.  The one thing I can’t figure out is my weight.  I have been struggling with my weight most of my life.  I come from fat stock and I need to change that.  For me.

Today is my someday.  Someday I will eat healthy.  Someday I will exercise.  Someday I will figure it all out.  Someday I will do it for all the right reasons.  Someday I will take care of me.  Today is my someday.

I plan to write about my ups and downs, successes and failures.  I will clue you in on my goals and achievements.  Post before and afters. 

Come join me… this could be a bumpy ride. xoxo