Karate is kicking me arse.



I am LOVING karate, even though I've been flooded with so much information that it will take me a while to process and retain it. Still, I cannot tell you how awesome it feels to be in class barely scraping the barrel of what is in store for me.

Physically, I don't feel like I'm overexerting myself. Yet each time, beads of sweat form on my forehead letting me know how hard I'm working. In the days following a class my muscles feel like they want to shut down and I know that I'm using them in a way I never have before.

The other areas of fitness aren't going as well. I just don't think I have the physical aptitude (yet) to handle expending all this energy. So Karate it is for now.

I'd like to start my heavy lifting next. But since I'll be actually increasing my calorie intake for the first time in this journey, I want to make sure I do it right. I have to reread the information given along with the offered diet plan and see if I can work those meals into my lifestyle.

Sorry running, you're taking the back burner. Even though I already did week one of C25K, it's just not the season to start it up for a newbie like me. I'm not planning on dropping it altogether, but it's just the hardest piece to work into my schedule. I'll pick it the regiment in the spring (likely after we move) and in the meantime I'll just do a little bit here and there at the gym.

Whoa, wait, what? Where did the week go?

Oh yes. They were lost in a haze of exhaustion, poor eating, and wedding planning. Bloody wedding planning. It's been taking up so much of my energy. But that's a story for another day.

So unsurprisingly, I exhausted myself last week. Even as I was writing the blog detailing all I was taking on, I was worried that I was taking on too much. But let me tell you, I did not think that Karate would kick my butt as much as it did.

The classes themselves didn't seem that hard, but after class was another story; we'd get about three quarters of the way home and my brain would stop functioning. I fell asleep out almost immediately after class on Friday, and after a fantastic yoga class on Sunday, my body just shut down. I made it through work ok on Monday but was left with little energy and motivation to get out and do something at night.

On Tuesday I probably could have gotten back into it. Instead I caved and swung the other way: lazing on the couch and ordering pizza. And I paid the price. I could not fall asleep comfortably. My body was really angry at me for feeding it crap.

The rest of the week wasn't much better. With a few lunch meetings at work, and a festive celebration all day Wednesday, it was easy to give up on good eating habits. And eating crap does not give you the energy to get up and go.

But enough excuses. I fell off the wagon for five days, and I'm back at it tomorrow. I won't overdo it, and I plan on pushing forward at whatever pace I can.

I'd love to try running at lunch time, but winter running is hard without investing a LOT of money into gear. I will continue to run at the gym, but it's a lot more boring and not as easy to work into my schedule.

And I got far enough into the New Rules of Lifting for Women to realize that it's structured more on a curve. It eases you into the heavy lifting, starting you out with workouts that you're used to. This, in addition to three workouts a week vs. five, makes me feel a lot more confident that I will succeed with the program.

So, here we go (again)!

Tweaking the program along the way.

This past week brought me some little successes, but I want to ensure they continue. I'm continuing my research into heavy lifting with a book called The New Rules Of Lifting For Women by Lou Schuler and Cassandra Forsythe.

I ripped through the first half of it in a couple of days. Research, myth-busting, a ton of statistics to prove their points (but not too much, or else it would be way too hard to get through). A diet plan that mirrors the type of food I'm already eating (yay!), just asking for more of it.

More? Well, it makes sense. If you're putting your muscles through the ringer, they are going to need to be able to repair themselves. And they are going to need more than 1200 calories a day to do so. I'm not worried, for so long as I'm packing away nutrient-rich foods, I cannot be doing my body any harm.

I've just reached the part of the book that gets into physical excercises, why you are doing them, why you aren't doing the others, and the seven-stage fitness plan. Yup, seven stages. Now I haven't really gotten into the stages themselves, but I like knowing that this road is a long one. It is going to take some damn hard work to transform this body, and anyone that promises me they're going to get me there in three months isn't going to get my buy-in.

