5K, here I come!

So, not a long post... I barely write on here anymore! But anyway, I'm excited to report that I am more than halfway through training for my first 5K run in August. I am doing the "Couch to 5K" program and am currently in week 6 of the 9 week regimen. It's not always easy, I will admit (running doesn't come naturally to me)- HOWEVER I do not *hate* to run anymore like I used to. Running 3x a week has become kind of standard. And luckily I have the support of my sweet boyfriend, who is also doing this training with me. It was actually his idea- without him I would have never undertaken running or even thought about a 5K. He's awesome for helping to keep me going and pushing me beyond my normal boundaries.

As for other fitness stuff, I'm considering trying a personal trainer for a few months upon the suggestion of the staff at my Endocrinologist's (thyroid doc) office. The struggle continues for me with my extra flab... as always. But I have a feeling that in about a year I'm going to want to be looking my best for a potential life-changing ceremony. Did I mention that my boyfriend is awesome? :)

That's all for now. I have a smile on my face, and I'm off to bed. :)

Up before 6am on a Saturday.

Whyyyy am I up so early on a non-work day? This is actually way earlier than I get up during the week. My stupid nasal passages are semi-blocked and seriously impeding my breathing patterns. Makes for crap sleep. Anyway.

Since I'm up, I might as well update- the last blog I posted is me with a funny tanline. We're WAY out of tanline weather in Ohio (unless you're hitting the tanning beds.) The weather just took a major turn and there's lotsa snow. I don't mind it too much right now, but come March and April I'll be way over it.

So I went to a specialist yesterday for my thyroid because I am SO aggravated about not being able to lose a pound. I thought maybe my medication needed to be tweaked or something. It's been well over a year that I've had this problem- and I've been so very conscientious about watching food intake and exercising... with no positive result. Ever since I finished P90X my weight has hovered around the same number no matter WHAT I do. I even fasted for a weekend and I only lost 1.8 lbs, and immediately gained it back. I didn't care for the fasting. Won't be doing that again. Anyway, the doc checked labwork that I had done and actually said my TSH level (thyroid hormone) is a bit off. He felt around my neck and said the gland itself is slightly enlarged. We talked extensively-which was nice since he didn't kick me out of the room after 10 minutes- and he said how even if the TSH level is off just a bit it can cause somebody to not lose a pound. I was silently thanking him profusely for saying it. FINALLY a doctor confirmed what I thought was happening. I've been to several other endocrinologists and a few general practitioners and they made me feel kind of stupid and as if I was making things up for a "quick fix" for weight loss. That's SO not the case. I just don't want my freakin' body to work against me during my weight loss efforts! I am more than willing to put in the exercise and hard work- I just want results! It's totally wrong I wasn't getting any. This doc actually asked about my workout regimens and my lifestyle. I think he realized I wasn't trying to blow smoke up his ass, I just want my body to function properly. He upped my dosage of Synthroid. I'm so hoping this does the trick. We'll see how the next few months go... follow up with the doc is in April.

Speaking of workout regimens, I did buy another. I know it's been out for a while, but I decided to get Chalean Extreme. I just really like Chalene as an instructor (Turbo Jam is a fave workout). I know in some of my video blogs I said I was going to get Insanity from Beachbody, but here's the deal: I'm having a really hard time doing workouts that aren't *fun* these days. I bought Jillian Michaels Banish Fat Boost Metabolism- which is basically all interval drills- and I literally wanted to cry. Granted, the workouts were hard, but I actually burned less calories than when I do my dance class and it was only about 25% as fun. I have a feeling that Insanity is 0% fun. I'm just not at a spot in my life where I want to take on a workout like that. I'm optimistic for Chalean Extreme- and I'm hoping with the boost in my thyroid meds that I'll actually see results! Sadly, I've been sick since New Year's Eve so I have been unable to start the program. I'm hoping to next week! I also will post a blog on YouTube sometime within the next month or so. I think there are a few crazies out there who actually miss seeing my face. lol

I should go lay back down and try to get a little more sleep. I have a big day today (an important bowling match awaits me!) I suck at bowling, and I'll lose regardless of being tired or not. But still, a few more zzz's couldn't possibly hurt.

you wish you were THIS cool!

Oh yeah, check out my supah-cool bodybugg tanline...

lol!

Facing fitness fears.

Fitness fears. I don't have many of 'em. I welcomed the P90X 90-day challenge. I kicked the crap out of Turbo Jam. I've also taken step aerobics, spinning, BOSU, bootcamp cardio, and various strength training classes- I've even been running a little this summer! With all of this being said, there is one area of fitness that has equally intrigued *and* scared the crap out of me. This particular area is... dance. It's a tricky thing for me, because I sincerely admire/envy those with rhythm and I get really addicted to any dancing show on TV. Sadly, I severely lack rhythm and grace. Well, I have decided enough is enough and I am going to give it a shot and not care if I look the fool. :) The first series I am doing is a fusion style dance fitness class- hip hop belly it's called. Should be verrry interesting! After this series, I may tackle ballroom. Again, something I'm totally intrigued by but have been too scared to try. It sounds like so much fun, and will be great exercise too!

