Monday, May 28, 2007

Carbs Carbs and More Carbs

I hope that everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. Mine was ok. I went to the christening of my friend's baby, which was fun. She and I have known each other for most of our lives, over 20 years. We recently reconnected after about 3-5 years of disconnection, which I'm very happy about. So her son is like family to me. Actually, even better, cuz I don't even speak to most of my immediate family! He's adorable, and I was glad to be a part of his celebration. As expected, the food was good, so the scale was 'up a little honey' this morning. Also expected. I really indulged, ate pretty much what I wanted to - dessert, soda and wine cooler included. I also went out to eat twice - Friday and Saturday, so my Sunday weigh-in was also 'up a little honey'. Not too bad (.6), but still - can't wear my new sneakers yet! And I was SO tempted earlier - I had them on, laced up and everything, but I took them off. Delayed gratification - woo hoo! Today I had Costa Rican food - plaintains (yum) and rice & beans - can we just say, carb city? I haven't decided what my new nutrition regimen will be. I'm supposed to cycle my carbs/calories - 3 or 4 days of 1600 calories (20% carbs, 50% protein, 30% fat), and 1 day of 2000 calories (50% carbs, 30% protein, 20% fat). My 40/30/30 has been working pretty well, so I don't know if I wanna switch it up. Truth be told, I don't like doing a lot of complicated sh*t. I'm a simple girl. I will have to really do some calculating and figuring out exactly what I can eat ahead of time in order to make that work, and I don't know if I'm willing to do that, because I don't know if it will work for me or not.

I did make it to the gym, which was surprisingly crowded. I started week 9 of afterburn, so I had to do a new set of exercises in a crowded weight room. Not fun. Some new stuff - dynamic lunges (I'm supposed to drive myself off the ground. Right), a barbell military press (behind my back), chin ups, a single-leg, stiff-legged deadlift (can we just say I felt the burn bigtime). It was cool though, it will be nice to see how I progress. I also will be doing weights 4 times/week instead of 3, and doing 25 minutes of cardio instead of 22. I switched to the bike for my cardio, and I lowered my intensity to keep my heart rate in the proper zones. I think before I was pushing myself too hard and not recovering enough, defeating the purpose of this type of cardio training. So we'll see if letting myself slow down to recover will be more beneficial. Love my heart rate monitor! I wonder sometimes what this program is really doing for me, or what I'm doing for it. I need to tally up my measurements and see how much muscle I've really gained. The first month I didn't lose any weight, although my measurements went down. So far in May I only lost about 3 pounds, which is not great, but at this point my expectation is a pound per week. I do see some differences in my body - my arms are smaller, my thighs are definitely smaller, my stomach is smaller. I guess I'm just smaller overall. I can also see definition in my arms and shoulders that wasn't there before, which is nice.

I was watching Celebrity Fit Club last night, and it's funny because Kimberly Locke is taller than me and weighs less than me, but I am smaller than her. I will have to assume that's because I have more muscle than she does, cuz our builds are not too different. Interesting. I am a little scared that I will lose 15 more pounds and still be paunchy and have fat arms. I'm starting grad school in September, so my goal was to be finished losing weight by then so I don't have to worry about that on top of doing well in school. I just don't want to get a new wardrobe now, to have to buy another one in a year. The dough is not rolling like that! I am actually taking a class starting Thursday, which will force me to get up earlier than I normally do on Thursdays, but I better get used to it. Once I start school I know pretty much every day is going to be an early day! Gotta get my mind right, cuz I WILL get good grads and maintain/improve the body I am working hard for. No ifs, ands, buts or maybes.

4 comments:

Marcol said...

Congrats on entering a new phase in your life, Grad School! Just as youve managed to be successful in your weight loss youll do that and more in your studies, I have no doubt. Your new routine sounds like BIG fun, NOT. I'll look to hear all about it. Since you put off wearing the sneakers Im sure this week youll be stepping it up hard to wear them. Youll hit the numbers youre looking for, no doubt here. And umm BTW Kimberly Locke has nothing on you.

Rebecca said...

Awe, thanks - I'm blushing. And thanks for the encouraging words. Sure you don't want to join me in my new routine? ;) I don't blame you, I'm a bit sore today. Enjoy your day!

Rob Tucker said...

I'm not someone who likes to plan out what I eat and be all confusing about it either, but it really helps to plan out your days. Even if you just get an idea in your head and shoot for it, you'll see that you get more organized as you go. Keep it up - and when you said plantains, I got hungry. Thanks :P

Rebecca said...

I actually am a planner (although I'm messy - go figure). I do get overwhelmed sometimes by all the numbers and percentages. I find that tracking my food on sparkpeople helps A LOT. But I agree - planning is one of the most important components to successful weight loss. Sorry for making you hungry Rob. The plantains were good though! :)