Another Challenge

So I finished the 12-week Body-for-LIFE Challenge (or my version of it, at least), and I managed to lose 15 pounds! This is just about exactly what my doctor told me I should aim for, so obviously my hard work paid off.

HOWEVER, we are now in the midst of the heavy eating and drinking portion of the year. Between Thanksgiving, various holiday parties, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve, I’m afraid the temptation to be bad has been overwhelming, and I’m not eating with as much discretion as I was while I was in the middle of the challenge.

Also, I have not reached my goal weight of 160 yet, and I think I may need another challenge to motivate me. My friend Ellen has been participating in a weight-loss motivation program called Lose It or Lose It, a website where you make a monetary investment in your weight loss, and if you don’t lose the weight, you lose your money. It’s a pretty clever idea, actually, and I’m considering joining the program (once New Year’s Eve has come and gone and I’ve stopped eating so many darned Christmas cookies).

In the meantime, Ellen and I have been talking about the Two Hundred Situps challenge, which, like the Couch to 5K program, trains you to gradually be able to do 200 situps in one day. Talk about six-pack abs! There are related challenges, like Hundred Push-Ups and Hundred Squats.

So we’re going to go triple-threat and participate in the 100 squats/200 situps/100 push-ups challenge and get our bodies nice and strong! The great thing about these programs is that they have an log book that is connected with Facebook, so Ellen and I can keep track of our progress and stay accountable to each other. Right, Ellen? And I invite any of you to come along for the ride and post comments letting me know what you think and how you’re doing.

Body-for-LIFE: Getting into the Groove

This will just be a quickie as I wait for some files to download onto my computer.

I noticed this morning that I was very easily accomplishing the Cindy Whitmarsh Exercise TV workouts that a few weeks ago made me feel like I was going to die. I guess that means I’m getting stronger! And I guess it also means I have to step it up a notch (again).

I have now lost 14 pounds and am continuing to lose more. Everything they say about getting fit is true: I do have more energy, and I’m generally happier (even though winter is on its way, which brings out the SAD in me). Surprisingly, I’m also noticing that I have a lot more self-confidence, which is affecting my singing and my personal interactions with people.

I still have to force myself to start exercising every day, though. And I am continuing to struggle with my nutritional choices. But it’s all a part of the process, I know…just as my friend Rebecca is going through a walkabout to discover more about herself, so my physical changes are bringing out emotional sides of me that perhaps have been buried. I know that the simple (simple? ha!) feat of losing weight is not a silver bullet for all the problems in my life, but this process is certainly putting some stuff into perspective, and THAT is why I am doing it.

Working Out and Singing

My friend Amy suggested that I write a post about my experience trying to keep up with the Body-for-LIFE Challenge while also rehearsing and performing at the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s production of Madama Butterfly, so here goes.

This year, I have had the great good fortune to be able to make my money singing — and nothing else. That situation made this past summer very lean (and a little scary), but once September came around, I was happy to see my paycheck come in from the Opera Company. I had a small role in Madama Butterfly (I played Kate Pinkerton, the American wife), so my checks were larger than I am used to just being in the chorus, which makes the scariness of the summer a little more tolerable.

I only mention this because it means I’ve also had the flexibility in my schedule to work out every day, something that I may not have had time for a year or two ago. The Body-for-LIFE guidelines suggest working out 6 days a week, which is no easy feat if you’ve got to get up early, go to your day job, then go to rehearsal, and come home exhausted. My day job was opera rehearsals, and since my role was so small, I wasn’t even called to very many of those! So I eased into a morning workout routine that has served me well.

Being gone from the house for such a long time, especially around dinner time, does wreak havoc with one’s meal plans. I tried the best I could, bringing protein bars in my purse to help with hunger cravings and trying to buy healthy salads instead of fatty tuna melts (my kryptonite), but I’m sure that one of the reasons I didn’t lose weight nearly as quickly over the five weeks of rehearsing and performing Butterfly is that I didn’t eat quite as conscientiously as I would have otherwise.

What also didn’t help is that, as a principal artist, I was invited to receptions and dinners by the company (to meet donors, etc.), and of course there was food and wine at all these events. I think there may be something about being an actor that turns on this pig-out mentality in my head when free food is available. Perhaps subconsciously we actors think that this free meal might be our only meal of the day (and there have been times in my life when that has been the case!), so we might as well fill ourselves up. Either way, it was difficult for me to turn that sensor off in my brain, and I think there were a few days there where I ate way more than my allotted caloric intake.

