My Week One is done, ladies and gentlemen. Some ups; some downs; who knew how often people ate on TV? Here is my update:
Hey guess what I hate
the stepmill.
I will not lie about this. I was definitely on the smug side
when approaching the cardio aspect this challenge. Shit, I spent two years running at 4 AM multiple
mornings a week. And not just any runs. We’re talking six miles thrice a week
along with two other 10-12 mile runs, one of which was an interval or a tempo.
Add to that a tempo-pace run of 15 or more miles, and boom – I was so badass.
What the hell was a maximum of 30 minutes of cardio at a time going to bring to
the table, amiright?
I don’t know if it wasn’t taking into account the afternoon
lifts and post-lift cardio bursts, but come Wednesday’s interval workout
through Saturday’s morning hills, my legs felt like 1,000-year-old petrified
Redwoods. I laugh now, but it was incredibly disheartening at the time.
Come this morning (Monday, Day One of Week Two), my legs
felt a little lighter, although this run was still a lot harder than I remember
the first 30 minutes of my runs being.
In the afternoon, my trainer suggested the Stepmill, to
which I say it can go fuck itself. Heading into the first Stepmill attempt, I
was all, “Self, this is going to be so easy.” Finishing it, I had to sit down
on one of the stairs. Long gone are the days on which I judge
people for how slowly they appeared to be going.
There was nothing easy about this machine whatsoever. I
stayed between level 6 and level 10. And I’m pretty sure that I got motion
sickness from staring at what my feet were doing so that I didn’t trip and fall. By Friday
it was easier, but not by much.
I Ehat You, Incline
Crunches (bonus points to Everybody Loves Raymond fans)
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Me vs. The Other Guy |
Lifting this week was simply a reality check regarding how
weak I am (see photo). I lifted heavily. For me, anyway, although adjusting to reps of 15-20 is
difficult when choosing the weight that will challenge you properly. This will
be my exploration during Week Two. By that I mean I’ll be asking my trainer
what her suggestion is. I trust this chick’s knowledge more than anything (
you should, too).
Also, sets of 30 incline crunches get really awkward when
you realize halfway through that your underwear is showing for the whole of the
gym to see.
The Diet Will Not be
Broken When I'm Not Breaking It
I was well aware heading into this competition that eating
properly would be my biggest challenge. My boyfriend makes the greatest rice
and beans I’ve ever eaten and he makes them semi-nightly. He also eats sweets
like a five-year-old. Luckily, though, he’s been incredibly supportive and
tries to eat his fatty, sweet, delicious foods away from me. H also helped me
immensely while grocery shopping and cooking on the last two Sundays – probably
saving me an extra hour that it would have taken solo.
Logistically, the largest problem was not having enough
containers in which to store the food for the week. Sounds lame, but it’s
really annoying when you want to get everything settled before you head into
the week. Also, the amount of dishes sucks as well, thanks to my not having a
dishwasher.
As far as the actual eating goes, I was great right up until
my first social challenge: my nephew’s 5th birthday party. I’ve
spent the majority of my life excusing my eating habits with some variation of
“I’ll pick it back up tomorrow.” The problem with this mentality is that if
you’re constantly on the last day of your non-diet, you’re constantly
unconcerned with how much you eat, therefore the likelihood of binging is at
about 100 percent. At least, with me it is. To recap: I was constantly
overeating and a birthday party would be a prime situation during which I’d
fall into my “pick the diet back up tomorrow.”
Full disclosure: I cheated. I brought meals with me and I
still cheated. I ate my meals and I still cheated. I’m not happy about this,
and neither was my trainer. However – and I’m aware that this may make me look
weak and not make me not sound like I’m serious about competing – I’m proud of
myself because my cheat was a salad with extra tomatoes (like a lot) and
balsamic vinaigrette plus three pickles. I did not touch the calzones (heaven),
the chicken tenders (also heaven), the tortellini salad (bliss), the chips and
doritos (mouth salivating) or the pepperoni, cheese and crackers plate (so
hungry) that sat in front of me the entire day. In order to not get down on
myself and quit, I need to be proud of this. I am still aware, though, that
even cheating with healthier foods is no good. I do not plan to do it again.
All that said, I made progress this week! Nothing to scream
and shout about, but progress just the same.
Weekly Check-in:
Starting: End of Week One:
Weight: 171lbs 165.8
Calf: 14” 14"
Thigh 24.2” 22.5"
Hips: 42” 40.5"
Waist: 34” 32.5"
Chest: 39” 37.5"
Bicep: 13” 12.75"
Just think: only 103 days left!