Week 3 Days 6-7 and Week 4 Days 1-3

Needless to say, the past week has been challenging in ways other than exercising and eating right (although I’ve worked at both as best I can).  My older daughter’s godfather is in very serious condition at home and not expected to live for much longer.  Our impending loss is casting a pall over everything right now; life won’t be the same without his humor and his courage.

On top of everything, I missed getting the measurements and pictures done on Sunday morning.  It’s unlikely that my daughter will be willing to get up at 5:30 in the morning to get the next round done, so it will have to be next week.

The pounds go up and down, but that always seems to be the case when I get near that 130 mark. That in itself is mildly depressing because once I see the downside of that, it seems the remaining pounds come off easily.  I satisfy myself with the ease and delight of my morning runs outside (checking out the latest construction sites and updates as I go) and the strength I have now.  My arms are becoming more defined and I’m hoping to follow up with the waist and bum soon. That seems to be where the pounds are stubbornly located and need to be “blasted away.”

I need to get back to the MAP forum and the others there to see how things are going. I’d like to finish out these last few days on a high note.

Week 3 Day 5

Fasting went well today.  I kept the water nearby and when I tired of drinking it cold, I started drinking it hot.  I didn’t have any urge for herbal teas. Perhaps I’ve had my fill of them for a while.

I kept my last meal last evening deliberately high fiber and low carb (fresh green beans with a little sprinkle of chopped almonds). Dinner this evening was a large salad of raw veggies and lean grilled chicken breast along with a glass of water with a lemon slice.  I’ve not been tempted to do anything beyond that.

The workouts today went well as did my work on my bibliography for my paper.  I discovered it was the adjustment to my contact lens that seems to be tiring me so much.  It makes sense since I’m using multi-focal lens and my brain needs to adjust.  Until the paper is done, I won’t be wearing them much.  A day off of them has also improved my mood.

I’ve been pushing heavier weights on the workouts and varying style on some of the exercises to hit my glutes a little harder.  I have the cursed “boy’s butt” which some guys like, but I wouldn’t mind a little more lift and curve to it.  Might as well see what I can do now.

I have noted on those days when I push myself on my workouts, I tend to carry that attitude through on other projects as well and make progress.  Doubtlessly something to remember as an additional incentive to keep with the program. I am already feeling much stronger and when one considers that it hasn’t even been a month, that’s pretty darned impressive!

Week 3 Day 4

Started the day off with a run during the early morning hours.  It’s been hot, muggy, and stormy here lately and a beautiful clear sunrise was the perfect time to be out and moving. After the past few days of not feeling up to par, it was good to be moving again.

The events of the past few days have affected my endurance within the various exercise circuits of the day, but I did make it through each one. I’m still having trouble with the exhaustion by night, though. Given the work that I need to do after the day job is done, that is bothersome, but I’m pressing on today and going to work on the bibliography for my paper during my odd free moments today.

The scales have moved back up a few pounds and I’m not sure if that is due to the hormonal part of my current cycle or if the earlier “loss” was only a water-weight fluke.  In any case, discouraging because I just can’t seem to break that 130 pound limit, I’ve been sticking with the diet and exercise, and I still have the bulging lower abdomen that doesn’t want to budge.  Unlike many of the other women on the program, I have control of my estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels since they are “artificially” supported by my MD.  Rather makes me wonder if I should pull out those horrid tasting amino acids again and start to play games with the bio-chemical HGH-stimulating combos.  Not exactly an attractive thought at the moment, particularly as I recall the niacin flush and standing under a cold shower so I would resist scratching my skin off for the fifteen minutes that it would last – not to mention the light-headedness that accompanies the vasodilation.

Fasting tomorrow and I’m going to start the “calorie awareness” and cut myself back to 1200 per day during the remaining days of the cycle (1500 max for those days when I allow a bit extra).  I’ll follow that regime for a couple of weeks and re-evaluate whether  I should continue it until I get down to the lower 120s.  All based on how I look and feel.

Here’s hoping the mild depression and discouragement lifts somewhat once the schoolwork is completed.

Week 3 Days 2 and 3

No daily log over the past two days.  They have been ones of exhaustion and generally not feeling well despite every attempt to get more rest. I wasn’t watching my nutrition and hydration as carefully as I should have been and my energy finally gave out.

