A Fabulous Friend...

There's this kickass friend at my gym, we'll call her Superwoman, who's a fitness instructor. I love her so much because she's a mine of knowledge. You ask her one question about MSG's, or weight-loss facts, or a work-out routine, and she'll clarify everything like an encyclopedia. Unbelieeeevably articulate.

And the best thing about her is that she's been where we are. She's like 30 or something, although she looks my age, and she's GORGEOUS; toned, fit. Basically an athlete. I mean, she used to train a professional football player a few years ago.

But when she was in university, around the age of 22 I think, she started to gain a lot of weight really fast. And she said it happened to many people at her age because when you're in university, you studying constantly, so you eat whatever's around you. You don't have time to make wholesome home-cooked food, so you eat fast food several times a day.

So at 5'5, she was in the 170 range. She said her arms and legs didn't change, but she got a large belly.

That's when she started working out.

She met a fitness instructor who was a real bitch, but she was Superwoman's idol. The instructor was the kind who points out your flaws loudly, thinking that it would motivate you. Everybody else in the class hated her guts because she would bruise their feelings, but Superwoman loved this method. She knew she was at an unhealthy weight and the instructor's harsh words inspired her. That lady was exactly what Superwoman needed.

So not only would she attend these brutal classes, but she started doing weights. She went to the gym twice a day, and the pounds melted off within a couple of months.

And the wicked thing about her is that, although she is super skinny (Like size 4 jeans... that kind of body), she weighs 150. Lemme explain. Her legs are perfect toned. When she runs across the gym, there isn't any jiggle. It's just flat muscle. (Not the rippling kind that dudes have. The toned, pretty kind.) Her arms are extremely toned, but she said that's just her genes. Apparantly everyone in her family has wicked arms without even trying. Grrr.

The reason why she weighs 150 pounds, when she's so tiny and slim, is because she has lots and lots of lean muscle throughout her body.

Muscle is twice as heavy as fat, but only takes up 1 quarter of the room that fat does.

That means, although muscle is heavier on the scale, it takes less surface area on your body.

I learned this through my research a few years ago, but I had never met an actual specimen.

But Superwoman is it!

Which leads me to another point:

Superwoman suggested that I not get so hung up on the number 135 (my goal weight). She said the number on the scale doesn't really matter because you can be super thin like her, but still have a big number.

So she said to measure weight-loss by clothing size. If I am really replacing my fat with muscle, I will get smaller, and my clothing sizes will go down, but the number on the scale may not be giving me an accurate reading of fat-loss.

I started out size 16 or 18. I am now 12.

Today's a good day. :)

And all this Superwoman business... She has so many stories and experiences about her life that I find very inspiring. They clarify things for me and give me a direction to work towards. I wanted to share a few of those stories with you. I'm gonna ask her to start a blog of her own. It seems unfair that I can soak up her knowledge just cuz I know her, but you guys can't.

About to start day 6 of my diet and fitness regiment. All I have to do is think about Superwoman.

I just realized something...

I'm half way there.

I am half way towards reaching my weight-loss goal.

I have already lost 33 pounds. Albeit, verrryy slowly at times. But recently, the weight's been coming off really fast ever since I discovered that eating right and exercising works.

My weight loss goal is 135. I am 172. That means I only have 37 pounds to lose!

172!!

I lost 4 pounds in the last week. I'm 172!

I didn't starve myself at all.

All I did was eat tomatoes, cucumbers, baby carrots, and broccolli 4 times a day, and I ran for an hour everyday.

My last post was like 2 weeks ago, which means I was supposed to lose way more than just 4 pounds. But I was eating badly up until 6 days ago.

This is what I'm going to do. I'm going to log what I eat and do everyday from now on. This will give me the motivation to stay on track and not start pigging out on oily stuff.

STAY STRONG! DIET ON!
Jenny

My Hunger Phases

I wanna talk more about the "I need food. NOW!" phases.

If you've read Twilight, you'll understand what I'm about to say.

Remember when Edward first smelled Bella's scent? He became a monster inside, imagining ways to kill her. He calculated how many seconds it would take to kill all the kids in the classroom so there would be no witnesses, all that. But a girl sitting next to him slammed her book shut, which sent a wave of clean, unscented air towards him.

His mind instantly cleared. He was able to think straight when the waft of unscented air blew his way.

That's kinda like what my hunger phases are. I can't get food out of my mind. I strategize and calculate how many calories would be classified as cheating, or eating nachos isn't that bad because I'll be burning off the calories at the gym...

