What a Day.

Man, I am having a yicky day. Let me count the ways:

1. I awoke at 5:15 am for no good reason for the SECOND day in a row. Result: I am exhausted. And I do not function well exhausted.
2. I am unsatisfied at my job currently. Result: Stress. Frustration.
3. I had an epiphany Sunday morning. TEAM ended at 7pm on friday and the new session began at 6pm today. So, between those two times, I gave myself cheat permission. Beginning Sunday morning I ate extra potatoes and breakfast sausage. Went to Mexican for dinner--chicken enchilada, chicken burrito, rice AND beans. It has also been two soda days (Diet Coke). Today I had a grande Chai Latte AND a grande hot chocolate, a crispy chicken sandwaich with cheese and mayonnaise for lunch and a bag of skittles (well, half a bag--then I hit my limit)! Result: Where I do not feel too sick as I would have thought, I am sure it is affecting my mood and energy level.

Plus sides? I had a great complain session with my friend, Nelly! Thanks, friend! I needed it! I then proceeded to go to Amanda's and do it again! Thank YOU, Amanda!!!

Having said all of that, I have lost a pound since Friday! WHAT?!?! I know! 27 total.

The new TEAM started today and where I am still on a 1600 calorie per day plan, the breakdown has changed drastically. It went from:

6 Starches
8 Proteins
6 Vegetables
4 Fruits
2 Milks
9 Fats

To:

6 Starches
14 Proteins
4 Vegetables
3 Fruits
2 Milks
7 Fats

I am worried about fitting in all that protein, so I may get some whey protein to mix in with my yogurt. Any suggestions??? I am happy about the reduced fruits and veggies. Hitting those goals was rough!

Finally, to clarify, my post about my totals goals discussion with Zak the Trainer was apparently quite unclear. I have received many questions. I want to lose 100 pounds. Zak the Trainer says that 167 pounds is a healthy final weight. I do not accept that. Still pondering...

Baltimore Women's Classic!

Today was the Baltimore Women's Classic! I had a great time running/walking with lots of friends! Also, it's been 3 years (today!) since my friend Crystal was diagnosed with breast cancer, so we celebrated her with matching t-shirts. The website photo guy took tons of pictures of her in her "Survivor" shirt and us in our "Supporter" shirts, so maybe we'll make the webpage!!! Will post if we do...for now, here are some amateur photos:


The group! (Back Row L to R) Mary-Theresa, Crystal, Me!, Jen, Andrea; (Front Row L to R) Stephanie, Julie and Leah!

Crystal, me and Jen!


The group (sans Leah who was powdering her nose) after the race, at the finish line!

It's Over!

T.E.A.M. Weight Loss has ended (only to begin a new session on Monday!). My stats for the 9 weeks and 2 days I participated:

Lost 26 pounds!!!
Lost 3.4% body fat!!!

Yessssssssssss.

Stats for today:

Calories Burned: 433 (Treadmill)/489 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.49
Total Time: 51:16 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 128

And, as a pleasant surprise, Amanda joined me again! FUN! After class we talked to ak the Trainer for a bit. I asked him if my goal of 100 pounds was reasonable. He looked at my lean body mass and gave me some numbers I don't particularly like. He basically said to shoot for something high like 167. I am not satisfied by that. He also said that as I work out more, my lean body mass changes and this number will most likely reduce. Ok... I am sticking with this, but the news has jarred me. At the very least, I will be healthier and feel better. Still pondering this...

In total for the almost 3 months I was in class I have:

+ done cardio on the treadmill 33 times;
+ burned 16,132 calories on the treadmill;
+ walked 74.99 miles on the treadmill;
+ walked for 29 hours and 9 minutes on the treadmill;
+ lifted 9 times;
+ held 75 planks for a total of 1350 seconds;
+ did 180 lunges;
+ lifted 1764 reps of a total of 2115 pounds;
+ swam 7 times; and
+ swam 63 laps!

Phew. I'm tired. Start again Monday...

Bring-a-Friend Day AND Zak's Birthday!

Yesterday (I know, I am a day late--I went straight to the premier of Transformers last night and got home late!) was Bring-a-Friend day at T.E.A.M. and Zak the Trainer's Birthday.

First things first. Zak the Trainer LOVED his T-shirt! YAY! I may have threatened to remove the gold stars at one point...but I got over it...

