Waist Goals Update 5

It’s been 2 months since my last waist goals update, ie. my September resolution to lose 6cm from my waist.

Goal: 77cm waist; 85cm belly.

Right now I’m feeling awesome. My weight had been spot-on 170 the last 2 months but has gone up a pinch in May as my waist size has gone down.

I’m only 2cm away from my belly’s goal now but my natural waist is thoroughly enjoying an 82cm girth. :-/

Progress: (the measurements are waist/belly/weight)

Aug 15: 83cm/ 91cm/ 166.8lb
Sep 10: 83cm/ 89cm/ 166.2lb
Oct 10: 82cm/ 89cm/ 166.6lb
Nov 15: 81cm/ 87cm/ 169.4lb
Dec 1: 82cm/ 88cm/ 170.2lb
Jan 1: 82cm/ 88cm/ 169.4lb
Feb 1: 84cm/89cm/171.8lb
Mar 15: 83cm/88cm/170.0lb
Apr 15: 82cm/ 88cm/ 170.0lb
May 15: 82cm/ 87cm/ 170.8lb

Since March I’m down 1cm in both waist and belly. Fab!

Taken Aug 31

Taken Jan 28

Taken Mar 17

Taken May 14
. . . why hello there, shoulders and triceps.

As a refresher, my game plan was to increase my protein, cut out white carbs, plan out my late night snacks, include a cheat meal every week (with dessert and/or white carbs), and opt for high intensity exercise.

How I’m Following Through with my Game Plan:

So, umm… basically I’m not. I haven’t been following any sort of protocol in April and May.

I’ve easily decreased my protein consumption to about 50-70g per day (~15% of my calories) and my calorie intake dropped naturally (though not significantly).
As I mentioned in my March recap, I feel and function better with more carbs in my system.

Those carbs that I like so much are usually in the form of beans and vegetables, which make up most of my diet. I’ve continued to limit my intake of refined carbs, but not to the point that I’m only eating them once a week. It’s more like 3-4 instances per week of either pasta or bread or rice. . .

. . . as for dessert though, I’ve been eating it daily, so there’s that.

For me exercise is easy to follow through with. I’ve added a tonne more yoga to my weekly exercise and, of course, I can’t say enough about the awesomeness of the 5/3/1 programme that I’m working through right now.

I’m making some ridiculous strength gains and weirdly I’m not bored of doing the same exercises all the time. . . likely because I switch it up with all the high intensity cardio-style lifting I’ve been adding to the programme.

Going Forward . . .

I really think I have to rein in my sugar consumption. Maybe I’m not getting enough calories so I go for the quickest, easiest source? Or maybe I just have a sweet tooth (…it’s probably that).

Waist Goal Recaps:

My Waist Goals
Waist Goals Update 1 – October 2012
Waist Goals Update 2 – November 2012
Waist Goals Update 3 – January 2013
Waist Goals Update 4 – March 2013

Waist Goals Update 4

I haven’t given an update on my waist goals since the end of January. It was my resolution in September to lose 6cm from my waist.

I hit a snag in December with the delicious vicious holiday chocolate and cookie spreads I could hardly say no to but I’ve slowly made a comeback.

Progress: (the measurements are waist/belly/weight)

Aug 15: 83cm/ 91cm/ 166.8lb
Sep 10: 83cm/ 89cm/ 166.2lb
Oct 10: 82cm/ 89cm/ 166.6lb
Nov 15: 81cm/ 87cm/ 169.4lb
Dec 1: 82cm/ 88cm/ 170.2lb
Jan 1: 82cm/ 88cm/ 169.4lb
Feb 1: 84cm/89cm/171.8lb
Mar 15: 83cm/88cm/170.0lb

1cm down in both waist and belly. Minor improvement, but I’ll take it.

Taken Aug 31

Taken Jan 28

Taken Mar 17

You can’t really see any differences in the pictures, but that’s because I haven’t made any major progress.

