Back to Curves...

So, after two months of ridiculous morning sickness and never-ending viruses, I am back in the land of the living. I hope I am here to stay! My eating habits have become horrendous, but what can I say...I am ruled by my pregnancy taste buds and persistent nausea. Basically, I eat whatever I CAN eat at any given moment. And unfortunately, I have been craving the worst possible things. Namely, hot dogs, among other things.

As far as exercise, I had made a goal to work out through my entire pregnancy, but alas, illness was NOT in my plans. In the past two months, I have been to Curves only twice. Definitely not worth my $39/month membership. :( But I am officially in my second trimester and seem to be past the worst part of all of this. Now the hard part is overcoming the severe lethargy that set in these last few weeks. Where will I find the energy? Luckily, I told my husband of my plans to go back to Curves tonight. Around 4:30, I started to chicken out as I lay on the couch feeling so tired I wanted to die. I called him at 5:15, hoping he wasn't rushing home from work yet so I could tell him not to worry about it. But, he was already on his way and told me that I needed to make myself get up, get ready, and GO! So I did. I went in, did the 30 minute circuit, and took it really easy. It was still hard after doing nothing for a whole month. But as long as I keep it up at least three times a week, my body will get used to it again. Here's hoping this trimester will be 1000 times better than the first one!

Out of Control...

Today's Weight: 131 lbs

Well, I haven't been keeping track of my food like I said I would. It's a little tricky right now. I have been SO bad the last few days, sporadically eating whatever and whenever I want, etc. Somewhere along the line, I lost track...

It's just so hard controlling my cravings right now. I'm feeling more and more sick as the days progress, so it's getting harder to even know what I want to eat. A lot of foods, smells and textures are turning my stomach. But, the things I DO want to eat, I eat TONS of, because I feel SO hungry. Pregnancy is strange, that's all I can say.

I did exercise at Curves yesterday, despite my utter nausea and exhaustion beforehand. I almost didn't go. But I kicked myself in the butt and did it. It really felt a lot better than I imagined it would, so I'm glad I went. I found hidden energy stores that allowed me to complete the workout. I burned over 500 calories! Plus, I've discovered that my nausea completely disappears while I'm exercising. Bonus!

I'm going to try to eat better today, so here's the report:
Breakfast:
1/4 cup oatmeal = 1
1/3 cup granola = 1
1 cup 2% milk = 3
Sub-total: 5

Snack:
1 can mandarin oranges = 2

New weight management plan!

I just got home from a special meeting at Curves. They have a great weight management plan to help me reach my goal! I am so excited. It's based on counting calories, but they've already done the counting for me! I have a book with meal and snack options. The ingredients and exact serving sizes are all detailed out. You just have to pick 3 meals and 2 snacks for each day from the list. So simple! You can choose what they have listed, or you can exchange an item for something equivalent just by using the Nutritional Info on the packaging.

Phase 1 = 7 days eating 1200 calories per day

Phase 2 = 3 weeks eating 1500 calories per day

Phase 3 = 2-4 weeks eating 2000 calories per day, also called metabolic recovery

After that, the whole thing starts over again with phases 1 & 2 for 30 days, followed by phase 3 for 2-4 weeks. You perform this cycle for as long as it takes to reach your goal weight. Once you reach your goal weight, you stay in Phase 3 for maintenance.

I will update soon with how it's working out. For more info, go to CurvesComplete.com.

Current weight: 139 Goal weight: 115

Still going strong.

I've been faithfully working out at Curves since I joined. I try to go three times a week. Although, last week I only made it twice because of the jewelry show I was getting ready for. But, I've already gone on Monday and Tuesday this week. And I am finally feeling sore in my muscles, which means I am working harder than when I first started.

The difference came when I received my Curves Smart Card last Thursday. It's a small card that you insert into every resistance machine during your workout. It is specifically programmed for each person based on age, weight, blood pressure, resting heart rate, range of motion on each machine, and muscular strength. It knows, on each machine, what my maximum potential is (based on # of reps, and how hard I'm pushing). If I'm doing what I should, the display will light up green. If not, it will flash orange. The goal is to keep the light green for the whole time at each station. It is HARD! I'm not exaggerating. I've done pretty well so far at keeping it green on most of the machines. The only one I seem to have difficulty with is the inner thigh press. I can not make that one go green to save my life! My adductors need some work, apparently.

At the end of the workout, you then insert the card into the main computer to see instant results. It tells you how hard (by percent) you worked each machine, and also breaks it down by muscle group. It tells you how many calories you burned, and all sorts of other useful info. And if you come in two days in a row, it automatically adjusts your workout to be more of a cardio workout (i.e. the green light comes on easier), as to give your muscles a recovery day.

I really love this new technology. No more counting reps or putting weight plates on as I have done in past weight training programs. I love the challenge to push myself harder at each workout. And I'm really feeling the difference.

3 Workouts Down...

I've been to Curves three times now. It was VERY hard to get out of bed this morning. I almost convinced myself to stay home. But my fat cells aren't going to burn themselves off! So I pulled myself out of the house into the 24 degree freezing air at 6:30 am. And once again, it felt great!

For those of you who aren't familiar with Curves, it is basically a series of hydraulic resistance machines set up in a big circle. There are small square "recovery" mats between each machine. You do 30 seconds of intense repetitions at one machine, then move to the mat for a little cardio/aerobic movement for 30 seconds. Then you go to the next machine. It's 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off for all 15 or so machines. You do the whole circuit twice. It takes about 30 minutes total. Because of the quick pace, it is a very tough cardio workout. And at the recovery stations you can make it very intense with jumping and arm movements.

It's especially tough for me because I have no endurance built up yet. I find that during the workout, I occasionally feel light-headed. So I have to ease up a bit and just do really easy jogging-in-place between machines. And luckily, halfway through the circuit, one of the machines has a hand grip that checks your heart rate to make sure you are in a good range. The resistance training part isn't as hard, (except when I'm already out of breath), and I'm not as sore as I expected to be. So, I figure I need to do this every morning to really see results. That's a big commitment. I pray for the strength to do it!

Here it goes again...for real this time.

I have been driving past the Curves at our local strip mall for four months now, wanting to go inside and see what it's all about. So, yesterday, after not being able to zip up my winter coat over my ever-expanding hips, I did it. I walked inside Curves, and made an appointment for a consultation later that day. After the consultation, and finding out that my body fat is almost 29% (gasp), I wrote a check and signed up. The lady was shocked when I told her I wanted to come the next morning at 6:30 for my first workout. I had to schedule it with her because she needs to help me learn the routine the first time through. Somehow, this morning when the alarm went off at 6 am, I got my fat self out of bed, ate a scrambled egg, and drove over to Curves in 22 degree COLDNESS.

Let me tell you: It was SO worth it! I felt so good getting my heart rate up and sweating! I'm ready to go back on Saturday morning and do it again. She said I should try for 3 days a week at first and then come more often if I can. I can't wait to make this my daily routine. I really feel good about this plan. Trying to exercise at home was just not working out for me with my kids and having no room in this apartment. I also figured, if a little money is invested in this, I will feel more motivated to uphold my end of the deal. So here goes try #736 at losing weight. Ok, I'm exaggerating just a bit. But darn it, it better work this time!