Zak the Trainer Went to Vegas...

...so we got Melissa as a substitute. Zak the Trainer and Melissa are different. Dare I say I like Melissa better?!?! No...I don't know that I would say that. I think I love them each for different reasons.

When Zak the Trainer is in charge:

+ we can hold onto the treadmill whenever we want (PRO)
+ we climbs bigger longer hills with a 2ish minute break (active recovery in zone 2) in the middle of the hour (CON)
+ we engage in witty banter (PRO)
+ he does push-ups during the mid-hour break for each glass of water we drank the day before (PRO)
+ he's a Yankees fan (CON)

When Melissa is in charge:

+ we cannot hold on ever (CON)
+ we do more interval hills where we return to active recovery in zone 2 frequently (PRO)
+ she gives us ranges for the inclines--e.g. go to an incline of between 8.0 and 10.0...really?!?! I go to 8.0...as does any sane person (CON)
+ we have more of a discussion throughout the class as to how things are going and how we can fix/improve things (PRO)
+ she seems to genuinely care and notice about our weight loss (PRO)

Anyways...one thing Melissa did that I kind of liked and also didn't like (because it messed up my incredibly detailed record-keeping for statistical purposes) is to have us pause the treadmills and do squats and push-ups (which was so long the treadmill timed out and I lost all of my stats...grr...) and at the end we did planks. It is worth noting that I did 10 (modified) push-ups. I was under the impression I couldn't do any. I am very excited about this. I did them quite easily and could probably have done more! YAY to upper body workouts... Also, my planks were modified because of the huge bruise and wound on my forearm from the biking incident...but I rocked them nonetheless, there were 2 for 45 seconds each.

My stats (kind of...):

Calories Burned:582 (HR monitor -- for the entire hour of class)

2nd Treadmill Session:
Calories Burned: 196 (Treadmill)
Total Miles: 1.01
Total Time: 20:32 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 145 (but we did planks after cool down, so this number is not accurate)

On Monday's weigh-in Zak the Trainer has given us 3 to 1 odds. What this means is that for every pound we lose he will do three push-ups. With claps. Or so I got him to agree too...I have the feeling he will pansy out of the claps part.

Oh! And as a bit of a P.S., I am going to the Red Sox game tomorrow and am headed out early to go to a BBQ at Camden Yards. I am going to eat BBQ food. My goal is to have a small amount that lossely resembles what I should be eating. What this means is if I was planning on having 3 oz of lean protein and 2 pieces of bread, I will have a burger. It's not lean protein. But it is a lot closer than me going crazy and eating whatever the heck I want... :)

Tired.

I have been tired today...and when I got home I got cranky... COMCAST!!! (I will leave my rant to that...)

So, stats:

Calories Burned: 518 (Treadmill)/470 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.71
Total Time: 57:25 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 117

Successful Weigh-Ins Days are Great!

Walking into TEAM today I remember thinking that I needed to ask Zak the Trainer what to do, because I am losing my umph. I am cheating here and there (which I wasn't before). Weekends are a complete mess (well, not complete, but not good). Also, I had no desire to go to TEAM today. I really felt like I was going to maintain for the second week in a row. Which is certainly better than gaining. But I am paying a LOT of money to do this, and I NEED to take it seriously. Then, when I stepped on the scale and heard that I am down three more pounds, I was re-motivated! YAY! I really am going to try to keep this up!!!

My stats:

Calories Burned: 547 (Treadmill)/482 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.88
Total Time: 59:47 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 123

I Ate It...And I am NOT Talking About Cake...

So--mountain biking. Really FUN! Really good exercise! Really nice day!!! And, yes, I ate it. I ate it within the first 5 minutes. While turning right. With the rest of my peeps waiting for me to come around the corner. Watching... But my friends are awesome! And Greg utilized the opportunity to teach the group how to fall appropriately. ::embarrassed grin::

Today I rode a bike:

+ for the first time in 13 years;
+ off of the road for the first time in a looooong time, if not ever;
+ over tree roots;
+ through mud;
+ through a stream...twice!;
+ up many hills (ok...confession: I walked up most hills);
+ down many hills; and
+ down a very steep hill!