As a refresher, my game plan was to increase my protein, cut out white carbs, plan out my late night snacks, include a cheat meal every week (with dessert and/or white carbs), and opt for high intensity exercise.

How I’m Following Through with my Game Plan:

Start the Day with Protein

Usually eggs or a smoothie are my typical breakfasts but on the days that I wake up in a rush to get to work (which is relatively often) I’m also been inclined to settle for some toast and butter, which I know isn’t really doing anything for me.

Going Forward: Give myself ample time to prep breakfast.

Overall though I’ve slowly been decreasing my protein intake and I must admit that I feel much better as a result. I think I need a high fibre diet to feel feel my best which is hard when you’re shooting for a high proportion of protein in your macronutrient split.

Cut out processed food and white carbs.

While I’ve cut way back on sugar because of Lent I’ve been baking some white bread and cooking pasta a little more often than I should be.

Going Forward: Plan weekly meals that have less refined starchiness and more protein and vegetables.

Cheat Meal

These last few weeks of Lent I’ve been having sweets on Sundays which has been working out pretty well.

Going Forward: I’d like to continue to limit my sweets to once per week.

High Intensity Exercise

As of last week I restructured my accessory lifts in the 5/3/1 Programme for weightlifting to be complexes and high intensity lifts (a la crossfit) to get more cardio in.

For example, yesterday after heavy deadlifts and sumo deadlifts I did:

5 rounds, as fast as possible, of:

- 10 Inverted Rows
- 15 Swings (40lb)
- 3 Burpee Broad Jumps

in 8:40.

Going Forward: I’ll keep this up for at least the next 3 cycles of 5/3/1

Plan Night Time Snacks

Yeeeeeeaaaah, umm, this had completely slipped my mind.

Going Forward: Calculate calories throughout the day to either allow for a late night snack or to make sure I don’t eat one when I’ve overeaten throughout the day.

Other waist goal recaps:

My Waist Goals
Waist Goals Update 1
Waist Goals Update 2
Waist Goals Update 3

Waist Goals Update 2

Remember my waist goal resolution that I set in September with my hopes to lose 6 cm from my waist? Vaguely? Yeah, me too.

I do have to constantly remind myself “You’re trying to lose inches remember?” because my goal hasn’t exactly been at the forefront of my mind. My last check-in was at the beginning of October, so I figured I was due for a post on my progress.

Progress: (the measurements are waist/belly/weight)

Aug 15: 83cm/ 91cm/ 166.8lb
Sep 10: 83cm/ 89cm/ 166.2lb
Oct 10: 82cm/ 89cm/ 166.6lb
Nov 15: 81cm/ 87cm/ 169.4lb

My weight is usually very consistent at 166, but weirdly enough it shot up 3 pounds and yet managed to lose 2 cm from my waist and 4 cm from my belly. (Further proof that it’s not about the number on the scale, people) I’m well on my way.

Taken Aug 31

Taken Nov 18

How I’m Following Through with my Game Plan:

Start the Day with Protein

I’ve been lazy getting up lately so my egg breakfasts have been pretty rare. I’ve been opting for smoothies with protein powder, yoghurt, or cottage cheese with frozen berries and honey.

I’ve been pretty consistent about taking protein after every workout too which is great. My health calendar has been helping me keep that on track.

Cut out processed food and white carbs.

Needless to say I’ve been baking a lot of whole wheat and whole grain breads lately. Except maybe for those kaiser rolls. My meal planning for weeknight dinners revolves around vegetables, protein, and whole grains.

Cheat Meal

This is still an issue, as usual, mostly because of the desserts. On my Health Calendar I think I have only 2 days per week where I didn’t eat dessert (my goal is to only eat it once per week), but it’s still better than multiple desserts every day, right?