Second, Amanda came to class with me! It was super fun to have her there for many reasons. First, it was fun to have a buddy there. Also, I am glad someone else knows first-hand what my routine is like. AND she teamed up with me to take the Trader Joe's grocery competition by storm. We won! We won! There was a quiz and we answered the most correct. I feel the need to point out that there was much debate throughout the entire class as to the validity of some questions and a few questions were thrown out entirely. Also, about halfway through I withdrew from the competition due to shenanigans on the part of Zak the Trainer and perhaps pouted a small bit. But Amanda held her own and is enjoying her free groceries!

The stats:

Calories Burned: 602 (Treadmill)/571 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.88
Total Time: 59:54 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 126

I lifted today.

Yeah, that's it. Here's the info:

Held 5 planks for 30 seconds each;
Did 20 lunge and twists (10 regular, 10 with balance added in between);
Balanced on the Bosu ball with both feet for 60 seconds and on each foot for 15 seconds;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Press;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Fly;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 55 pounds on the Lat Pulldown;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 45 pounds on the Two Arm Row;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 10 pounds doing Lat Raises with the 10 lb dumbbells;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 15 pounds on the Shoulder Press; and
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 70 pounds on the Leg Press.

No Seriously, I REALLY ::heart:: Weigh-in Day!

Five. More. Pounds. WHAT?!?! I know, I am a maniac. That brings me to 25. I am EC-STAT-IC. My goal for the first session of T.E.A.M. Weight Loss was 25 pounds--a bit of an ambitious goal, but I went for it....and I achieved it! And class is not officially over until Friday, so maybe I'll lose another one...or two... :) The 2-pounds-a-week goal would have been 18 pounds. Way to go, Me, for 139% success!

Today, Zak the Trainer switched things up. He is really having fun toward the end of this session. I like how things change up...but it can get rough at times. Not too bad though. We started a few minutes late due to the weigh-ins. I think the whole class was only 50 minutes instead of the hour. We spent the first 10-12 minutes warming up. Then we ran at an incline of 2.0 for 5 minutes. After that we left the treadmills and went to the stairmasters. Booooooo. We did the stairs for 8 minutes, then we did the special treadmills (they simulate a track environment, spongier...) for 8 minutes (4 minutes at an incline of 10.0, 4 minutes at 12.0). At this point, we trekked back over to the treadmills to finish the class off with 10 minutes of interval training: fast speeds at inclines varying from 4.0 to 8.0 every minute. I burned 507 calories. Hot.

Zak's Birthday TShirt!

So I made the Tshirt. I, of course, think it is super cute!



And check out the little trainer guy...Love it!


I'll wear it Wednesday (his birthday) and post all about how much he LOVES it. Because he will...

Ten Whole Minutes!

Today was not a scheduled workout day, so I didn't want to do too much. I ended up just doing inclines and speeds on the treadmill. After 13 minutes of varying the inclines to get my heart rate into zone 3, I attempted to run. I was originally gonna go for 2 minutes, then decided to try for 3, then 5, then, heck! why not 10, right? It may not seem big to some people, but I have only run three times since 2006 and they were for 1 minute, 2 minute (intervals) and then 3 minutes. So the fact that I could do ten minutes without working up to it is huge for me. I am MUCH more optimistic about potentially running the entire 10K in October... Here's to hoping!

My Stats:

Calories Burned: 256 (Treadmill)/309 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 1.81
Total Time: 33:00 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 114

Working Out with Friends is the BEST!

As I have learned before, working out with friends is awesome! Today, my friend, Rebecca, from Virginia came up and we worked out. She totally held her own and did my entire strength training routine! Even though I had worked up to it, she busted it out like a pro. Very impressive!!! Then we swam laps in the pool and ended things with some nice relaxing hot tub time.

The strength training routine:

Held 5 planks for 30 seconds each;
Did 20 lunge and twists (10 regular, 10 with balance added in between);
Balanced on the Bosu ball with both feet for 60 seconds and on each foot for 15 seconds;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Press;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Fly;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 55 pounds on the Lat Pulldown;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 45 pounds on the Two Arm Row;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 10 pounds doing Lat Raises with the 10 lb dumbbells;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 15 pounds on the Shoulder Press; and
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 70 pounds on the Leg Press.

Then we swam laps for about 20 minutes. My fast lap improved by 5 seconds, but my average lap improved by only 1 second. Whatever! I will take any improvement!!! :)

Extra Spunky!

