fitness

Return to Basics

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I feel like I’ve turned into a recorded message on here:

“Sorry for the long silence.”

“Sorry for not posting.”

“Sorry for falling off the wagon.”

First and foremost, who am I apologizing to? You, the readers? Myself? The skinny woman I wish to be? I’m not 100% sure. I don’t think it’s healthy that I’m feeling so much guilt, sadness, and depression over it, though, so I’m going to work on that moving forward.

The last few weeks have been challenging, as I’m working 30-35 hours per week as a Producer (promotion – woohoo!), 40-45 hours at my full time job (recently promoted there, too!), and attending graduate courses two nights per week.

I’ve been sleeping on average of 2-2.5 hours per night, catching up on sleep on Friday and Saturday nights.

I’ve eaten healthy (for the most part), but the long hours and high stress have resulted in a slight weight gain. Here’s the kicker: I’m not actually weighing myself. Instead, I’m going off of how my clothing fits. I’ve really tried to break my addiction to the scale, and I’m proud to admit I’ve only weighed myself three times in the last five weeks. I can tell I’ve gained a little weight because my jeans are a bit more snug, but the size fours still fit – for now.

Before things DO get out of control, I’ve decided to pick back up on my strict Paleo diet. It always worked very well for me, wasn’t restrictive, and left me full and satisfied. I only slacked on it because it required advanced planning and, well, I’m admittedly lazy. However, I spent my Sunday morning grocery shopping and stocking my pantry, fridge, and snack drawer with caveman-friendly foods, so I officially have no excuse.

When I did strict Paleo before, I never counted calories …in fact, I probably ate double the calories on Paleo, but I dropped weight like it was a secret talent. When I first tried the Paleo diet in August 2012, I dropped 22 lbs in three months and actually exercised less: and I was constantly eating. While I definitely don’t have 20 lbs to lose, I wouldn’t mind shedding these 10 lbs – the 5 I put on over the holidays, and the 5 I couldn’t get off before (when I was constantly eating junk).

I won’t make promises about posting here daily, but I’ll try to check in 2-3 times per week. And if I don’t? Well, I won’t be sorry about it.

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

Monday’s Accountability Report: Back on the Wagon

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OK, I got the pity party out of my system. If you read my earlier post, you probably realize that I had a rough weekend (over-indulgence that led to a dramatic spike on the scale), which nearly sent me into a spiraling depression this morning.

Thanks to the comforting words of some of my blogging friends (I’m looking at you, Want Need Will and you, Keen Peach), I’ve calmed down and climbed back into the saddle. Fitness and wellness is a journey and not a destination, right? I’ll continue to take this one day at a time.

I’ve been mostly good today, with just a little bit of chocolate (seriously, I can’t make it more than 12 hours without SOMETHING chocolatey) and under 1,400 calories consumed.

I had a substantial amount of homework to do in prep for class tomorrow, so I had a window of under 90 minutes to workout (including travel time to and from the gym). With that in mind, I decided to max out on the Stairmaster, doing 60 minutes all out, ranging from 104 to 128 steps per minute. If you’ve never been on the Stairmaster before, let me assure you: that’s a strenuous pace. I almost fell off when I was doing my 60 second sprints at 128 steps/min.

I’ve decided I’m going to be 100% honest with these accountability reports, so here’s the full summary of food log/ exercise log:

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As you can see …I get a lot of veggies in daily, but portions are my challenge. And I sneak sweets in a bit too often, but it’s really hard to resist in my office setting.

Here’s a glimpse at just some of the tasty food I had today:

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And, just in case you doubted the intensity of my workout, here’s my proof:

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Booyah.

Let’s hope the scale is better to me tomorrow.

Bon appetit, my friends!

~ Tori

Grrrrrr.

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You probably noticed that I didn’t post this weekend.

No accountability reports, no updates.

Yeah.

It wasn’t a good weekend. I weighed in on Friday morning at 125.8 (expected, as I knew the 124.6 was more than likely water weight), and I ate well all day. My husband planned a beer tasting (like a wine tasting, but with craft beer), so I got a good workout in (two hours of elliptical) to give myself an extra allowance for dinner.

Yeah. I was bad. I ate a TON of cheese, drank three glasses of wine, and had a bunch of salty crackers. Even with my 1,250+ calorie burn, I was still way over my calorie limit, consuming close to 2,800 total calories.

OK… so Friday was my cheat day.

Then Saturday came along. My weight was up HORRIBLY (over 130) and I was depressed.

I ate healthy, worked out HARDCORE (60 minutes on the stairmaster for 1,003 burned calories + 60 minutes elliptical for another 630 calories burned), and then my husband and I had pho for dinner, followed by chocolate.

Again, over my calorie allowance, but I burned enough (fortunately) to still be at a burn.

On Sunday, I weighed in at 134.

134!! How do I go from 124.6 on Thursday to 134 on Sunday? Is it truly, physically possible to gain 10 lbs in three days?!

