Tag Archives: calories

04/29/2012
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UPDATE Week 7 (confessions of a large person)

So officially I start week 7 of this project and I wanted to do an update (I’m writing this during my 3 minute bag session breaks at home!)  I’m officially down 30lbs, but I’ll get to that later.

A couple days ago I started realizing a few minor things that have changed in this 6 week time period, which to me is amazing b/c these things were a result of the way I’ve lived for 27+ years.

To be totally honest, these are very embarrassing things to admit, but I feel as if some people don’t fully understand how bad it is to be unhealthy and overweight.  If you are going through these same issues, I hope that you’re aware of them and I hope you feel just as bad about letting things get to this point as I do. Then maybe you’ll realize you need change…

1.  I no long breath heavy after walking up the stairs to get to my condo from the parking garage.
2. Yesterday I was getting ready for a wedding and after putting on a couple layers and a tie, I typically would have started sweating, in fact, I typically would start sweating no matter what I was doing or where I was going.  Even if I got in a really long winded discussion, I would start to get a little warm and short of breath.  In fact, I didn’t sweat at all yesterday and I realize that I haven’t been doing that as of recently anyways.
3. I’m not breathing heavy in general, I use to take these really deep “sighing” type breaths and I’m no longer doing that.  I’ve become very aware of the breaths I take and I’m making sure to breath properly, not only in the gym but just through out the day.
Additional note: I’ve also started breathing through my nose more so than through my mouth….the way we should be breathing!
4.  I can put on shoes and socks with out struggling.  This one is by far the most embarrassing thing to admit…it use to be extremely uncomfortable to tie my shoes or even put them on.
5. There are A LOT of people out there really trying to get healthier and I love it…I’ve been meeting more people and getting to share my experiences thus far.

To me, the biggest thing is the sweating, it was always publicly visible and something you can’t hide.  I think getting ready yesterday made me realize it the most, but it hasn’t happened at all and I’m not sure when that stopped.

As hard as it is to admit these daily struggles, I have no problem doing so because I am conquering them and I now know what I will never go back to.  The only place I’m sweating these days is the gym and outside when I’m active….or hopefully when I’m relaxing outside during a beautiful chicago summer day.

Most importantly, I want people to know that they aren’t alone with some of the things they go through.  But it doesn’t have to be that way.  I know it’s not a good feeling inside and it tears you apart as a person.  But you ARE better than that and you can easily change this.  I’ve done it in 6 weeks with hard work and dedication. I’m not near where I want to be yet, but the changes are showing.

On another note, I did attend a family wedding as I stated and the last time everyone saw me was Christmas.  I didn’t actually start this journey until march 22nd.  To be brutally honest, I’m not happy with the results yet, but that’s not dragging me down…it is only pushing me harder.  I do look in the mirror often and I’m wishing for more, but at the same time…I’ve lost 30lbs in 6 weeks.  It’s just harder to see the results when you look at yourself every day.

But to my surprise a few of my cousins pulled me aside and told me they can notice a big difference and I can tell it wasn’t just a “you look good compliment”.  I can tell now that probably everyone in my family was worried about me but no one really said anything.  It’s a tough subject when you’re family and I can respect that.  But they support me now and that’s all that matters.  I was also extremely shocked when a couple made sure I wasn’t drinking….considering my family very much knows how to party!  A night like last night made me realize more what an amazing family I’m a part of.  Unfortunately I didn’t do any dancing mainly b/c I was dead tired from my 630am work out and it was a leg work out…but for the record I’m an amazing dancing, this cannot be denied.

I did mention how I’m not completely happy with the results and because of this I’m really committing myself over these next 6 months, that means no going out, no drinking…just focusing on my diet, working out, and getting treatments.  I really hope if anyone wants to hang we can put in a good work out together and learn from each other or spend some time outside doing something active.   This is just something I need to do to get right and get where I want to be.  I know I’m going to hit a wall soon, but I want to be prepared for that.

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04/28/2012
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Cardio vs. Weight Training

I think I was one to fall for the idea that if I wanted to really lose weight that I’d have to do a lot of cardio but the more research I do, the more I learn that working out with weights is actually the better route to go.  Below is what I thought was a well written snippet of info on the two.  It makes sense, but I also feel that you can’t cardio  out of your work out and that you can vary up the things you do so that your body does become accustomed to the same routine. Whether it be working on an incline, changing up the surfaces you work out on, switching it up between running, jogging, sprinting, walking, biking, etc.

I’ve recently decided that I’m going to workout twice a week on certain days and mix up my cardio with a multitude of things including hitting the bag.  I feel this is something I can do at night b/c the benefits of weight training in the morning are superior to getting my body going for the day and essential burning more calories while at rest.  Read the below bit, hopefully it gives you some insight as well:

“When it comes to burning off fat, weights have an edge over cardio.