Zak the Trainer called me 'Extra Spunky' today. And I was. It's Friday. We had our work picnic today, so I was already in a relaxed state and the sun tires you out, you know? And everyone else, including Zak the Trainer, was tired. Zak the Trainer kept telling us we had to be more talkative and energetic because he needed it. So I was. And today, everybody was laughing. It was really fun. And you know me, I love being the center of attention. ::grin::

Here are my stats:

Calories Burned: 635 (treadmill); 598 (HR)
Total Miles: 2.98
Total Time: 62:41 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: Forgot to take it...

And there's another thing... Soooooooo, for about three weeks now I have been curious about something. You see, for three hours a week, I have nothing to do on the treadmill but look at Zak the Trainer. And as his profession is one of fitness, I am curious as to the muscular make-up of Zak the Trainer. In particular, I am quite curious about his pectorals. Depending on the shirt he wears, he looks cut or flabby. So I have been debating the following options: 1) letting it go (not likely); 2) tripping and falling onto his chest, palms facing out (a la Sam); 3) flat out asking him (my idea); or 4) just walking up, poking his chest, then walking away (a la Steve). Today, at the end of class, I opted for option 3). It went something like this:

Me: Hey, Zak! So, we're close right? Could I ask you something that could potential ruin our trainer-trainee relationship forever by making it very awkward???
ZTT: <look of terror on his face> Okaa-a-a-a-aaay.
Me: So...in class we cannot have headphones and the TVs are so far away, I have a lot of time to stare at you. And I have been pondering how physically fit you are. I mean, don't get me wrong, when you workout with us, I am impressed, so I know you are strong, but like, your chest in particular. I just cannot tell if it is rock hard or if the muscle has a little....padding?
ZTT: <gasps in horror and covers his chest with his arms> I feel so violated!
Me: No! No! it's not like that, I am just curious... <bright red face with innocent smile>
::I should note at this point that our entire class, and another trainer were watching this::
ZTT: <walks over to my treadmill and sticks his chest at me and says...> Go ahead, touch it.
Me: What? No. OKAY! <poke> Hmm, what I expected. (there's some padding, but impressive nonetheless) So, me and some guys at work have been discussing this and well, we had three scenarios. (At this point I outline the trip and fall, the random poke and my chosen method)
ZTT: You should have just come up and poked me.
Me: You'd have been okay with that?!?! Good to know for next time...
::At this point, I zone out of the conversation in embarassment for a few seconds, only to be sucked back in by the following comment::
Melissa (the other trainer): I would have guessed half and half?
Me: What are we talking about? Zak's man boobs? Yeah. That's accurate. They were a bit doughy.
ZTT: <face goes from smiling to sadness> Guess I know where I'll be this weekend: on the machines working my chest.
Me: <run away>

And! One more thing. Zak the Trainer's birthday is next Wednesday and I have been wanting to do something cheap and funny for him and I just had no inspiration. Until today! When it struck! I am going to make a t-shirt to wear that day (a la Meghan's 27th birthday - picture below) saying something about his birthday to embarass him. He'll love it!

Mid-Week Boringness.

Hello readers! I had a standard day today. I did have a lot of energy, never felt tired during the workout. I really feel like this is a momentous week all around. I felt stronger with the strength training and now during the T.E.A.M. class, I went faster and didn't feel tired. My body *must* be doing something good... It has been exactly 2 months since I began this process...maybe that is significant. Whatever the reason, I like it!

My stats today:

Calories Burned: 619 (Treadmill)/593 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.94
Total Time: 62:08 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 119

Also, we got a handout at the end of class with upcoming events. There is a 5K on the 28th by the gym. I have the Baltimore Women's Classic, so I will not be attending that. Also, they are having a special TEAM night at Let's Dish. I am torn about this. I have always wanted to go there, but it is $100 (worthwhile when you break it down per meal) and I am unsure of the dietary breakdowns, so what if I get a bunch of meals that do not align with my plan? Although they have been selected as healthy options by the trainers...I am still thinking. Finally, we are having a recipe exchange and making a TEAM cookbook. Fun times!

Oh! And next week is Bring-a-Friend week. If you want to come it is Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6-7pm. If one of those times works well and you want to join me, give me some notice to get you a guest pass and you can come!