My costume helped a little: I was wearing a very heavy skirt (it must have weighed about 30 pounds!), and my dressing room was on the third floor, so walking up and down the stairs in my costume helped burn at least a few of those calories. And even though I was starting to get too small for my jeans in the real world, my costume stayed on just fine…probably due to the fact that I was slowing my weight loss with all that free food!

Now I’m in rehearsals for Philadelphia Singers‘ season opening concert, Bach and Beyond. I’m back to rehearsing at night, but I still have my days free. That means I can stick to my routine of a workout first thing in the morning, followed by a protein shake for breakfast. I eat lunch at home, and, if I can, I also have an early dinner at home before I go to rehearsal. I really like Amy’s idea of making sure that I have at least one salad a day; it helps keep my fiber intake up, as well as being a low-fat, low-calorie meal choice. Plus, I really like salads.

Don’t think I’m sitting around doing nothing else during the day, though! I’m trying to run a business and learn music for a recital I’m doing in March (featuring works by Philadelphia composers Benjamin C.S. Boyle and Jeremy Gill), not to mention my ever-increasing work I’ve gotten myself into for The Crossing. I’m still as busy as ever.

Body-for-LIFE Check-In: Week 7

Well, I’ve made it past the 6-week mark in my 12-week Body-for-LIFE challenge, and I’m finally starting to see results. Although I have only broken the 180-lb. barrier for one day (and then promptly went back up to 181), I think I’ve gone down one dress size, because all my pants are too big. This, to me, is more important than the weight loss (although I still want to lose at least 5 more pounds by the time this challenge is over!), because I know I’m building muscle as I’m losing fat — and muscle weighs more than fat.

The program I’m on has me alternating strength days with cardio days, and for my cardio days, I’ve been going to Exercise TV on Comcast On Demand for some workouts that really kick my butt. Almost every TV workout I’ve tried does more than just get my heart rate up and start me sweating, because most of the workout shows build strength training in with cardio “for maximum calorie burn,” or that’s what they keep telling me as I sweat buckets onto my yoga mat.

Because I’ve been trying to mix up my workouts (so my body doesn’t get used to the same thing every other day), I’ve been looking through the various shows on On Demand, and since I have a captive audience, I thought I’d review some of them here. I’ll write each On Demand category as a separate post so you can more easily find and read them.

As for my eating habits, I still need some work. I’ve been getting better; I signed up with eDiets.com to to tailor a meal plan for me, but I haven’t actually started following the meal plan. Sigh. A huge part of this is because I’m out so much, especially around dinner time, and I just haven’t gotten in the habit of bringing dinner with me. I also had some slip-ups last week because I went to a fancy restaurant for a friend’s birthday (and drank lots of wine), and then an opening night party for Butterfly, and then went out a few times after rehearsal with some friends. It’s the going out part that really wreaks havoc on my caloric intake…but I don’t want to be antisocial, and eating is a part of my social life.

Ah well…I’m still learning, and it is a process.

Body-for-LIFE Week 4

I haven’t been posting too much about my progress, because it’s been pretty much the same old thing every week: alternate cardio with strength training days, and trying to eat better. But here are some things I’ve been noticing over the past few weeks:

  1. As is typical in most weight-loss situations, I lost a whole bunch of weight right at the beginning, and now I have plateaued at just about 180 lbs. even. Some days I’m a little bit above, but for the most part, I have stayed at 180 for about a week now, and nothing I seem to do can make the needle on the scale move further down.
  2. I do notice that my pants are fitting a little more loosely, so I’m assuming I’m replacing my fat with muscle (which is heavier than fat). That’s what I hope is happening, anyway.
  3. I mentioned in my previous post that I was worried about eating right while I’m out of the house; well, it’s been even harder than I imagined, and I think it may be one of the reasons I haven’t lost any more weight.
  4. Once I start working out, I can finish it through to the end, but it’s gotten harder and harder to motivate myself to do it every day, especially after a free day.
  5. In that same vein, I find that it is much better for me to work out in the morning; that way I’ve gotten it out of the way and I don’t have to worry about it for the rest of the day.

To help me figure out what to eat and what not to eat, I’ve started listening to the Nutrition Diva podcast, a recommendation from my friend Adam875, who has been very supportive in my quest for a healthier lifestyle (even though he tweets about making cupcakes from time to time, which I’m convinced he does just to torture me).