Day 2 started with a hard workout. Because I don’t have a lot of speed (old foot surgery makes me just a little unstable balance-wise if I need to rely on my right big toe as the main “point”), I’ve opted to weight my exercises so I work harder on the ones that I do manage to get through. The result is both cardio and strength demands but I burn out fast.  I’ve also cut back this week to try to get those last few pounds to budge and guess what…it appears that for now I’ve gained everything back.  Strange, but I don’t think the regain can be all water weight.

In any case, Day 3 was a total wash.  I slept most of the day, which is extremely unusual for me. Also, the only food I craved was yogurt, so I ate a quart of plain, unsweetened, no-fat organic live culture yogurt and my stomach immediately began to feel better. Still, I kept my intake low last night so as not to overwhelm my system (chinese-style veggie soup with seafood), did a little more school work, and then went to bed.  I was still out cold when the alarm went off this morning.

Beyond the workouts, I’ve also been working at restructuring my thinking about school and my current well-behind-time assignment.  Rather than phrasing my current status as “trying to get caught up”, I’ve adopted a hint given by one of the other MAP-pers and dropped the “trying to” and made it  “completing the assignment by July 1st.”  Period.  It is amazing the power one grants oneself  when the affirmation is stated positively.  I sat down, wrote out a plan, got feedback from the instructor (which didn’t make me entirely happy since there is a bit of additional work now, but I do have the materials).  Now it’s a matter of moving ahead with the plan and making progress.  I have a lot of writing to do, but taking the time to put the information in order makes it all so much easier.  It’s the paraphrasing that is always such a challenge.  The word choices one uses to describe what has been learned can make the difference between an outstanding and a ho-hum presentation.

The family continues to have issues raise their ugly heads.  My older daughter’s godfather is dying. He’s been in and out of the hospital and in poor health for a while, but still it’s hard to see the end approaching.  She’s grieving his loss as one of the big influences in her life.  The younger daughter is experiencing job issues as one of the workers in her summer-job office is now in the hospital following brain surgery for a tumor removal.  Long time smoker and she now has both lung and brain tumors. There has been a shift of responsibilities among the staff and daughter two’s part time job became a full time different job until the owner decides what to do.  She is tired and stressed out at the end of each day – hardly the way she needs to spend the summer when she already has a demanding life at the institute during the school year.

Just a few more days to get through before the holiday. I both look forward to and dread it as the deadline looms and it seems my choice more and more becomes sleep or schoolwork. I am SO glad that I elected not to take a course this summer!

Week 3 Day 1

Today has been one of rushing and exhaustion. I got the first workout in in the morning before work and hit it hard. Maxed out my circuits, but I don’t feel like I’m ready to move up quite yet.  They have me breathless and shaky by the time I’m through.

I caught one at home during lunch since I had to give my daughter a ride to work and all was still well.  A bit tired and feeling slightly off, but put it down to perhaps a little mild dehydration (although why I would be with all the water I drink is a mystery).

By the time I got home, I collapsed from exhaustion and went to bed for a nap.  That is so rare an event as to practically deserve noting on the calendar.  I haven’t been able to nap since my bout with FMS almost a decade ago, but I fell asleep last night and forced myself to get out of bed by seven so I could work on my paper some more. Still, even walking to the grocery with my daughter last night seemed to be a trial of putting one foot in front of the other.   I did a little work on the outline of the paper and then went to bed to see if I could sleep off whatever was trying to “get” me.

…then the thunderstorms started and the tornado siren started sounding. All in all a rather interesting night weather-wise here. At least we kept electricity and the tornado didn’t come as far north as my suburb.

Week 2 Day 7 progress report

Up early and did my first sessions of the day back to back (one of them my cardio). It’s Father’s Day here and my daughter has plans to take her dad out and I’m helping her get things ready. I honestly think that the workouts and nutrition are the things that are helping me stay healthy physically and mentally right now as I deal with the pressures of changes at work, home, and school. There are still mental exercises that Dax has recommended that I’m trying to work through.  Just not enough time for everything the moment I’d like to do since the paper for my class is a priority (deadline looming). Sleep too must be considered.  I’m still having a rough time with it and may up the adaptogens just a bit again. That seemed to help keep me resting the other day when I didn’t realize how much was in each tablet.