I guess mid-week may not be as boring as I initially thought. :)

Steppin' it Up

Today is the first day I was supposed to up my strength training stuff. I should be doing five 30 second planks instead of ten 15 second ones and do 3 sets of everything instead of 2. I was a little anxious about it, but surprisingly it was not too bad. I mean, hear this: I will be sore tomorrow. But it was not so tough I felt like I couldn't do it. It actually felt quite natural to be doing it. Also, for the first time I really felt stronger today. Maybe it was a mental thing, but the planks seemed more reasonable, my balance was flawless (and I felt really strong on one leg), and I just felt overall stronger. Love it.

So, here is my new routine that I did today for the first time:

Held 5 planks for 30 seconds each;
Did 20 lunge and twists (10 regular, 10 with balance added in between);
Balanced on the Bosu ball with both feet for 60 seconds and on each foot for 15 seconds;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Press;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Fly;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 55 pounds on the Lat Pulldown;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 45 pounds on the Two Arm Row;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 10 pounds doing Lat Raises with the 10 lb dumbbells;
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 15 pounds on the Shoulder Press; and
Did 3 sets, 12 reps each, at 70 pounds on the Leg Press.

Then I did cardio. I went for speed today and went faster than I have before. I was at like 3.5 mph for most of the workout:

Calories Burned: 272 (Treadmill)/301 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 1.91
Total Time: 35:00 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 119

I ::Heart:: Weigh-In Days!

Down 3 more pounds! That makes 21 total! I am very excited to break the twenty pound mark. Yay me.

The workout was ok. I liked the format, Zak the Trainer changed it up a bit. We did interval training, which I like because it seems like less at the high intervals. And I was able to go faster, which I like. At the end we went for speed on an incline of 1.0. I started with a very light jog at 4 miles per hour, then gradually upped it to 4.5 then to 5. It was a pretty decent run I had going and when Zak the Trainer said to cool down. I kept going for another 30-45 seconds, because I wasn't tired at all. That made me happy and feel good. Yessssssssss.

My stats:

Calories Burned: 510 (Treadmill)/537 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.41
Total Time: 51:44 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 123

Didn't want to work out today, but didn't want to work out tomorrow more...

Strength training fun:

Held 10 planks for 15 seconds each;
Did 20 lunge and twists (10 regular, 10 with balance added in between);
Balanced on the Bosu ball with both feet for 60 seconds and on each foot for 15 seconds;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Press;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Fly;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 55 pounds on the Lat Pulldown;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 45 pounds on the Two Arm Row;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 10 pounds doing Lat Raises with the 10 lb dumbbells;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 15 pounds on the Shoulder Press; and
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 70 pounds on the Leg Press.

Then I swam for ~20 minutes. I shaved another 5 seconds off of my average lap time! I *love* these kind of tangible results. Also, I finally learned the length of the lap pool--it is 25 M. So, each lap is 50 M. Good to know for goal setting and such.

I will say that it feels good to know that I didn't want to go today and did. I feel like it was another small victory! Yay me!

Be the Resistance Band.

Thanks to some encouragement from my dear friend, Lynn, I have decided to try to embrace the resistance band and the chest presses that come with it. Today was a good day. It may have also had something to do with the fact that I had protein one hour before by workout (which i haven't done all week) or that I took yesterday off and my body had a rest. Anyways, the chest presses were manageable. Thanks, Lynn!

Also, I cannot believe that I forgot to mention this in any of my earlier posts this week but on Monday I officially signed up for the next T.E.A.M. Weight Loss session. So this one ends on June 26th and the next one goes June 29th-September 18th. Here's to hoping I will have enough success to not have to do a third!

Ok, today's stats:

Calories Burned: 558 (Treadmill)
Total Miles: 2.56
Total Time: 56:56 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 133

One final point quite unrelated to the purpose of this blog. Some of you know that I have been fighting worker's comp for about ten months now and had an oral hearing to appeal the decision. It was approved! I am so happy I cannot contain it. A little less stress in my life has got to be healthy, right???

Dunce Cap.

Zak the Trainer gave me the invisible dunce cap today. I suppose I was being a *tad* fiesty.

It began during the chest presses. I hate chest presses. With a passion. I don't mind them on the machines, but with the resistance band, it just stinks. After what felt like a long time, Zak the Trainer said we had 30 more seconds. My natural response was to roll my eyes in disgust. Zak the Trainer happened to see said eye-roll. Then said, "Make that 35 seconds because of Erin's eye roll." Awesome.

