Monday, July 8, 2013

Rubber Legs

Dear Sweet Jesus, what have I gotten myself into?

I went to Zumba class after work. If you don't know what Zumba is, it is a dance fitness class created by a spanish devil in the 90s that is high energy and sexy.




I like dancing and high energy music so this will be fun, I tell myself. The first 20 minutes I was really into it enjoying jumping up and down and I was doing alright keeping up with the instructor. I could tell my enthusiasm was starting to come down by the first half hour but I was determined to push as hard as I can. Then the squats came... So many squats... I was pouring sweat too and then came the jumping jacks. You didn't have to do just jumping jacks either. It was dance in a circle slap the floor then jump high in the air, repeat. Repeat over and over again. My body was screaming "fuck you" at me. My legs feel like rubber and on top of that I can tell I don't look sexy I look more like...


 Nonetheless, I had fun listening to the music and being down right uncoordinated. I owned my clumsiness and when I got lost in the complicated foot work I just did my own thing. I sweated a lot and though I am sore all over I know ultimately that is a good thing. Had some grilled chicken and green beans after my work out for a healthy dinner. Tomorrow I probably wont go to the gym but on Wednesday I am going to be taking a sexy chair work out. I'm not sure exactly what that means. Regardless, I'm sure it will include me doing some ridiculously exaggerated version of what the instructor wants me to do and I'll end up on the wrong end of the chair.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

The Starting Point

So here is our starting point...

Measurements are as follows...
Waiste 44"
Hips 50"
Thighs 30.5"
Biceps 17"



Now let the work begin.

Pizza's Not for Breakfast!

It's Sunday Funday! That means sleeping in, cartoons, and big brunches, right?
Well, something like that. I did do the sleep in part but when I woke up I hadn't forgotten about the main task for today: buy a scale and get some measurements. First I needed fuel so it was off to the grocery store to figure out what delectable brunch I could make for myself.
 
 My boyfriend is working early and my roommate is out of town so it is just me to cook for. Now I know there is countless diets out there that claim to be fastest, healthiest, easiest, better, best, and so on... I can't say for certainty any of them are better than the other. My theory is this: We are all unique snowflakes. What works for one person may not work for another. What worked when you were 18 may not work when you are 28. I think the best thing is to be open mind and try to stay educated. Part if this blog will be an educational journey. Some of my ideas about food will surely change as I learn more. Right now I think I am going to try and stick with a low carb, high protein diet. I am choosing a low carb high protein diet because 1. I have seen it work for people. 2. I have had it work for me in the past and 3. there is a plethora of studies that show that low carb dieters tend to lose weight faster than people on a low fat diet. There are so many articles out there and some with conflicting information so it's hard to pin down the truth but one source I have found that I trust is NPR's Low-Carb vs. Low-Fat. I will do a blog another day expanding on my ideas behind choosing this path but for now what is important is having a game plan prior to going to the grocery store. Here is what my bounty looked like
 
 A bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts
 A carton of eggs
Some cooked ham slices
BabyBel cheese snacks
 Canned Tuna
 Canned vegetables
Pickles
 Almonds
Mozzarella slices
 Smoked Salmon
 Celery
 One Beautiful Tomato.
 Obviously this isn't a structured weeks of groceries by any means. My lifestyle is busy and not very structured so I know I won't commit to a weekly menu. It is great if you can, I envy you, but I'm going to be realistic here. I don't always cook and when I cook it isn't always at my own house. The idea behind this shopping trip is to get things that are very easy to grab and go. If I am in a hurry and there is nothing quick in the house I am more likely to make a trip through the drive-thru of Grease-R-Us. Chicken breasts are easy to grill up on the George Forman's Grill in no time. The majority of the eggs I will hard boil so they are an easy grab in the morning for breakfast along with some snack cheese and almonds (yay for protein). I love pickles and they are very low carb. Celery is one of the healthiest foods according to this article on Celery . I have heard celery described as an anti-food because you burn more calories digesting it than you get from consuming it. I prefer to by my meats and vegetables the day I am going to cook them for freshness but for the sake of having low carb options on hand I bought the celery. The tomato I used for breakfast this morning..
.
 A slice of tomato, a few of the ham slices, an over medium egg with melted mozzarella on top with a dash of Italian seasoning. It was delicious. So all fueled up it was time to go get supplies.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

The Journey Begins..




I would like to invite the people of the internet world to take a journey with me. I don't know if we will reach the intended destination but like Emerson said, "Life is a journey, not a destination." This journey is to take my tummy to rehab.
I want us to start at the very beginning with this. Right now I couldn't tell you how much I weigh exactly because I don't own a scale. I could guess but we will get "down and dirty" with that later. I will say I am no skinny girl trying to lose five pounds to look extra good next to my best friend in her wedding photos. I've always been a big girl, from a family of big girls, and that has never bothered me.
Please do not mistake my desire for this body transformation adventure as a sign of low self-esteem. I think I am beautiful. I grew up with a beautiful mother and beautiful sisters and have been fortunate enough to always have people in my life to remind me of this. I currently have a man in my life who is not shy to tell me he thinks I'm sexy and I adore that about him. I do think what it means to be "fat" is being re-defined in our generation. I think big women have the capacity to be equal, or even more, sexy than their model skinny counterparts and I am not alone in this. The growing business for plus size clothes, plus size models, and plus size porn stars means there are a lot of men out there to love women like me. This is not about that though.
This tummy training is about being healthy, learning something new, and proving to myself I am in control of my own body and destiny. 
During this blog I want to share progress and setbacks on trying to get in shape and lose weight. I will also share information I've learned, articles I've found that I find helpful or interesting on topics of weight loss and fitness. I want to share not only the physical transformation but the emotional ones as well as I know there will be times this will take an emotional toll.
I look forward tomorrow to starting with a bass weight and measurements to post.