And after reading about how disciplined my friend Amy is about making food ahead of time, I realize that I’m really behind the curve in the “eating right” department. There was a time when I thought just eating a vegetarian diet automatically made me healthier than most of the population, but I realize now that that is not even remotely true.

Even though I grumble and complain about getting on the Bowflex or turning on the exercise programs, I think the really tough part is taking that extra hour or so a week to figure out what the heck I’m going to eat for that week, and then sticking to it. I’ve never done it before, and frankly, I don’t know if I have an extra hour to do all that planning — especially since to set up an efficient planning system, I’d have to put in three or four hours at least.

I am currently spot-checking the calorie count on everything I’m eating. When I get around to it, I log it into my account at Daily Burn, but I haven’t done that in a week, and I’m afraid if I overwhelm myself with too many things to keep track of, that I’ll just give up the whole thing altogether. I definitely don’t want that.

In the meantime, I’m still working out, trying to keep my metabolism rate up and burn as much fat as I can. My cat, Scratchy, has gotten very curious about my visits to the Bowflex every other day, and he will sometimes try to “help” by batting at the moving parts or rubbing up against my legs while I’m working out. Ray calls him my trainer; you can see in the picture that Scratchy by my right leg, checking out my form while I do a bench press.

Body-for-LIFE Progress Report

So I finished my second (!) week of the 12-week Body-for-LIFE Challenge, and so far I’ve lost 9 pounds. Actually, that’s a little inaccurate: I’ve lost 9 pounds since I weighed myself on August 5. That’s when I started with the Bowflex and began paying attention to what I was eating.

I actually had lost a great deal right away in August, so by the time I actually started the Challenge, I had already lost 6 pounds. Which means I’ve lost 3 pounds since the start of September, but still, I’m on my way.

The singing season is now in full swing, starting with my performance at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival last Sunday and rehearsals for Madama Butterfly having started this week. This means odd hours, late nights, and not as much time at home to eat & prepare my food. I’m a little worried, to be honest. One of the things that’s kept me on track thus far is the fact that I’ve been working from home consistently; being able to just pop down to the kitchen and pull out some carrots or do a quick exercise on the Bowflex has kept me going.

My friend Amy has been blogging about her health goals as well. She is actually quite a regular exerciser (you can see in some of her comments on my previous posts that she’s been very supportive of my goals), but now she wants to eat better during the busy rehearsal season. Since the Body-for-LIFE Challenge is more about a lifestyle change than just losing weight, part of the challenge is eating better as well, so I’m following her progress just as she’s following mine!

Anyway, I have to be out of the house from 2pm to 10pm today, which means I will need to either pack a dinner (probably not going to happen) or eat while I’m out. Luckily, there are a few places near my rehearsals where I can get a healthy bite to eat, keeping in mind that I want to balance my meal with higher protein and lower carbs (more on that issue in a later post). Wish me luck!

Body for Life update (post-Labor Day)

Well, my Labor Day weekend really got me off track, and just as I was starting to build momentum!

I spent the three-day weekend at the PA Renaissance Faire and completely fell off the wagon. My husband and I sleep on the grounds (he has a leather shop there, and we sleep in a bedroom above the shop), so my routine was broken. I had hoped to download some workouts onto my laptop, but ended up not bringing it because of practicality (there’s no room to work out in our teeny bedroom, and every space large enough to work out at Faire is outside and dirty…and there are VERY limited showers. Plus, I didn’t want to bother the other merchants camping on grounds).

I then thought, “Hey, I’ll just go out jogging in the morning,” which is what I did on Saturday morning…but by the time I went out, all the actors were gathering for fight call, and I felt super self-conscious jogging by while they were practicing their sword fights. I’m sure they didn’t care one way or another, but it totally wrecked my motivation.

As for eating, I had brought protein bars and protein shakes to keep me healthy and satisfied throughout the day, but my planning was thwarted by the daily appearance of Pretentious Cheese.

You see, every Faire day, lunch at the shop where I spend most of my time (As You Like It/Up Your Kilt) is an affair. After the Trial and Dunke show, the shop owners put out a spread of Pretentious Cheese (all sorts of varieties of gourmet cheeses) and veggies and fruits and breads. It’s delicious, but cheese is practically nothing but fat. And though I tried to curb my grazing at the cheese table, I know I ate more than I should have.

Then every evening, because everyone is exhausted and starving, everyone goes out to a VERY LATE dinner, and it’s always lots of food, and mostly greasy food. Definitely not on my list of things that I should be eating. But I ate them anyway, because I was hungry. Bad Maren.