Next incident was when he was telling Nelly to eat carrots with salsa instead of chips. What was your reaction to reading that? Exactly. So when I made a pretend vomit noise, he rolled his eyes at me and then told everyone they could reduce their incline from 12.0 to 4.0 except for me. So I lowered my incline. When he asked why my treadmill was lowering, I point-blank told him that it was because I was not listening to him. Last time I checked I was paying him.

Then (yes, it is not over yet) he was asking who used the stair machine and said some hub-bub-a-lub about it being a 'great Zone 3 workout!' I simply stated that I hated stairs when I have to do them, why on earth would I do them for fun??!?!?!

It was at this point he awarded me with the invisible dunce cap for the day. I defend myself as simply being honest, but in restrospect, I may see where he was coming from... Maybe.

So the stats:

Calories Burned: 530 (Treadmill); 567 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.46
Total Time: 57:27 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 126

Typical Tuesday Workout

Today Zak the Trainer saw me whilst I was working out on an off day. He actually made eye contact and smiled at me. I think I am starting to grow on him...

Strength training. It was a little rough taking last week off, but not too bad... I did the usual:

Held 10 planks for 15 seconds each;
Did 20 lunge and twists (10 regular, 10 with balance added in between);
Balanced on the Bosu ball with both feet for 60 seconds and on each foot for 15 seconds;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Press;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 20 pounds on the Chest Fly;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 55 pounds on the Lat Pulldown;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 45 pounds on the Two Arm Row;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 10 pounds doing Lat Raises with the 10 lb dumbbells;
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 15 pounds on the Shoulder Press; and
Did 2 sets, 12 reps each, at 70 pounds on the Leg Press.

Then I did cardio. I went 30 minutes at 3 mph:

Calories Burned: 276 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 1.68
Total Time: 35:00 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 113

Zero!

Back-from-Vacation-Exercise-Day is never good. Today was no exception. I mean, it wasn't THAT bad, but it was rough. And my sore body from the 5K yesterday did not help! However, I started the class with some good news. Despite my vacation, I maintained my weight...YESSSSSSSSS! The following conversation *did* happen, however between me and Zak the Trainer during class:

Me: Aren't you so excited that I maintained this week?
ZTT: Yes.
Me: And I ate, like, what-EVER I wanted.
ZTT: <eyes roll>
Me: I had dessert THREE nights in a row!
ZTT: <head shaking>
Other Class Member: Why are you telling Zak this?
Me: Because...I MAINTAINED!
::pause::
Me: And the bread, I ate so much bread. It was amazing!
ZTT: If I see bread or dessert in anyone's food journal Wednesday, Erin will pay for it.
Me: <silence/innocent look on my face>

Here are my stats:

Calories Burned: 548 (treadmill); 606 (hr monitor)
Total Miles: 2.37
Total Time: 55:56 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 133

England and some 5Ks!

I got home from England yesterday. I will be honest, the plan was not followed 100%. Or even really 50%. But, here are some good highlights. I walked for one hour on Monday, 45 minutes on Tuesday, about 30 minutes on Thursday and 45 minutes on Friday. So I did get some walks in. I did no strength training. My schedule was so full, I just didn't make the time. I chose sleep. :) As for food, I enjoyed the local fare. Today I will do my massive grocery shop and the plan begins again tomorrow morning.

The trip was great BTW. Pictures are on my facebook. Here is one of me in front of a beautiful sunset:



In other exciting news, today I participated in the Bel Air Town Run with Andrea, Crystal, Lois, Julie, Mary-Theresa, and several other lovely ladies I met who are friends of some of these women! My goal was to walk it with Lois. She walked ~58 minutes last time she did it and I was shooting for under one hour. I ended up ditching Lois and Dina (her friend) to run/walk with Crystal. Here were our times according to my watch:

4:59 - walk
1:59 - run
5:00 - walk
2:00 - run
5:21 - walk
2:00 - run
5:00 - walk
2:00 - run
3:21 - walk
2:00 - run
9:53 - walk
1:17 - run
0:56 - walk
0:44 - run

Total - 46:35, Official 46:28!!!

I crushed my one-hour goal!!! YAY ME! And I also registered for the Baltimore Women's Classic on June 28th! Cannot wait!!!