The progress has been good so far. I don’t feel deprived at all and am still losing weight while maintaining or gaining muscle. While doing a bit of straightening in my room yesterday, I came across my original “Meltdown/MAP” sheets from January. How gratifying it was to discover that when I did my trials this time around, my baselines were three to four times greater than they were then – after almost three months off program due to surgery and other life situations (job changes, etc.) getting in the way. Coming back and hitting it hard but in a controlled manner certainly works.

Now time for the first exercise of the day for week 3!!

Week 2 Day 7 pictures

As promised, here are the latest pictures. My daughter’s only remark was that it wouldn’t hurt me to smile for once.  😛

I haven’t quite figured out how to put them up side by side to see the “before” and “current” ones.

Week 2 Day 7

Two workouts in thus far today and….tah dah! It’s measurement time again!!

Date: June 20, 2010
Body Location	Right (where applicable)	Left (where applicable)
Chest	35”
Waist at Umbilicus	29.875”
Natural Waist	27.25”
Hips	35.25”
Upper Thigh	18.25”	18”
Lower Thigh	14.5”	14.5”
Upper Arm	10.375”	10.5”
Weight as of 6/20/10	129 lbs

I was afraid to say anything about breaking the 130 lb barrier yesterday, but it looks like the measurement is consistent!! My original goal weight was 122 lbs by the end of July and this certainly keeps me on track.

Thus far a total of 4.625″  and 5 lbs lost.  I’m happy and feeling great about the progress thus far.

I’ll post the latest pictures later.

Week 2 Day 6

I managed to get all the workout in while juggling weekend errands and trying to make headway on my schoolwork. The difficult thing is there is no “me space” in the house outside of my bedroom that isn’t regularly invaded by other members of the family. There are times even getting the privacy for my workouts is a challenge. My younger daughter is getting better about it since she now has a rower to keep her busy and in shape (her absolute fav from school and our family holiday present this year).

I was tired but triumphant by the end of the day. I can tell that I’m getting stronger and the slack abdominal muscles are tightening up. Once MAP is done, I may go back to incorporating chin-ups and pull-ups into my routine again. I’m rather curious as to how cut I could get my back and arms.  Heck, I’m looking better in my fifties than I ever looked in my twenties and teens.

Pushing the times again on the workouts today.  When I compare to my original circuit time on one of them, I realize that I’ve shaved over 25% off the time and I’m still challenged.  If I can get to below 30 seconds per exercise on the total circuit, I’ll look at retesting and starting the whole cycle over again…or adding weight and trying to make my times.

The best thing thus far has been no matter how hard I push, I’m not seeing any injury risk. It’s like the body is conditioned by whatever is going on in the previous weeks and ready for the next phase as new materials are added. In all honesty, there is no way one can say there aren’t some exercises that are just dreaded because everyone has favorites.  However, once all are done, I congratulate myself on fulfilling the program.

Thank you, Dax, for making it all possible!

Week 2 Day 5

Today was a day of workout exhaustion and new triumphs. There were heavy thunder storms last night in the area that disturbed everyone’s sleep with a noise and light show. However, I pushed through my workouts anyway and kept to my nutrition regime.  I am extremely thankful to the co-op for having organic celery at 99 cents per head last week. With the varying heat and humidity, it’s watery crispness has been a welcome treat.

I beat my earlier circuit times by pushing on my second workout of the day and re-introduced an old favorite as the first. Twice through that one in the estimated appropriate time although my abdominals still seem a little lacking, which surprises me. I’ll watch my form a bit more carefully on all of the cores and see if that doesn’t straighten out in a week or so.

I can tell that the sessions and nutrition guidelines are really paying off.  Scale keeps moving down, slowly but surely, looking at about two pounds per week. In addition to that, the muscles are definitely building, particularly noticeable to me in my arm and shoulder area.  I still have a bit of a “worked out” feel in the area, but it’s all good.

On another note, Dax has had us looking at root causes for our decision (with a little ‘d’) to participate in the program which forces an examination of motivation. Not the most comforting thing in the world as I realize the devastation of two bad marriages and the way I allowed them to erode my self-confidence.  I kept fighting but immature mates have a way of wearing one down. Now it is up to me to take stock of my strengths and weaknesses and go on from there.

Balance. Ever and always, it’s all about balance.

Weekly measurements and pics coming up soon!  It should be interesting.