Sunday and Monday I ditched the jogging idea. The only exercise I really got all weekend was in my ankles, because I was spinning like mad on my spinning wheel (it’s a double-treadle wheel, so my feet got a lot of exercise moving the wheel all day long). Someone remarked that it was the Medieval Treadmill, which of course it isn’t…I wasn’t exactly burning a whole lot of calories; I wasn’t even breaking a sweat! But my ankles sure felt sore every evening.

When I got home on Monday evening, I was determined to start up again, just as intensely as before. So here is my workout for the week:

Tuesday: cardio (Jillian Michael’s 30-day Shred)

Wednesday: upper body strength #1 (Bowflex)

Thursday: cardio (this time I thought I’d go with something a little different, so I watched Tanja Djelevic’s Total Body Cardio Day 4 on Comcast On Demand)

Friday: lower body strength (Bowflex)

Saturday: cardio (probably back to Jillian Michaels; I don’t think I’m a fan of Tanja Djelevic’s style)

Sunday: upper body strength #2 (Bowflex)

Monday: REST!

B4L Challenge: Days 1 + 2

Yesterday, I started off my Body-for-LIFE challenge with an upper body workout on the Bowflex. The folks at EAS (the company sponsoring the B4L challenge) recommend 2 strength training exercise per muscle group worked (I had been doing only one), and 5 sets of varying reps & weights for each exercise.

For example, if the exercise is Chest Fly, you would do 12 reps of at one weight; add weight, do 10 reps; add more weight, do 8 reps; add more weight, do 6 reps; then immediately do 12 reps of the starting weight.

I actually like this idea because you’re not really getting your body used to one particular kind of resistance, and you’re constantly upping the ante. However, in practice — on the Bowflex, at least — it kind of didn’t work. The way the Bowflex is designed, you add weights (a.k.a. resistance rods) to each side because each arm moves independently of the other. I don’t have a bar, which would probably fix this problem (maybe it would be worth it to get one?), so there is no way I can add just 5 lbs. without making one arm work harder than the other.

As a result, every time I notched up the weight, I was increasing by 10 lbs., not 3 or 5, which are the increments more likely suited to the design of the BFL guide. The lower resistance was way too easy, and the higher resistance was nearly impossible. I went through the entire workout this way, and I realized by the end of it that I would need to change this workout next time, otherwise there would be no way for me to get a consistent workout.

I obviously did something to my muscles, though, because my arms felt like jelly for a good hour afterward. Later that night, I really started feeling sore and tight, which I know is a good thing, but reminded me that I need to do a lot more stretching before and after my workouts.

This morning, I got up and turned on Jillian Michaels’ 30-day Shred on Comcast On Demand. I figured I’d start with Level 1, and it’s a good thing, because it kicked my butt! Things I need to have next time I work out with her video:

  • a yoga mat (she switches back and forth from on-the-floor exercises–abs & push-ups–to standing/running/jumping exercises)
  • hand weights (I used soup cans from the pantry this time, but I know I have some hand weights somewhere, and I’ll have to dig them out)

I’m still not entirely sure how I’m going to do her workout while I’m at the Renaissance Faire this weekend (we basically camp out on grounds, so it’s dirty and the floor isn’t exactly even…and then there’s the whole shower situation to contend with — don’t get me started). I might have to modify this exercises program again and turn my three days in Lancaster into jogging days or something.

I figure as long as I’m doing SOMETHING, I’m working towards my goal.

And the winner is…

…all of the above!

I decided that I can combine the 30-day Shred with the Bowflex 6-week challenge to help me with the 12-week Body-for-LIFE Challenge. Today* was SUPPOSED to be the first day of the challenge, but already I’m off to a rocky start. I had hoped to get some cardio done in the morning, but I didn’t plan ahead very well, and by the time I was ready to get started, it was time to leave the house.

Sigh.

It’s okay, though. I filled out all the paperwork for the Body-for-LIFE challenge, and then I made Ray take “before” pictures of me tonight (I promise, there is no way I’m posting those pictures until I have something to compare it to!), so tomorrow will be the official start of the challenge for me.

The packet for the challenge comes with some questions I have to answer about my inner transformation, too (yes, I have to write an essay at the end of all this, which is why chronicling my experience on the blog will help). Here’s question #1:

What was the turning point you experienced that made you decide to compete in the Body-for-LIFE Challenge?