I took two diuretic pills, desperately trying to flush out the salt. I drank 1.5 liters of aloe vera juice, 1.5 liters of water, and 2 cups of green tea. I wasn’t able to workout (I had to work and a stack of homework), but I managed to squeeze in about 45 minutes of walking, and then I did 250 squats, 100 lunges, and 100 bicep curls while watching TV with my husband before bed.

This morning? 131.8 lbs.

Honestly, why do I even try? 😦

~ Tori

Thursday’s Accountability Report

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OK, I’m exhausted. EXHAUSTED.

Three hours at the gym this morning, ran a few errands, and then my dinner date cancelled …so I hit the gym with my girlfriend in the evening.

TWICE!

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I wasn’t hungry for the majority of the day, but the last half hour I’ve had a serious case of the munchies. I’m trying to cut myself off now before I cancel out my ridiculous hard work!

Hoping this morning’s scale miracle doesn’t bounce back tomorrow!

Bon appetit, my friends!
-Tori

Holy Moly!

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OK, I know this is dehydration from my intense workout this morning, but I weighed in at 124.6! Holy moly!

That is 2.2 lbs down from yesterday.

This means I am down a full 11 pounds since January 5, which is when I started my intensive diet and exercise routine. To say I am over the moon excited would be an understatement!

I promise myself not to be disappointed if the scale goes up slightly tomorrow as I have been chugging water like it is my job since getting home from the gym. Even a slight gain is still a loss for the week.

On that note: bon appetit!!

– Tori

Wednesday’s Accountability Report

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Today was a great day!!

I had a record low weigh-in, had a kick-ass workout, and really enjoyed the first day of my other class. It seems like it’s going to consist of engaging discussion and very interesting content.

I also managed to save my extra calories to have a special treat tonight: a Cadbury Creme egg! For anyone that has followed this blog for a while, you know that these are my favorite. I normally don’t have enough leftover calorie allowance to eat one (they’re between 150-170, depending which flavor), so I really savored it tonight. YUM!

Here’s my report for the day:

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Like I said, my workout was awesome: elliptical, weight training, lunges, squats, and the Stairmaster! Tons of calories torched!

On that note, time for some sleep!

Bon appetit, my friends!
– Tori

Weigh-in Wednesday!

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It looks my vacation from work -and my nearly three hour morning gym sessions- are really helping with my weight loss!

Today’s weigh-in: 126.8!!

That means I’ve dropped 9 lbs since January 5th, which is:

1) Slightly insane,
and
2) Too much, too fast.

I know this won’t be sustainable, as I won’t be able to commit to 2-3+ hours of exercise once I head back to work on Sunday. I guess I might as well take advantage of it now, as my weight loss will slow to a crawl once my normal exercise pattern sets in.

But that’s OK. Slow and steady wins the race. Or, in the case of overall health, moderation and consistency keep bad weight off and good muscle on!

Will post my accountability report this evening after class!

In the meantime …bon appetit, my friends!
– Tori

Tuesday Accountability Report

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First day back to class for my MLS, so I’m going to keep this short and sweet (I have homework to do)!

I ate out for lunch today, and thought I made a healthy choice (chicken, apple, walnut and spinach salad), but my calorie-counter said that it packed a bigger punch than I expected: almost 600 calories.

I kept my dinner as light as possible (egg whites scrambled with mushrooms, onions, broccoli, and leftover lean flank steak), and I only had a sugar free jello pudding for dessert, but it still clocked me at close to 1,700 calories for the day. Boo.

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Oh well.

Tomorrow is a new day, and I have no plans to eat out tomorrow, so I should be able to adhere to my goal of under 1,300 calories consumed (and over 1,000 burned at the gym).

Bon appetit, my friends!
– Tori

P.S. I know I shouldn’t weigh myself daily, but I was 127.4 (down 0.8 lbs from yesterday) at 7am this morning. I’m hoping today’s overindulgence doesn’t jack that number up; I’d be happy to stay the same! Wish me luck!

Monday Update and Accountability!

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So …hopped on the scale this morning to discover a pleasant surprise:

128.2!!

That means I went down -gasp- seven pounds last week!

Granted, I know the vast majority of it was water weight, but it still makes me feel good. Plus, it doesn’t hurt my motivation to stick with it this week!

I ate a little more than planned, but that’s because we had a family dinner and I hate to eat restaurant food. I made the healthiest choice possible (grilled salmon salad, no dressing), but it still adds up.

Here’s my daily summary:

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I’m off of work this week (it’s my first week back in school, so I took the week off to get ahead), and with that extra time I want to hit the gym hardcore every day.

Wish me luck!

Bon appetit, my friends!
-Tori

Sunday Accountability Report!

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Today was a low key day, and I found it surprisingly easy to get back to my clean eating today despite yesterday’s massive cheat meal. Though I did indulge in an extra piece of chocolate this evening with my wine …

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I kept my exercise lighter than usual, as I was feeling a little feverish this evening when I got home from work.

Of course, illness won’t keep me away from my daily glass of Malbec. 😉

I hope everyone had a great day!

Bon appetit, my friends!
– Tori