Laid off, not laid up

Yesterday, my life buffet ran out of something it had been serving for a while: work.  I walked into the office, armed with my recently renewed mojo, determined to make the best of a situation that I had been unhappy with for quite some time.  I wasn't going to let it get to me that our 65 year old receptionist had been giving me the silent treatment/death-stare combo for over a month.  I was going to put my head down and make some money.

I got set up, opened all of the tools that I needed, and before I had a chance to fill my waterbottle -its important to stay hydrated! - my boss asks me to meet with him and our hr girl, who had just moved here from San Francisco the day before.  We'd been having some issues in the office, even beyond the obvious morale problem, so I assumed they were having a chat with each of us to see how we could finally change things....wrong.

Long story short, they've "decided to go a different direction" and other vague statements that don't mean much, or offer any closure.  The receptionist was gone before I even arrived that morning, and apparently there are more layoffs to come.  So with a wipe of a tear (out of fear of what's to come more than anything) and a handshake, I was sent off with a month's severance.

The great thing about a buffet, is that usually when something runs out, it gets replaced.  Until it does, you can either wait with an empty plate, or try something different.  so I have decided to seize this opportunity!  I am empowering myself to do something each day that I wouldn't have otherwise done - either because I didn't have time, or just had too many excuses!

Yesterday, within a few hours of being laid off, I went to the gym for a killer arms & abs workout, scrubbed the bathroom top to bottom, folded that pile of clothes that had been on the bedroom floor for a while, reorganized my dresser drawers, did two loads of laundry, took my dog for a nice long walk....I just plain got things done!

Today, I let myself sleep in; not too late, just until 9:00.  I had a nice long shower, and set to work organizing my closet, and getting together a donations bag, full of things I no longer wear.  Very quickly,that task turned into a game of dress-up!  I tried on my Prom dress!  Then my grade 8 graduation dress!  It was silly, sure, but it was also in a strange way therapeutic.

My mood is already better, and I feel more like myself.  Of course, I'm worried about what's next, but I know that sooner or later (hopefully sooner), someone will fill up the empty dish in the buffet.

Maybe someone out there is just trying to tell me I had too much on my plate?

12-week wonder(ful)

Did I post regular updates? No.  Did I track EVERYTHING? Totally.

I ended up changing things more than my original "I'm-going-to-follow-this-thing-to-the-letter" mentality would have allowed...but my boyfriend and I booked a vacation, and I wanted to skip ahead to the "cutting" phase early, so that my body would at least look bikini-ready, if not sun-ready.

My final plan looked like this: Weeks 1-7 (by the book), skip ahead to weeks 10-12 and CARB CYCLE.  Since I felt that I had a decent muscle foundation going into my fast-tracked week 10, I was confident that by carb cycling I would get most of the look that I wanted without suffering too much muscle loss.

Long story short, here's how I looked at the end of 9 weeks, before a full week of vacation:

Next up: setting new goals, and fine-tuning my plans.  The second weekend of June, FMIevents are hosting a Fitness Industry seminar for newbies to their world, and you can register for JUST the seminars, or you can add a photoshoot with one of their 4 featured, internationally published photographers.  11weeks out to prep for a fitness photo shoot?  That sounds like a lofty goal, but it would certainly help keep me on track!

To be continued....

Phased and confused

By Jove, I've done it!  I've survived the first four-week-phase of the Jamie Eason Live Fit Trainer.  Admittedly, some of it was harder than expected, but for the most part it went as planned.  There were exercises that I'd never done, and other that I've just avoided.

Ultimately, at the end of 4 weeks, I'm about where I expected I'd be.  Down a few pounds (most of which, I'd gained over the holidays), down an inch here, and half an inch there, but ultimately not much visible change.  The strength gains though?  Wow.  While most personal trainers in my world - ok, in my GYM - will trash the likes of the seated leg extension, or leg curls, I've made significant gains, moving from 90 pounds for 10 reps up to 135 pounds for 12, and no less than 3 sets at that weight too!  I'm comfortably squatting 185 pounds without a spotter for 3 sets of 10 reps.  Sure, they're not competition depth, but I've moved on from earlier notions of powerlifting competition - at least for now.

 At first glance, not much has changed from day 1.  Still no "real abs" to speak of, still those little rolls under my sports bra on my back....

...But when I look more closely, I see a slightly higher butt that is a little less flat.  I see a perky (er?) chest, and maybe a tighter looking waist.  My posture has improved, thanks to exercises from my chiropractor, and things are going well.


I can't wait to see what Phase 2 brings; the addition of cardio both excites me and induces fear.  The point of phase 2 is to start cutting fat, while maintaining - and hopefully building a little more - muscle.

5 more weeks until my vacation down South.  I'm not sure what size I'll be by then, so I guess I'll just have to order bathing suits in every size!

(Bigger, Faster) STRONGER

 

Let's not kid ourselves.  As of today, I'm 17 days in, and I really don't look any different.  My measurements are the same as they were on day 8, so I've managed to keep off that 1/2 inch that I lost of my waist.  The scale says I'm down 3.8 pounds, which isn't too shabby for just a couple of weeks.  

But before you start thinking that I'm getting down on myself, or doubting that this whole change of program is worthwhile, let me tell you this:  I'm making significant strength gains.  We're talking 30+ pound increases on exercises where I've plateau'd for MONTHS.  Seated Leg Extensions?  Up to 120# from 90#.  Back Extensions?  Holding a 45# plate now instead of doing them with just body weight.  POW!