My first hip hop belly class is next Tuesday (September 8th.) I'm pumped and I will NOT back out. Will not back out.... will NOT back out...

Right. I won't back out. :)

More later!

I'm deficient... (yet again!!!)

So, I went to the doctor last week because I have just really been feeling out of sorts. The weather has been gorgeous lately, and what do I come home and do after work? Sleep. I've also been getting the "you look tired" from others. My concentration has been crappy and I haven't even really felt motivated to work out as much as I used to. Yeah, that's SO not like me. Another really super-annoying thing is that no matter what I do my weight is not changing. I was very religiously body-bugging, recording every calorie I took in and uploading all of my info at night for my calories burned. My average daily deficit for my first 30 days of using the bugg was 500 calories (I ate about 1400 a day and burned about 1900.) I gained weight. I should have been losing about a pound a week with that deficit. Makes NO F'ing SENSE!! So I went to the Cleveland Clinic to discuss this with a doctor.

Anyway, the doc ran some blood tests on me for stuff she suspected... and one result was vitamin D deficiency. It's not really a huge shock, because a big source of vitamin D is from sunlight. This is bad for us Ohioans who don't see a whole lot of sunshine... I am also somewhat of a sun-avoider, even when it's out (have to preserve the skin!!) So anyway, Vitamin D deficiency is just added to the list of other crap that can make me tired and mess with my weight (hypothyroid and b12 deficiency.) My body is dumb.

I just got this result today and filled my prescription for my vitamin D supplement- and decided to poke around online to see what I could see concerning symptoms of D deficiency. Then I decided to type in "Vitamin D deficiency + weight gain." I found some interesting results. Here's a snippet:

Moreover, people who have a reduced capacity to mobilize vitamin D often weigh more and have more body fat than those with full capacity. In the past 20 years multiple studies have shown a correlation between higher blood levels of vitamin D and leaner body mass.

there seems to be a correlation between rising rates of obesity and vitamin D deficiency. If you are having difficulty with insulin resistance or weight gain — or can’t keep the pounds off once you lose them — you may want to have your vitamin D levels checked by your healthcare practitioner.

Interesting indeed. I'm curious to see if the D will help me at all with losing the pounds and keeping them off. I'm not hanging all of my hopes on it, but dang- it sure would be nice to see all of my hard work pay off by actually losing fat and keeping it off!

Bodybugg calorie breakdown

I find the bodybugg absolutely fascinating. I am constantly keeping tabs of individual activities to see how many calories I burn and how many steps I take. Here are some breakdowns of workouts:

Powerwalk/Jog
1hr 13mins | Calories Out: 461 | Steps: 5894

Turbo Jam Cardio Mix 1 with weighted gloves
44 mins | Calories Out: 344 | Steps: 4653

Ab Jam (Turbo Jam Ab workout)
20 mins | Calories Out: 64 | Steps: 734 (standing ab portion)

TJ Punch Kick & Jam with weighted gloves
50 mins | Calories Out: 358 | (Forgot to record steps)

Cardio Jam Live with weighted gloves
30 mins | Calories Out: 250 | (Forgot to record steps)

Walk/Jog with weighted gloves
1hr 40mins | Calories Out: 645 | Steps: 9204

I've been working late the past few days (and over the weekend), so I've missed a few workouts. Can't wait to get back to my routine!

I'm amazed.

The bodybugg is worth every penny. I am amazed by it and I love it. The website where you log everything is incredibly comprehensive and fantastic. When you upload the data from your armband, it even graphs your movement hour by hour throughout the day. Everything is concise and easy to understand. If I have any complaint, I would say entering the calories consumed can be mildly aggravating. It's not always the easiest to find the full nutrition breakdown for every item consumed, and the program won't allow you to just enter calories. I tried to do that with a piece of fruit I ate... it forced me to put the carbs and protein in before I could save the info. I think it may be because there is a pie chart with a breakdown of how many fats, protein and carbs you should consume based on your goals and preferences. It requires that info to give you accurate feedback.

I definitely recommend the digital display along with the armband. I love being able to glance down and see the amount of calories I've burned throughout the day, the steps I've taken, etc. If you don't have the digital display, you can't see anything in real time... you have to wait until you upload from the armband to the web site. Another nice thing is that you can gauge how many calories you burn for specific activities. Out of curiosity, I compared to see how accurate the workout mode on Dance Dance Revolution is when I play my Wii. It was 50 calories off. :P I track everything and I am constantly looking at the display. It makes calorie management so much more fun- AND I've had at least a 500 calorie deficit every day that I've worn the bugg. It makes me so much more conscious of my choices. I just love it. I'm very happy. :D

Here's a sample page from the web site. You can see in the graph exactly where I took my Spinning class in the evening. lol :)