High Intensity Exercise

This has been going really well. I finish my workout with circuits and complexes with high reps and minimal rest. Of course I always start out with some Olympic lifts or heavy lifting (deadlifts, bench presses, chin-ups, and various forms of squats) and my strength has been improving.

I have managed to eek out a 135lb bench press and 185lb back squats. Beast Mode.

I was doing 4 weightlifting sessions a week, but I’m going to cut it back to 3 and add more cardio. Starting this week I’m going to be reworking my exercise schedule to something like this:

Mon: Full Body Strength Training with High Rep/Low Rest Circuits
Tue: Tabata sprints (20s sprint + 10s rest) or Sled Work
Wed: Full Body Strength Training with High Rep/Low Rest Circuits.
Thu: Tabata sprints (20s sprint + 10s rest) or Sled Work
Fri: Full Body Strength Training with High Rep/Low Rest Circuits.
Sat: Easy Yoga
Sun: Long distance run or Rest

I’ll try posting a .pdf of my new routine this week.

Plan Night Time Snacks

My late night snackiness has continued to be suppressed, probably from all the protein that I’ve been eating. If I do crave something at night I’ve been having some casein protein with yoghurt or some dried or fresh fruit. It’s a little better choice than hot chocolate or cookies.

Waist Goals

I like September a lot. Even though I’m not in school any more, the Tuesday following Labour Day still has that feeling of newness and freshness and to me it feels more like New Year’s than January 1st. Which makes it a great time for a resolution.

Lately I’ve been feeling that my prioritization of healthy habits has fallen aside a bit.

I’ll give myself credit for doing some good things– like keeping up with my weightlifting– and that’s great, because I’m really happy with my strength levels, but I can maintain this habit only because I really, really love to exercise.

I also really, really love eating dessert and I haven’t had a problem doing that either…unfortunately that’s not exactly the healthiest of habits. I’ve noticed more than a little fat has started creepy on belly and honestly, as much as I talk about body love and acceptance, I’m not happy with it.

I don’t feel like a hypocrite here though. My body image has improved so much by blogging about it these past few years. And this extra fat? I’m not obsessed about it. It hasn’t given me feelings of low self worth and it hasn’t impeded my confidence. It doesn’t make me insult myself when I look in the mirror. It doesn’t make me cry.

Things would have been much different 3 years ago.

The extra fat is just something that I want to lose because I know that it’s healthier for me not to be carrying it around, and I know that I can still live comfortably without it.

I don’t care about my weight, which has stayed the same over the last year, give or take a pound (okay, give). I would, however, like to lose some centimetres from my waistline so my clothes fit more comfortably.

In order to give myself some tips on cutting, I consulted some old posts from my Bikini Birthday tone up to see what I was eating and how I was working out.

Goal

Lose 6cm from my waist.

Taken Aug 31, 2012

Game Plan

Start the Day with Protein
Something like eggs, a green smoothie with protein, or plain yoghurt with fruit. This way I can reduce my overall starchy food intake and restrict most of my starches to dinner time (ie. post workout).

Cut out processed food and white carbs.
I don’t eat a lot of processed food to begin with so eliminating that shouldn’t be a problem. Cutting back on bread and dessert will be a bit more of a challenge but I think I can manage, as long as I have a. . .

Cheat Meal
I will allow myself one cheat meal and one dessert per week (ya know, instead of dessert with every meal).

High Intensity Exercise
I have already started to incorporate sprints into my weekly exercise. I want to make my lifting a bit higher intensity as well, so I’m planning on doing more “Crossfit Style” workouts to incorporate circuits, lots of intensity, and minimal rest time between sets.

Plan Night Time Snacks
Often times I’m still hungry in the evening and I grab something sweet and unhealthy to eat. I’m going to try to consider my evening snack a little more thoughtfully before I eat it. Maybe some casein protein and cottage cheese or a fruit and a few almonds or a single square of chocolate. In other words, something satisfying but not sabotaging.

So hopefully this all works out. I’ll post progress every so often along the way to my goal.