I'm taking progress pictures and measurements every Sunday.  I track my measurements and daily weight in a spreadsheet, because I like to be able to see that I'm staying on track.  On top of that, because I track EVERYTHING (weights, exercises, food, mood etc), I can look back and see what works for me, and what doesn't.  The same thing isn't going to work for everyone, so I feel that my OCD tracking will help me in the long run.

Just keep pushing!

xo

Mandy 

Composition

EVERYONE has stepped on a scale, most people have scowled at the number, and many never gave a second thought to what actually made up that mass that was being measured.  Of those who have, most have tried calipers (a measured "pinch test") to approximate body fat, some have scales that give you an indication, and others go on the internet and trust wonky mathematical formulae to tell them how "FAT" they are.

I have done all of the above.

Friday, January 13th, I went to McMaster University in Hamilton, to get the REAL scoop on what's going on with my body composition.  I. WAS. AMAZED.

I work hard on my body, and I'm proud of it, but I still beat myself up over having a long way to go.  ESPECIALLY when I consider that one of my 2012 goals is to be on stage in a figure/bikini/fitness competition!  So I (being the kind of person who needs NUMBERS, and not just to like the way I look in the mirror) wanted something accurate.  The most accurate way to measure body composition, and specifically body fat percentage is either the dunk tank - no thanks! - or the BodPod.  McMaster University has the only one in the area that I could find that is a) open to the public, and b) not an a$$load of cash to use!

I stepped into that magical pod wearing compression shorts, a sports bra and a spandex cap on my head.  The Kinesiologist in charge ran the test 3 times, and when I stepped out, voila!  There was my body composition, accurately measured.

My guess was that I was around 24-25% body fat.  My boyfriend figured about 26%.  The BodPod: 21% - that puts me in the LEAN category!

At 132.981 pounds, my body fat percentage is 21.4%, or 28.435 pounds.  104.546 pounds of my body is Fat Free Mass (bones, muscles etc).  Go me!  According to the readout, 18-22% is Lean: "Lower body fat levels than many people.  This range is generally excellent for health and longevity" - remember, this is the FEMALE scale, so the numbers vary for men.

HOW EXCITING!

xo
Mandy

The power of 3

OK kids.  Today is day 5 of phase 1 for my foray into the Jamie Eason Live Fit Trainer.  That means it's my first non-gym day of the year! Already!  I'm four workouts in, and I've lost 3 pounds.  And now I have 3 days off!  Three might just be my favourite number at the moment!

While it seems WAY too early to have THREE WHOLE DAYS OFF, I'm doing everything in my power to follow the program as written.  It's a bit of a struggle, because it's so very different from what I've been doing up to this point, and it's SO tempting to tweak it.  I haven't been having DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) at all, but I've got a good afterburn at the end of each workout.  I'm tempted to say that the extra calories - hello, bulking phase! - might be the cause. 

The number on the scale is now down to 132.8pounds as of this morning, but I don't look any smaller; at least not that I can tell.  I will re-do my measurements on Sunday at the 1 week mark, and take progress pictures.

I've got to say, 4 workouts without my workout buddy has been strange; the gym is such a different experience without my boyfriend to keep me company, and being all plugged into my iPod.  I think on my days off I'll try to update my playlist...it's terrible right now!

xo
Mandy

I've got a feeling [that tonight's gonna be a good night]

Well, we made it.  We survived another holiday season!  Hooray for us!  No, don't look down.  Don't even think about grabbing and pinching and squishing that love handle that required extra effort to squeeze into your jeans this morning!

It's a NEW YEAR.  It's time to forget what you did in 2011.  Or better yet, use what you did (or maybe didn't do!) last year, and treat it as fuel for your 2012 goals.  I'm on day 2 of my new program (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jamie-eason-livefit-trainer.html), and while my head is pounding, likely from caffeine withdrawls, I know that this is a change worth making.  It's time to tailor all of that work that I put in at the gym, and line it up with my real goals.  I love lifting big, don't get me wrong.  But this time, it's about the look.

This morning, as I sat eating my FIVE EGG WHITES and 1/4 cup of oats, and handful of veggies, I couldn't get the song from Beauty and the Beast out of my head..."When I was a lad, I ate four dozen eggs every morning to help me get large...but now that I'm grown I eat FIVE dozen eggs, so I'm roughly the size of a barge!"  LOL.  It seems to me that my caloric intake could have actually been HIGHER to help me really build muscle last year.  I've come leaps and bounds, and significantly cut down my body fat percentage, but if I do what my boyfriend often does, and do a BULK (see: eat more than it seems you should to allow more readily available energy for workouts and muscle repair/building), I'll grow my muscle mass, and thus increase the power that my body has to burn fat when I stop bulking!

ahhh....Science!

Ok, so it's a delicate balance, and I'm a little bit scared.  It's a LOT of food.  But after I force what seems an endless amount of protein in my face, it's only an hour or two before I'm ravenous again...so we'll see!

I'm tracking weight daily (so that I can get averages - we women especially fluctuate throughout the week), measuring weekly, and taking update pictures monthly.

This was me, before bed on my 28th birthday, and day 1 of the Live Fit Trainer:

...forgive my wet hair and lack of makeup!

Now a quick snack of Turkey Muffins and veggies (http://www.hardbody.com/news/2010/11/09/jamie-easons-turkey-meatloaf-muffins-recipe/), drive home, and fight off the resolutioners at the gym.  Anyone seen reading, talking on their cell phone, or applying another coat of lipgloss will be sneered at.  It's a GYM people!  Those weights aren't going to lift themselves!

xo
Mandy