This week marks my first period off the birth control. So far, not so bad. It started earlier than usual (Monday instead of Wednesday) so I'm hoping that means it will end earlier too! the cramps have been minimal, the bloating has been minimal, the cravings have been non-existent. The fatigue is still there but I have definitely had worse and I'm having some lower back pain today. I've been doing intermittent fasting all week and it's been pretty damn easy. I think it is also preventing me from eating ice cream just because I feel like my period justifies it. So I'm happy to report that things are going swimmingly. The first week off the meds was hard but now I'm feeling pretty good! Let's hope this trend continues.
In other news, I have two weeks left working with Jeremiah and I'm kind of sad about it. The Tough Mudder group started training together yesterday and it looks like they aren't going to work me as hard as Jeremiah did so I will probably need to still do stuff on my own which is fine.
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Life after BC
So I guess this is ABC now... After Birth Control, that is. I took my last pill on Saturday, today is Tuesday. So far I'm feeling pretty okay and haven't experienced any kind of slump.
Last week, Jeremiah was sick with some sort of stomach bug he got from a client so we didn't have our usual session. I still went in and worked out though maybe not as hard as I could have. I was also on my period so I cut myself a little bit of slack. But I went in on Saturday and did a good, hard workout (thank you Oyster Fest for the totally empty gym!) and then took my ass to run around Sequoia Park for about an hour. I was testing out my new outdoor training shoes and man, they are fantastic! Really comfortable, the fit is great, they're really light, and the grips on the tread are excellent. When I found one section of trail had someone camping in it, I didn't really want to run through there and I was easily able to hoof it up a steep hill and under a log to catch a different part of the trail. I'm not a zippy person, but I felt zippy in these shoes.
I've decided that fasting is probably not a great idea the week of my period. I had a headache most of the week. Now I know. I'm not fasting this week because it is book club and I also don't want to change too many things going on in my body at once.
I haven't lost any weight but I have noticed some changes in my body. I feel stronger. I have a less jowly face, my body feels stronger, and it just generally feels less in my way when I'm doing things. I am liking how I feel and I have been enjoying my workouts which is a thing I didn't think I'd ever say.
The Tough Mudder team starts training together July 10th. I put in my termination of my personal trainer contract yesterday so I'll finish with Jeremiah about the time we get started. There will be some overlap but Jeremiah is aware of my plan so he's planning on throwing all sorts of new stuff at me that I can take with me after we stop seeing each other. I love his enthusiasm. I got a one-piece bathing suit this weekend so I can start thinking about getting into the pool with Chris at the gym. I don't know if I will swim per say but I can be one of those old ladies who jogs in the pool. We'll see.
Last week, Jeremiah was sick with some sort of stomach bug he got from a client so we didn't have our usual session. I still went in and worked out though maybe not as hard as I could have. I was also on my period so I cut myself a little bit of slack. But I went in on Saturday and did a good, hard workout (thank you Oyster Fest for the totally empty gym!) and then took my ass to run around Sequoia Park for about an hour. I was testing out my new outdoor training shoes and man, they are fantastic! Really comfortable, the fit is great, they're really light, and the grips on the tread are excellent. When I found one section of trail had someone camping in it, I didn't really want to run through there and I was easily able to hoof it up a steep hill and under a log to catch a different part of the trail. I'm not a zippy person, but I felt zippy in these shoes.
I've decided that fasting is probably not a great idea the week of my period. I had a headache most of the week. Now I know. I'm not fasting this week because it is book club and I also don't want to change too many things going on in my body at once.
I haven't lost any weight but I have noticed some changes in my body. I feel stronger. I have a less jowly face, my body feels stronger, and it just generally feels less in my way when I'm doing things. I am liking how I feel and I have been enjoying my workouts which is a thing I didn't think I'd ever say.
The Tough Mudder team starts training together July 10th. I put in my termination of my personal trainer contract yesterday so I'll finish with Jeremiah about the time we get started. There will be some overlap but Jeremiah is aware of my plan so he's planning on throwing all sorts of new stuff at me that I can take with me after we stop seeing each other. I love his enthusiasm. I got a one-piece bathing suit this weekend so I can start thinking about getting into the pool with Chris at the gym. I don't know if I will swim per say but I can be one of those old ladies who jogs in the pool. We'll see.
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Check In
Personal training sessions have been going really well. I haven't lost any weight but I feel stronger and my body is less in my way during yoga.
Last week I said to Jeremiah, "I am fine with what I am, I just don't know WHEN to eat, especially in relation to my workouts!" This was apparently a really good question! He told me about intermittent fasting which is eating normally eight hours of the day, and then fasting for 16. I did a bit of research about it and asked around. It turns out lots of people I know do this sort of dieting!
Yesterday was the first day of my fast. I'm eating normally from 7:30 - 3:30 so that's breakfast, lunch, and maybe a snack. For now, I'm only going to do it during the week because I think weekends are going to be too hard to coordinate. The set schedule of the work week is much easier. Jeremiah said that going on and off this eating regimen is not a big deal and you don't need to be super strict about it to have results.