So tonight I plan on delving a bit further into how to get this process started. The three workouts per week seem a bit more acheiveable than the five workouts a week demanded by the BodyBuilding.com heavy lifting program I posted about last week.

Tripping up.

Every week I trip up (a.k.a. indulging) slightly on a day or two, and I usually trip up SERIOUSLY once a week (twice on bad weeks). I should weather this week's trip ups as I've been active nearly every day. But if I actually want to get anywhere, weathering will no longer be enough.

When it comes down to it, I'm doing better about the food I choose when I'm out. I know that once I'm regularly active, I will have more leeway with my food choices. In the meantime, I've got to take more control of what I'm putting in my body if I want to be healthy.

In the old weight watchers world, you get a certain amount of daily points depending on your weight, and an extra 35 points to use up over the week when you need. This is so you don't end up worrying too excessively about restricting every single day and not indulging ever. That said, your best losses happen when you don't dig into those weekly points. Also, more points are gained for being active.

I find that my most successful weeks come when I maintain my daily points, eat more when I'm active, using up my activity points, and don't touch my weekly points.

This week I over ate beyond my daily points by 54. FIFTY FOUR. That's absolutely unacceptable. So how am I going to weather it? In addition to my 35 weekly points, I've also gained an extra 14 points through activity. To compensate, I will go for my planned C25K run and I will have to tack on a 30-Day Shred at the end of the evening.

So I'm documenting my trip-ups in hopes that I don't make the same mistakes week after week.

Trip ups, week of Nov 22-28 

Nov 22: 7.5 points over for the day
Dinner.
Had too hefty a serving of Butternut Squash/Lentils/Walnuts, and covered it in butter to moisten it up (this would have not been so bad if I either halved my serving, or didn't add butter to it)

Post Dinner.
Was feeling down and had one whole wheat waffle with a bunch of chocolate chips on it (this is self-explanatory...bad choice)

Nov 23: 4.5 points over for the day
Dinner.
Was unprepared with food at home and ended up getting Swiss Chalet (chose healthy, but it's still Swiss Chalet)

Nov 25: 6 points over for the day
Lunch.
Went out for pho had the small serving. (I would have been full only eating half of it, but I ate the whole thing. It kept me so full that I didn't need to eat the rest of the day... also not good practice)

Nov 26: 33 points over for the day
Breakfast and post-karate snack.
Ate well to compensate for a good amount of activity (had I stayed the course I would have had a great day)

Lunch.
Had a kids cheeseburger when we stopped for my partner to eat (I could have done without and waited until I got home)

Dinner.
Took a friend out to a buffet (DANGER WILL ROBINSON! I probably didn't even count for all of what I ate, and ended up eating more than what I should in an entire day)

Nov 27: 2.5 points over for the day
Breakfast.
Went out for to a diner and the 'healthy' option was a bagel and cream cheese...ended up going with the eggs benny (didn't end up eating until I had a snack just before bed)

Late snack.
Piece of toast with half an avocado (a quarter probably would have been sufficient)

Just keeping busy.

It's not January yet, but I've set myself some goals. After all, your new year starts when YOU want it to, no? It's all about your mindset.

I'm excited to start a bunch of new activities. It may look like I'm overloading myself, but even if I achieve one of these goals I'll be happy. So I'm going to start and try my best, pushing to become a ‘me’ with more strength, confidence, focus, and endurance.

So what have I lain out on the table?

#1: Couch to 5K, or C25K as it's known in acronym format.

I'm no longer waiting for a Running Room class to start and follow a schedule. I'm going when I'm able to go, running with the music I want to hear, and being instructed by a cool iPhone app to keep me informed of my intervals. I’m starting with jogging. I’ve never been a runner, and I still have to pay good attention to the impact on my knee.

I did my first 'run' (it was mostly walking) tonight, and it felt quite easy. Then again, the program is made for people who literally are just getting off the couch; I've been slowly building my cardio up in the last little while.

Actual goal: Complete the program by the end of January. 