I am so, so, so, so, so proud of me! I am glad I ate it in the beginning because it allowed me to get the fear of falling out of my system--no need to fear that I might embarrass myself and fall when I already have! Also, I did it! And it is something new!

Now, pictures of the damage (which didn't hurt too bad when I fell, or while riding...but once the adrenaline left my system and I stop moving it began to hurt quite a bit...but nothing I can't handle!):



I should mention that I am making my "tough girl" face here. Not wincing in pain as some may have thought. :)

Zak the Trainer Does Not Support My Weight Loss Goals

Hello! I started off the TEAM session today telling Zak the Trainer what I *thought* was some good news! I told him that I am going mountain biking after work tomorrow. I expected an outpouring of support and encouragement--after all, I was finding creative ways to exercise outside of the gym. But no--I did not receive this response, rather, Zak the Trainer said:

Ugh! You'd better not come in here Friday all injured or with cuts.

Really, Zak the Trainer?!?? REALLY?!!? So I informed him that he did not support my weight loss goals. And (would you believe it?) he had a pretty good comeback:

I, as your trainer, am supportive of your LONG TERM weight loss goals. If you were to get injured while mountain biking you would not be able to work out for weeks.

I was stumped. Touché, Zak the Trainer, Tou-ché.

My stats:

Calories Burned: 550 (Treadmill)/567 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.77
Total Time: 57:41 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 134

So, for the biking. My facebook friend and co-worker, Greg, has invited me along on what he claims to be a newbie bike ride. Through mountains. And "at least one stream crossing." I have not ridden a bike since I was 15. It is very embarrassing to go to school your sophomore year of high school with your eye swollen shut and cuts on your chin because you fell off of your bike. But I digress. I am borrowing a bike from...someone...I don't really know, Greg procured it for me. And my friend, Lisa, is giving me a helmet to use. So...I guess I am ready. I know it has been 13 years since I have ridden a bike, but I assume it's like...riding a bike! MWA AH AH AHA HA HA HA AH. ;)

Monday.

Weight Loss: None. I maintained. Which is good considering I *only* went to the gym on the 3 TEAM days and I ate like a normal person at the Chrysalis retreat. However, I want to get my rear in gear this week. For serious.

Stats (my calories are so low today...I am such a slacker...):

Calories Burned: 528 (Treadmill)/462 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.67
Total Time: 55:02 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 125

Better Late than Never: Friday's Stats

I was at a church retreat all weekend (which. was. AWESOME.) and I went straight from the gym, so here are the stats from Friday:

Calories Burned: 556 (Treadmill)/545 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.94
Total Time: 57:54 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 133

Kudos to me for going to the retreat late to not miss my TEAM class. Woot!

Mmm..Protein!

This mega-protein diet gives me so much energy! The last two workouts I have had high energy the WHOLE TIME. Ridiculousness...

Stats:

Calories Burned: 521 (Treadmill)/570 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.94
Total Time: 60:13 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 134

Olive Garden Yumminess

Today, my friends took me out for a birthday dinner (YUM!) at the Olive Garden (YUM!)!!! I had already eaten all exchanges except for 2 starches and 1 1/2 vegetables. Being realistic that I was at THE OLIVE GARDEN for my BIRTHDAY DINNER, I decided to break the diet plan, but (I feel) in a great way! I had 2 glasses of diet coke, 1 breadstick, 1 bowl of pasta e fagioli, 2 bowls of salad. This gives me 3 starches, 1 1/2 vegetables and at least 3 fats. All in all, not too bad. I think I cheated well. Oh! And I *did* have an Andes Mint at the end. It *was* my birthday after all!