This morning when I woke up I felt like a garbage person but I think that has more to do with how I slept than how I ate. Once I got woken up, I felt better and I was actually already down a pound.
The difficult thing will be making sure I bring enough food for lunch. That actually takes planning and effort. I'm optimistic!
Current Stats:
Age: 30
weight: 163
1/5 weeks of birth control left.
Feeling strong.
Last week I said to Jeremiah, "I am fine with what I am, I just don't know WHEN to eat, especially in relation to my workouts!" This was apparently a really good question! He told me about intermittent fasting which is eating normally eight hours of the day, and then fasting for 16. I did a bit of research about it and asked around. It turns out lots of people I know do this sort of dieting!
Yesterday was the first day of my fast. I'm eating normally from 7:30 - 3:30 so that's breakfast, lunch, and maybe a snack. For now, I'm only going to do it during the week because I think weekends are going to be too hard to coordinate. The set schedule of the work week is much easier. Jeremiah said that going on and off this eating regimen is not a big deal and you don't need to be super strict about it to have results.
This morning when I woke up I felt like a garbage person but I think that has more to do with how I slept than how I ate. Once I got woken up, I felt better and I was actually already down a pound.
The difficult thing will be making sure I bring enough food for lunch. That actually takes planning and effort. I'm optimistic!
Current Stats:
Age: 30
weight: 163
1/5 weeks of birth control left.
Feeling strong.
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Week 2
I didn't weigh myself this week because I think it is counter-productive to weigh yourself the week of your period.
Yesterday was my second session with Jeremiah. I don't think I will ever have the courage to ask him if he is a bullfrog. My fear is that he will either not understand the reference at all, or it will be something that has haunted him his entire life. So I'm not going to do it.
Yesterday we did a different workout than we did last week. This was focused on my core for the most part with some arms and some legs. I think Jeremiah's main goal was just for me to be mostly out of breath the whole time. To the point where I was getting a little light-headed but I didn't pass out or throw up. He works me really hard and man does he enjoy it!
Today I am less sore than I was last week but I know that is mostly due to working different things. My plan for the week is to work out tonight, tomorrow is book club, go to yoga on Friday, and then I'll be weed whacking the empty neighbor's lot so that will be a workout.
Yesterday was my second session with Jeremiah. I don't think I will ever have the courage to ask him if he is a bullfrog. My fear is that he will either not understand the reference at all, or it will be something that has haunted him his entire life. So I'm not going to do it.
Yesterday we did a different workout than we did last week. This was focused on my core for the most part with some arms and some legs. I think Jeremiah's main goal was just for me to be mostly out of breath the whole time. To the point where I was getting a little light-headed but I didn't pass out or throw up. He works me really hard and man does he enjoy it!
Today I am less sore than I was last week but I know that is mostly due to working different things. My plan for the week is to work out tonight, tomorrow is book club, go to yoga on Friday, and then I'll be weed whacking the empty neighbor's lot so that will be a workout.
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Tuesday, May 9, 2017
First Session
Yesterday afternoon I met with Jeremiah, my personal trainer, for the first time. I did not have the guts to ask him if he's a bullfrog or if he had an excess of wine. Honestly, I don't think he'd understand that reference. He's a really nice guy so I don't want to get weird on him.
Yesterday was the evaluation day so he basically ran me through a bunch of different stuff to see what level I'm at. He could then check my form, make corrections, and decide what he's going to make me do. I admitted that I'm not in good shape, I don't run, and I have a job where I sit a lot. I told him all of my goals and he was really receptive. I think he appreciates that I have a clear goal in mind and that I didn't back down from anything he threw at me.
He absolutely kicked my butt yesterday. Actually, it wasn't central to the butt. It was a whole-body experience. I need to build up strength in my arms and core and he had me do somewhere around 50 pushups in various positions and at least 30 pull ups. Plus lunges, squats, box squats, box squats with weights, plus a couple of the gym machines. I appreciate that he walked me through everything in a way that made sense but wasn't condescending at all which is nice. I didn't complain and I only swore once (and it wasn't even AT him... it was at the stairmaster) and he got this glint in his eye and an evil grin when he realized he can thoroughly kick my ass and I'll just... let him. He said that he's going to make an exercise plan that he'll keep in the file cabinet at the gym so when I come back during the week, I can go through the stuff he wants me to. I'll do Mondays with him, Tuesdays and Thursday for sure, and Wednesday when I am able.
Today I am sore but it's a good sore. It's a sore that tells me I worked for it which I really like. My arms are mostly okay but my upper-arm and armpit area is pretty sore. The tops of my thighs and my glutes are really sore. The in-between motions for standing up and sitting down are a bit intense. Going up the stairs is a little rough but going down is terrible. Of course, the universe has found reasons for me to go up and down the stairs at least four or five times now. So that's great. I'm hoping to get a before picture so I can do some comparing later on.
This is going to be really hard but I'm looking forward to it.