It’s not like I had an epiphany or hit rock bottom; as I’ve mentioned before, my husband bought a Bowflex for us to get in shape, and knowing the way I work, I realized the way for me to really achieve my fitness goal is to have structure. Hence the challenge.

Here is my exercise plan for Week 1:

DAY 1 (Wed., Sep. 2)

Upper Body Weight Training

  • Warm Up – 10-min (Exercise TV On Demand)
  • Upper Body Weight Training
    • Chest Fly
    • Bench Press
    • Pulldown – seated
    • Row – seated
    • Front Deltoid Raise – seated
    • Rear Deltoid Row – seated
    • Biceps curl – standing
    • Biceps curl – lying
    • Triceps extension – seated
    • Triceps Kickback
  • Cool Down: stretches

DAY 2 (Thurs., Sep. 3)

  • Jillian Michael’s 30-day Shred (Exercise TV On Demand)

DAY 3 (Fri., Sep. 4)

  • Warm Up – 10-min (Exercise TV On Demand)
  • Lower Body Weight Training
    • Hip Abduction – seated
    • Hip Adduction – seated
    • Leg Extension – seated
    • Calf Raise – seated
    • Reverse Crunch
    • Crunch – resisted
  • Cool Down: stretches

DAY 4 (Sat., Sep. 5)

Isn’t it just like me to pick a holiday weekend when I’ll be out of town to try to get into the swing of things?

  • 30-Day Shred Day 2 (downloaded onto laptop)

DAY 5 (Sun., Sep. 6)

  • 30-Day Shred Day 3 (downloaded onto laptop)

DAY 6 (Mon., Sep. 7)

  • 30-Day Shred Day 4 (downloaded onto laptop)

DAY 7: Free Day

So that’s the plan. Let’s hope it works!

*I meant for this post to go out earlier in the day on Sep. 1, but it looks like the time of posting will be almost midnight. So much for doing ANY of this today.

The Contenders

As promised, I have narrowed my fitness regimen choices down from the thousands out in cyberspace to just a few. Let me know which one you think I should take!

#1: 30-day Shred

The Jillian Michaels 30-day Shred exercise regimen first got on my radar through one of my college roommates, Christine, who lives and blogs in Boston. Her “after” pictures in a bikini radiate so much confidence that I couldn’t help but check out the program she used. Turns out she followed along with the Shredheads as they worked out with Jillian for 30 days back in March.

Imagine my surprise when my friend Amy recommended the same program in her comments to my last post!

PRICE: free but limited (on Comcast On Demand) to about $8 for the DVD on Amazon.

PROS: recommended by friends

CONS: This DVD boasts that you can lose 20 pounds in 30 days. Is that healthy? Or is that just hyperbole?

#2: Bowflex 6-week Challenge

I’m kind of already doing this challenge, except for the cardio part. I mean, heck, we’ve got a Bowflex, so there’s no doubt I’ll be using it. The question is, will I be able to figure out how to do all these exercises correctly? As I mentioned in my last post, the pictures and explanations in the little booklet Bowflex provided has been little to no help, and I feel like I’m flying blind.

There are some solutions to my information problems, but those solutions cost money. FitnessBliss has a fitness software solution to track and suggest different routines specific to the Bowflex ($15). There is also a “must have” book about the Bowflex called The Bowflex Body Plan by Dr. Ellington Darden ($13 used on Amazon).

PROS: I don’t have to change much of what I’m already doing, except add cardio.

CONS: It’s still a pretty DIY solution, and I’m a busy person. I’d prefer to have someone tell me exactly what to do and when.

COST: $15 FitnessBliss software + $13 book = $28.

#3: 12-week Body-for-LIFE Challenge

The Body-for-LIFE Challenge runs on the principles of eating right & exercising properly, and if you join the challenge (which starts Sep. 1 — the same time I was thinking of starting!), they provide you with exercises to do and meal planning suggestions.

PROS: Cash prizes! $25,000 for Grand Master Champion & $10,000 for Category Champions.

CONS: Still a little DIY, but not as much as the Bowflex Plan. And, let’s face it, anything I do will have to be customized to my own personal workout style.

COST: Free (unless I want to purchase any of the numerous EAS products they have on their website — for which I would be reimbursed, naturally, if I win. Hey, they’ve gotta make money somehow).

I’ve got a pretty good idea what I’m going to do now, but I’d love to hear what you think, either in the poll below or in the comments section.

Let me know what you think!