POUNDS LOST > YEARS LIVED

Yes, it's true! I have lost 29 pounds (4 this week) and have lived for 28 years. YESSSSS! I am excited to hopefully break the 30 mark (something that will never be said about my age) next Monday. However, this weekend is...the Chrysalis Team Retreat! It will be tough...I am thinking of packing my own food. Unsure of the fridge space though...

Ok. Stats:

Calories Burned: 523 (Treadmill)/542 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.70
Total Time: 56:14 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 126

I also want to say that I had great energy today! I think it may be my new crazy-amounts-of-protein diet. I do not think that this high-protein diet is going to be something I could do for a long time. But for a short time I think I can do it and it seems to be working well for me. So I will keep trying it. The problem is that where I have to have 14 servings of protein, I only get 7 servings of fat. Basically this means I need to eat lean proteins all the time. Currently I have 2 eggs around 7:30 am, 3 oz of chicken at 10 am, 3 oz of tuna at 12, 3 oz of chicken at 3 pm and 3 oz of chicken at 5 pm. It's a lotta chicken... But I am not discounting this plan...yet. ;)

I did it...It was tough, but I did it.

Last night I had my Emmaus peeps over for a shindig!


It was, as always, a super fun night of lots of super fun. Where the victory comes in for me was with the snacks. There were chips and salsa and chips and dip and chips and soda (oh! the soda) and homemade cranberry muffins and Papa Johns Pizza (THREE varieties!) and, and, and...Lisa made this ridiculous good looking AND ridiculously good smelling pepperoni, goopy, yumminess to be smeared on BAGEL BITS! Oh. My. WOW. And I didn't eat ANY OF IT! I stuck to my meal plan 100%. VICTORY!!!!

I "Dish"ed.

The workout today was good. I did not want to be there, but I did it. So good.

My stats:

Calories Burned: 549 (Treadmill)/550 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 2.77
Total Time: 58:08 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: Forget to take it...

Then I went to Let's Dish and prepared 4 meals: Fajita Steak with Chile-Lime Dressing, Jerk Chicken with Pineapple Salsa, Pork Tenderloins with Chile Apricot Glaze, and Roasted Herb Pork Chops. I cannot wait to see how they taste! I will keep you posted... But the night was super fun!

Me and Nellie "dish"-ing:

Oh! And...

I gained two pounds this week. Not bad considering I exercised never and ate always.

Back on the wagon...

Rough!

Man, working out after a week and a half off is ROUGH! But do-able. Definitely do-able.

AND IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!! AND I WENT TO THE GYM! Yay me. I am proud of me.

The stats (I took it easy):

Calories Burned: 561 (Treadmill)/548 (HR Monitor)
Total Miles: 3.02
Total Time: 61:32 (including cool down)
Ending Heart Rate: 125

Where'd you go? I missed you so...

Hello!

I am back. Sorry you had no warning I would be gone. I was on a super-secret surprise mission for my wonderful, smart, beautiful, funny, adorable, kind, smokin' hot, lawyerly, fantastic sister, Meghan:



It was Meghan's 30th birthday, so we all flew out to California to surprise her! Surprise was an overwhelming success and the trip was great! But I could not blog about it before hand because she is an avid blog-reader and Erin's-weight-loss-goals supporter!

Having said all I that, I:

Exercised NEVER.
Ate EVERYTHING (to include: bagel egg sandwiches, pasta, more pasta, tiramisu, more pasta, chocolate cake, amazing cinnamon donut bites, mentos, soda, deep dish Chicago-style pizza that must have contained enough calories for the DAY -- 2 pieces, soda, more pasta and more soda...to name a few).

I am hoping that by next Monday's weigh-in (yes, I am going away AGAIN and will not be at TEAM on Monday) I will have maintained or maybe lost a pound or two. Not looking for anything crazy... Although I do plan to hit the gym tomorrow and then get back into it for realz Wednesday.