Waist Goals Update 1 – October 2012
Waist Goals Update 2 – November 2012
Waist Goals Update 3 – January 2013
Waist Goals Update 4 – March 2013

2012 Weight Goals

I haven’t been weighing myself much lately. I checked my weight and measurements (waist and hip) before I started marathon training in September and sporadically throughout my training to make sure that I wasn’t over or under eating for the amount of exercise I was getting. I wanted my weight to stay consistent and it did. I hovered around 165lbs, give or take 2 pounds, for the entire 4 months (yes, I do know how much more 165lb is than 147lb)

I have been paying close attention to how my pants fit and while marathon training I found that they were feeling pretty damn tight around the waist (the first place on my body where weight starts to creep on). Since my weight was consistent I wasn’t too concerned though I was, quite frankly, uncomfortable. And I felt a bit schlumpy (<– not a real word, but you catch my drift).

I went straight back to weightlifting after the marathon with this workout and have been at it for almost 3 weeks now. Nothing makes me feel better than pushing some weight around (except maybe kicking teenage boys in the balls, but that’s another story) so I was happy to turn my focus to that instead of running.

It didn’t take long for me to start feeling awesome again. Last week I noticed that felt lighter and tighter and generally mahvelous.

My tight pants were fitting better which made my 8-hours-sitting-on-your-ass job more comfy. I checked my measurements right away because I like the validation:

Waist size – down a 2 centimeters (I knew it!)
Hip size – stayed the same (perfect! I like big butts and I cannot lie)
Weight – up 3 pounds (yes! . . .wait, I mean no! what? up 3lbs?!? say wha??)

I freaked out for about a second and a half, asking the scale if he was fucking kidding me. Didn’t he see my measurements!? Didn’t he know that I wasn’t stuffed like a sausage in my pants today?!

Then I told him to go to hell once again, because he lies and can’t be trusted.

I felt good and I looked good and that was good enough for me.

I’m really coming around and starting to realize that my weight has little to do with how I feel about myself and my body confidence.

So I’m going to focus on more important weight goals this year ie. how much weight I can push around.

2012 Beast Mode Goals

To be completed at some point by the end of the year

-Back Squats: 225lb (as deep as I can go with my tight shins)

-Bench Press: my body weight

-Pull Ups: 5 unassisted

-Push-Ups: 100 consecutive

Right now I’m adding a lot more push-ups into my training plan to complete the push-up goal, and generally trying to build back any of the strength I lost during marathon training.

BL Weigh In #1

So month 1 of our 2-month-long office Biggest Loser competition is over. I had my weigh-in the morning: Weight lost : 7.2lbs

This caused the eyes of the girls who weighed me in to widen. Mine too, actually.

I didn’t really lose that much weight in a month. According to my home scale I actually lost 3.5lbs, which I really am ecstatic about. I feel so much better and more comfortable in my body. Not gonna lie, I love the way my marathon training booty is looking these days too (even if it is bigger than before).

I have been maintaining my “get comfortable” plan including marathon training, regular yoga, and weightlifting. I have also been meticulously food journalling because my appetite is seriously out of control from all my running mileage. (My long runs are up to 14 miles!! Go me!) It has all been working very well for me and I am LOVING how energetic I feel right now.

But 3.5lbs? That’s pretty far off from 7.2lbs. Where did the rest go?

Well. . .

In an effort to win this thing I tried to make myself as heavy as possible for weigh-in #1 (does this make me a cheater? possibly. you tell me.)

The morning of weigh-in #1 I had eaten a huge breakfast and drank about a litre of water. I tried not to use the bathroom before I got on the scale. I wore the heaviest clothes I own and even wore winter boots. I contemplated wearing ankle weights too but thought that would cross the line between questionable practices and actual cheating, so I refrained. Today I did the complete opposite to make myself as light as possible.

Yes, I am THAT competitive.