Follow-up goal: Find a 5k run sometime thereafter and sign up for it.  

#2: Heavy Lifting

I am shifting my weight training to more of a heavy lifting program. I received some inspiration this week from a blog post that's been making waves in the online fitness community. While I don't need to deadlift more than twice my weight, I do like the philosophy behind building dense muscle and think that I could make some real progress if I start training this way. 

I've turned to this article at bodydbuilding.com and plan to work into it slowly; making sure my form is perfected before moving into really heavy weight. Once I'm ready, I'll be doing their sample workout.

Actual goal: Spend the next little bit getting comfortable with my form.

Follow-up goal: Start phase one of the program. 

#3 Karate

I went to my second self-defense seminar at my partner's dojo. The first time I went, his Sensei said something that stuck with me: 'Not everyone needs to be a black belt, but everyone should train." This time around, I got enough of an itch that I decided not to wait any longer. I picked up my gi on Wednesday and I have my first class tomorrow.

Actual goal: Attend classes twice a week. 

Follow-up goal: Go for my yellow belt... you know, when I'm told I'm ready to do so ;) 

So yes, I'll be busy for a good while. Still, I don't think it will be too much. After all, look at me…I’m blogging on a Friday night. More importantly, I know that the only way I will achieve the changes I have desired for so long in my life is to put myself first.

Watch out, here I come.

What's this?

According to Weight Watchers (old program, that I do on my own), I had a really bad week. I overindulged at the pot luck and its leftovers on Monday and Tuesday. I overate at sushi on Saturday. And the little things that pop up over a normal week just ended up accounting for too much extra overall. I used up my 35 weekly points, used up the 13.5 activity points I gained, and still went over by another 3.5 points.

Nonetheless, I still lost weight. It was a small amount, but it was still a loss. So if I can do that while failing miserably on my eating habits, think about what I can achieve if I really set my mind to it. I'm on a great high today after a great workout yesterday, and I'm motivated to keep this feeling going.

Therefore I've set some goals for this week:
Food - Take an honest look at what I'm eating and if I'm maximizing my portions and quality of my food.
Exercise - Do yoga at least four mornings this week. Head to the gym on Tuesday & Thursday for 90 minutes. Head to the gym on Saturday for as long as I need.

Simple.

The slow road back to reality.

So, the summer has been a bit insane. So insane that it's November already. Frantic goings on pretty much until the beginning of October, including a (successful) black belt grading for my partner (YAY YAY YAY!), and new job for me (YAY YAY YAY!).

These insane summer months were followed by a big decision-making October. While most people went out and enjoyed our 30 degree weather over the Thanksgiving weekend, we mostly stayed in and tried to catch up on our lives. It was pretty sad, but we really needed to figure out where we stood and made some decisions to help us move forward.

And with those decisions tucked away, it was time to re-enter the lifestyle we want. It's amazing how coming out of downfalls can take so long. Week one of meal planning still had me eating out once or twice. In week two, I prepared all my meals, not eating out once. Nonethelss, there were a couple of pot-lucks at work and I indugled where I shouldn't have.

Today, I walked into the office and saw that someone brought in coffee and timbits. It looked like there was a homemade cake sitting out on the table as well, but I've done my best not to look too closely. Later this morning, I was offered a piece of red velvet cake layered with icing. It looked so scrumptious but I said no, and I asked my coworker if she could keep it out of sight for me. The less I have to look at something, the less I have to say no to it. Little victories!

Things have been much the same on the exercise end of things. I started out with a couple of tries at my yoga-lite program. There were a few days at the gym, too, where I just went in and said that I would just go and do. They didn't make for fantastic workouts, but I needed to just do SOMETHING.

Last night was my first regimented workout. We wrote out an activity list for me and I followed it. Next stop, picking some classes I want to attend, and deciding on a regular schedule for myself.

I know it's been a slow, uphill battle, but if doing it this way will help me succeed, then this is what I need to do.