And if I just hold out for a few minutes, my mind clarifies, and thinks, "OMG Jenny are you kidding me?! You're gonna blow ANOTHER day of dieting just for some nachos? That day will turn into two. Then it'll turn into a week. Then a month. Then, next thing you know, Summer will arrive, and you'll wonder where you went wrong while you're stuck inside because you're too fat to wear short shorts."

So, my hunger phase/voice has left me for a couple of hours.
Let's hope it doesn't rear it's ugly head again until I've reached Yogen Fruz.

176!

I'm at 176!!

I went to the gym today, but didn't go yesterday.
But I jumped on the scale and I'm now 176 pounds!

Wicked.

I asked my Dad for some fast food today (and he said, "sure." grrrr..) But while I was cooking him breakfast, my mind came out of it's, "I need food. NOW!" phase and I promised myself I won't eat anything unhealthy today.

Today, all I'm allowing myself to eat is Yogen Fruz and cucumbers, nothing more. (We're out of carrots and I hate broccolli now.)

(Seriously. I loathe it.)

I love eating cucmbers and carrots at work during my break. I thought people would think I'm weird but my coworkers have been really supportive and say things like, "I wish I had the discipline you had." They're all skinny girls, or just slightly chubby, but eating that way while they're eating pizza and fries makes me feel really good about myself.

177 pounds

8:00 am - Wake up / Brush teeth
8:15 am - Eat:

• 2 tomatoes, sliced and sprinkled with salt and black pepper

9:00 am - Bus it to the gym
9:15 am - Work out:

• Treadmill - 60 minutes - 670 calories
  Flying Machine - 25 minutes - 240 calories
  Total = 910 calories burned

10:45 am - Shower / Change
11:00 am - Bus it to class
11:15 am - Arrive at class
2:15 pm - Bus it to work
3:15 pm - Arrive at work / Watch movie / Eat:

• 1 Large Yogen Fruz, no fruit, 330 calories

5:30 pm - Start work
8:00 pm - Eat:

• Salad (baby carrots, cucumbers, broccolli, no dressing)

11:30 pm - Get ride home / Eat:

• Salad (baby carrots, cucumbers, broccolli, no dressing)

4 Months Later

Okay. It's May 10th now.

I haven't lost nearly as much weight as I was aiming for. But that's because I was trying to starve myself.

I don't have the willpower for that. I suck.

I'm 177 now. Which is amazing to me because I truly did not starve myself successfully. I'd do it for one day, then binge the next. I've just been working out a lot I guess

Get this:

I used to run for 20 minutes a day. I now run 60 minutes without stopping!!
Plus there's this wicked cardio machine which I call the Flying Machine, which is like a Stairmaster except you're gliding, not climbing stairs.

So my calorie loss for the last month has been this:

Treadmill - 60 minutes - 670 calories burned
Flying Machine - 25 minutes - 240 calories burned
-------------------------------------------
Total = 910 calories/day

That's insane, isn't it?

But listen to this.

I ate salad 3 times a day for a couple of days plus a few Yogen Fruz frozen yogurts, and I went down 2 pounds.

WHAT???

I know! I think it was just four days, and I work at a place where they have Yogen Fruz, and I was helping them out for the morning. I jumped on the professional heavyweight food scale because I was bored. It said I was 177. I was shocked. The only time I lost weight that fast was when I starved myself. But I haven't been able to starve myself successfully since last November.

Some people might say it's just water weight, or you prolly just pooped a lot that day :P

But the reality is that I wasn't starving myself so I wasn't dehydrated, and I'd been eating healthy the last few days so my digestive system wasn't holding onto an extra large pizza or something.

I feel elated. Everyone I talk to always says eat right and exercise. And I always knew that it worked. But I thought it worked very slowly. Like 5 pounds per month. But I've lost 2 pounds in 4 days just by eating salad many times a day, a large cup of probiotic Yogen Fruz (which is like 300 calories), and burning over 900 calories a day through exercise. Studies have shown that eating yogurt once a day aides in weight loss, so I guess that's why Yogen worked for me.

This is an amazing revelation.

This is what I'm sticking with now. No more starving and feeling like I'm gonna throw up. I can totally pig out and lose weight. In my next post, I will be logging what I'm eating/doing with way more detail, so you guys can try it too.

STAY STRONG! DIET ON!
Jenny