But all these tactics aren’t going to help again next month. I’m going to have to actually lose some more real weight for the final weigh-in at the beginning of March. That’s going to take effort rather than cunning. Too bad. I’m so much better at cunning.

Six Months of Results

So, did you all see it? Me in my bikini glory? Tuesday was my birthday and I finally rocked a bikini for the occasion– the first bikini I’ve ever worn. Exciting? Yes. Stressful? Yes. I might have had a minor panic attack in the wee hours of Tuesday morning that nearly involved getting out of bed to delete my whole blog as if it never existed. But I didn’t. Accountability. I’m willing to let myself down, but random people who I don’t know from all around the world? Well, I wouldn’t want to let them down now would I? That would be a terrible thing.

So, yes, I followed through. And, I intend to post more bikini pictures after partying at the beach this weekend with my friends and family (lucky you!). Until then I have a whole different set of pictures that I want to share with you. The muscle shots.You know, the stereotypical bathroom mirror pictures that only douche-bags take? Yup, I took ‘em (and you’ll have to scroll all the way down to see ‘em). Feel free to judge me right now. Don’t worry though, I kept to myself the one of me kissing my bicep. I might have framed it for my cubicle.

The Numbers

So, you all know that I broke up with my scale, and I’m really happy with how well I’ve been doing about not obsessing over my weight. But, at heart, I’m a numbers kind of girl, so I stepped back on the scale to see how they stacked up:

January 27, 2010:

Waist:                           81 cm
Hips:                             103 cm
Waist to Hip Ratio: 0.79
BMI:                              25.3 (overweight)
Weight:                        153.6lb
Body Fat %:               33%
Muscle Mass %:        33%

April 29, 2010:

Waist:                           78 cm
BMI:                              24.5
Weight:                        149.4lb
Body Fat %:               31.3%
Muscle Mass %:        33.8%

July 27, 2010:

Waist:                           77 cm
Hips:                             102 cm
Waist to Hip Ratio:  0.75
BMI:                               24.2 (healthy!)
Weight:                         147.4lb
Body Fat %:                29.9%
Muscle Mass %:        34.5%

Body Fat 29.9%, Hydration 48.1%, Weight 147.4lb

Muscle Mass 34.5%, Bone 10.9%, Suggested Calories 1995

So, my goal was to get down to 24% body fat. Big time fail, according to the scale. BUT recall that this is a bioimpedence  scale that you step on so the current runs through your lower body and belly where most of the fat is. That’s unlike the hand-to-foot bioimpedence analysis that I had done at the Naturopath in March when I learned that I was actually more fit than my home scale described. I had a body fat percentage of 25% (normal), and muscle mass of 40% (high). So, if I consider my progress since March, I can probably assume that my numbers are slightly below these.

The Strength Gains

Over the past 6 months I have made some pretty impressive improvements in my weight lifting abilities. My strategy was to strength training before cardio, splitting my schedule into 2 upper body and 2 lower body days each week, and lifting very heavy weights for 4 to 6 reps. Check out some of my weight lifting programmes here.

I used this nifty calculator to determine my one rep maximums for just a few of my favourite exercises. I’m most impressed with my new ability to do pull-ups and chin-ups, which I was never able to do before (check this post for tips on how to learn to do a pull-up). Also, with my gains in my squats (no wonder my bum looks so good! see pictures below)

Upper Body

Lower Body

The Visuals

And now what you’ve all been waiting for, here are the dreaded before and after pictures. I only took 2 “before” pics and no muscle shots in January because I really, really didn’t want to take pictures of myself. Here’s what changes I’ve noticed:

• slightly smaller abdomen
• less chi-cha (aka muffin top)
• way nicer bum! holy hell, how much better does my bum look, eh?
• bigger arms

Before

After

Feel free to comment whether you agree or disagree with what I see in these pictures, or, of course anything else you might be thinking.

day 155: progress report

My 8 Weeks to Awesomeness is going awesomer than last week. But, as I mentioned in my break-up letter, my scale lies. It told me I lost 3lb this week, but I’m doubtful.