There’s a common misperception that resistance training can’t work your cardiovascular system, but ask anyone who’s ever performed a 20-rep set of squats if his heart rate is elevated. It will be.

Technically speaking, anything that elevates your heart rate is “cardio.” Traditional steady-state cardio (think running a 5K, using the elliptical machine, or doing step aerobics) can be beneficial in terms of fat loss — at least for a while. But your body adapts to any stress placed on it. Over time, the work required to, say, run a 5K will decrease as your fitness improves. Diminishing returns kicks in. What once took 20 minutes to burn X number of calories will take 30 minutes, and then 40 minutes and so on.

With weights, on the other hand, you can stave off this effect by varying your exercises to keep your body guessing. You can change things up by adding resistance, decreasing rest time, increasing the number of reps you do or changing the order of your exercises. All of these things prevent your body from hitting a plateau, boosting your ability to burn fat.

Lifting weights also increases your lean muscle mass, which further increases metabolism at rest. That means you’ll be burning more calories throughout the day.”

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04/22/2012
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A Shift in the World

The more  I immerse myself in to the world of healthy living, the more I’m seeing people make changes in their life.  I feel like there’s a shift in the air lately, I don’t know if it’s b/c I myself am focusing more on health and nutrition, but I see it.  It might be like when you buy a new car and then all the sudden you start seeing that car all over the roads, I don’t know….

In reality, I’m hoping people are starting to see the world for what it is.  I want to make this very clear, I love this country, but I’ve had the luxury of visiting other countries and as amazing as their culture is, their government does not allow them the freedoms we have.  While there are things I loved about Europe, I’ve never walked through the streets of Chicago and walked past military personal strapped with an automatic weapon (this happened in Rome). That’s something I wouldn’t be comfortable with….

But I have no desire to talk politics, it’s a never ending debate, just like religion.

I’ve never had more friends or people in my life that are working out and eating healthier and trying to improve themselves, but I feel as though maybe I’ve become slightly obsessed with the way the human body works.  I am not a fan of people pushing their beliefs or ways on to others unless they ask for help or my opinion but I’m also having issues standing by and having this feeling that people are mistreating their body.

I don’t know if what I’m doing is perfect or right for you, but so far it’s working for me, from my lifestyle to my eating habits it is clicking.

My friend who introduced me to a lot of truth of the world has always talked about how she doesn’t have many people to share these thoughts with because the world is “brainwashed”.  I’m starting to understand where she comes from when she discusses this, I feel like my genuine excitement about the things I’m learning has become a negative to some people.

The simple fact is, is that humans were built to work a certain way.  Our bodies work the same way as those of people from 1000 years ago.  We have not adapted or changed based on the new ways that we live in this current world, technology has changed, but not us.  Our body was made to burn Protein and Fat, not sugars and carbs.  We were not built to consume food that has a laundry list of chemicals in it.  Our bodies were built to take in nutrient enriched foods and natural proteins.  If we feed our body on a cellular level, I am convinced there is no disease that our body can’t naturally cure.

The human body is an amazing thing and I feel we suppress our full potential because of the things we put in to our bodies, whether it’s our choice or not. For example, they put fluoride in our water (they also use to make use take fluoride in school) but fluoride is not something that gives us healthier teeth or a brighter smile. Fluoride is used as an insecticide and a roach killer and has been shown by studies to effect children’s IQ as well as lead exposure, iodine exposure, parental education and income status.  Studies have also shown that fluoride in adults can result in central nervous system disturbances.  This is just a small example of how we are sold and marketed things that claim to have a positive effect, when in fact they have many negative impacts.  With this example you could pose the question, is our government trying to dumb us down?   I’m not going to get all Mel Gibson, but it’s a plausible question. (this example is thanks to Maddy).

It’s pretty simple, the disease ridden cells (bad cells) in our body feed off of the bad toxins such as sugar and carbs, amongst the alcohol and tobacco we put in our body.  We all have these cells, it’s just a matter of  something triggering them. If you cut those things out and don’t put them in your body, those cells have nothing to thrive off of.  Your body naturally wants to burn calories and fat for energy, clear out your system and do what your body was meant to do and you’ll feel a million times better as well as drastically lower your risk for diseases.   That’s just my simple theory and a quick outline of what I’m trying to accomplish on a certain level with my internal makeup.  Until today I have pretty much only put in about 5 grams of sugar a day and virtually no carbs except for what I’m getting from certain greens.  This is allowing my body to get back to it’s natural energy burning ways where I can focus on burning the calories I take in daily as well as excess fat on my body.

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