Yesterday was the evaluation day so he basically ran me through a bunch of different stuff to see what level I'm at. He could then check my form, make corrections, and decide what he's going to make me do. I admitted that I'm not in good shape, I don't run, and I have a job where I sit a lot. I told him all of my goals and he was really receptive. I think he appreciates that I have a clear goal in mind and that I didn't back down from anything he threw at me.
He absolutely kicked my butt yesterday. Actually, it wasn't central to the butt. It was a whole-body experience. I need to build up strength in my arms and core and he had me do somewhere around 50 pushups in various positions and at least 30 pull ups. Plus lunges, squats, box squats, box squats with weights, plus a couple of the gym machines. I appreciate that he walked me through everything in a way that made sense but wasn't condescending at all which is nice. I didn't complain and I only swore once (and it wasn't even AT him... it was at the stairmaster) and he got this glint in his eye and an evil grin when he realized he can thoroughly kick my ass and I'll just... let him. He said that he's going to make an exercise plan that he'll keep in the file cabinet at the gym so when I come back during the week, I can go through the stuff he wants me to. I'll do Mondays with him, Tuesdays and Thursday for sure, and Wednesday when I am able.
Today I am sore but it's a good sore. It's a sore that tells me I worked for it which I really like. My arms are mostly okay but my upper-arm and armpit area is pretty sore. The tops of my thighs and my glutes are really sore. The in-between motions for standing up and sitting down are a bit intense. Going up the stairs is a little rough but going down is terrible. Of course, the universe has found reasons for me to go up and down the stairs at least four or five times now. So that's great. I'm hoping to get a before picture so I can do some comparing later on.
This is going to be really hard but I'm looking forward to it.
Monday, May 8, 2017
The First Step
The first step in any journey is never actually the first step. There is always something before it and it is often hard to pinpoint where something actually began. This year I decided that I want to try doing things outside my comfort zone to better myself. I started actually going to the gym twice a week like I said I would and I signed up for a half Tough Mudder with a group from work. I am out of shape. I have been for awhile and working as a receptionist is not helping. But I don't know what to do to fix things. One of the yoga teachers I like is on maternity leave and I really don't like her replacement so I stopped going to Tuesday night yoga and I find the bottom floor of the gym to be really intimidating. So I took the next step and I hired a personal trainer. His name is Jeremiah. It will take every once of my self-control to not sing "Joy to the World," to him. We're working together every Monday for an hour. Last week I finally got Chris back in the pool so he's committed to going Tuesday and Thursday. So I'll do whatever Jeremiah says to do on Tuesday, do my regular yoga class on Thursday and then play it by ear for the rest of the week. I don't know what he is going to expect of me and how much I'll need to go in to the gym the rest of the week but this is a learning experience.
Right now the plan is to work with him for two months and then in July the Tough Mudder team will start training together with Pamela. Hopefully by that time I will have a little bit of a routine down and I'll be okay to be on my own with my own work outs. I'm pretty sure the Mudder team is going to do our training in the morning so that means I could still go to the gym after work. That's really ambitious right now but I have to see where this takes me.
Today I weighed in at 162 pounds
My goal weight is 140 pounds
The Tough Mudder is 24 weeks away.
The other big change is that I am going off my birth control pills for the first time since I originally went on them.
I have 6 weeks left of pills.
I plan to use condoms until July 2018. If we can get pregnant between July and September, we'll have a spring baby.
In July of 2018, we're going to start trying to get pregnant.
So this is my plan. These are my hopes and dreams for the next two years. I know a lot of things are not going to go according to plan but this is why I made this blog. I want to track my progress. I want to track my emotions and my stability throughout this entire process. Since I haven't been off my birth control for any significant amount of time in my adult life, I don't know how my body will react.
Today I feel optimistic, even tempered, and calm. I'm feeling a little chubby but I think I look cute today. I am excited and nervous about my first session with Jeremiah.
Here goes everything...
Right now the plan is to work with him for two months and then in July the Tough Mudder team will start training together with Pamela. Hopefully by that time I will have a little bit of a routine down and I'll be okay to be on my own with my own work outs. I'm pretty sure the Mudder team is going to do our training in the morning so that means I could still go to the gym after work. That's really ambitious right now but I have to see where this takes me.
Today I weighed in at 162 pounds
My goal weight is 140 pounds
The Tough Mudder is 24 weeks away.
The other big change is that I am going off my birth control pills for the first time since I originally went on them.
I have 6 weeks left of pills.
I plan to use condoms until July 2018. If we can get pregnant between July and September, we'll have a spring baby.
In July of 2018, we're going to start trying to get pregnant.
So this is my plan. These are my hopes and dreams for the next two years. I know a lot of things are not going to go according to plan but this is why I made this blog. I want to track my progress. I want to track my emotions and my stability throughout this entire process. Since I haven't been off my birth control for any significant amount of time in my adult life, I don't know how my body will react.
Today I feel optimistic, even tempered, and calm. I'm feeling a little chubby but I think I look cute today. I am excited and nervous about my first session with Jeremiah.
Here goes everything...
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)