There are only 6 weeks left until my birthday.

Let’s see how I’m stacking up with my goals:

Calories:

Goal: 1500 cal
Avg this week -> 1610 cal

• That includes Saturday too, so I think it’s pretty good. An improvement on last week.

Macronutrients:

Goal: 40% protein, 40% carbs (mainly before and after my workouts), 20% fat
Avg this week -> 21% protein, 45% carbs, 34% fat

• Yikes, not nearly enough protein this week.

Exercise:

Goal: Keep doing what I’m doing – weightlifting 4x per week; yoga 2x per week; cardio 4x per week
This week ->
Weightlifting: 2 upper body and 2 lower body days
Cardio: 4 cardio sessions @ 150 min total (all 4 were morning cardio sessions too!)
Yoga: twice this week

• I think I did pretty well with my normal exercise routine, but exercising is not usually a problem for me since I like doing it.

I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing and maybe check in with the scale again next week to see if it was being honest.

I love this ad. It makes me wish I lived back then.

Could you imagine the outrage if this ad ran today with the line: “There’s no excuse for being fat”? I think there would be an outcry.

Now, if only I could wear a swimsuit like hers for my birthday. No bikini wax or weight loss required! (…and it has a schnazzy belt!)

day 137: progress pt 2

So I mentioned on Tuesday that I would weigh-in on Thursday. Here it is. I had to avert my eyes.

Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!

This is actually exactly the same as I was last week, but 1lb more than the last time I weighed in.

Damn. I was hoping for a 1lb loss. I am not a happy camper right now. I guess I’m going to have to tweak my calorie intake.

Today I was pretty diligent about my food intake. I had to be because I was so embarrassed about what I saw on the scale this morning. I ate 1470 calories and got 121g of protein (which about one third of my calories).

I’m even more embarrassed because I have an appointment with my Naturopath tomorrow morning. YIKES! I’m nervous and worried because I’ve done terribly at following the diet that she provided me and I think I’m in worse shape than the last time I saw her 10 weeks ago. My fingers and toes are crossed.

Maybe I can attribute the weight gain to too much of this:

SOURDOUGH

Since I made sourdough starter last week, I’m on a bit of a sourdough bonanza. I made this loaf (which I wholeheartedly did not expect to rise) that ended up turning out amazing!

I have a loaf of a Poilane style miche rising on my counter as I speak, a sourdough pizza dough in the fridge, and plans to make a sourdough chocolate cake this weekend.

Bread is my weakness.

day 100: week 14 check in

So I managed to stay the same for yet another week. Last week I was at 149.4lb and this week I’m at 149.2lb.

Apparently my body likes hovering just under 150lbs and doesn’t want to budge too much. It might be time for some sort of shake-up.
I’m pretty content with my exercise schedule right now so I’m thinking something diet related. I’ve been neglecting the diet that my naturopath put me on, so that could be an issue. Here’s what I’m supposed to be eating right now:

On workout days (which is most days) I’m entitled to 1900 calories broken down as

• 2 svgs legumes
• 2 svgs starchy vegetables
• 3 svgs protein
• 2 svgs nuts/seeds
• 6 svgs oil
• 3 svgs fruit
• 1 svg grains
• 1 svg protein powder
• unlimited vegetables

I’m really going to plan out what I eat to fit in the right number of servings of these food groups. Also, I’m not going to neglect the weekends (like I mentioned last week, the weekends are a third of the week!). Now excuse me while I go figure out what’s on my menu for tomorrow!

P.S. Thanks for the tips on good reads. Apparently I chose the wrong Michael Pollan book and should have read Omnivore’s Dilemma instead. I guess I’ll add that to my reading list too. Let me know if you have any more book suggestions!