I know I said that i was doing the intermittent fasting for thirty days, but something has happened that has made me change my course. My horrible tummy aches and lack of "elimination" for the past four days has led me to believe something I am eating that I think is healthy is making me feel like shit. Enter: The Plan: Eliminate the Surprising "Healthy" Foods That Are Making You Fat--and Lose Weight Fast.
A book based on eating the right foods for YOU. Eating whatever foods, be it chips, popcorn or chocolate, you want and not get fat. Sounds too good to be true, and I'm only on day 1 so I have a smidge of faith in it, but it is opening my eyes to a world I didn't need to pay a dietician, alergist, nutritionsit and GP for. I can test these foods myself and feel the results within minutes.
Diets, ugh, what an ugly word. If I actually put down on paper the different diets my mom and my mother in law have been on since I have been alive, there wouldn't be enough paper or ink. I just thought it was a way of life, growing up with my mom always looking at herself like she wasn't happy. Always ahead of the game getting the inside scoop of the latest diet fad - Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Dr. Poon, Dr. Bernstein Weight Watchers again, and the variety of nonsense from Dr. Oz. She tried them all. They always "failed" her because she never kept it going long enough, she never made a serious commitment for her health - it was always for a quick 10lb weight loss that seldom happened because she didn't stick to it long enough. I feel like this is typical for a lot of women in my circles. Always on a diet, always wanting to get back to pre pregnancy, pre married, pre whatever state they were in when they felt the best. Unless a life change is made, they will never get there. Ok, maybe with a lot of work they might get there, but they won't stay there for long.
Food has so many attachments to emotions. When im sad, I need to eat something, when im happy I need to celebrate with something, When I am bored... oh my lanta, thats the worst. I haven't found the trick yet, but I feel like I am close. I am trying to train my brain to look at food as fuel, as numbers, as a science and not as comfort and tasty. That is the hardest thing for me, especially being Italian and being married to an Italian. Food is the center of our universe. That is the reason we go to my mother in laws for dinner, or my moms for Sunday Lunch. We go to sit around a 10 foot table so full of food it could feed another 25 people, and talk, debate, laugh, cry, yell, discuss our day, our children, our goals. So many conversations over the dinner table have created bonds between me and my family that wouldn't have existed if there wasn't a fresh baked loaf of bread to split.
I have to push the plate away. I have to bring it to the sink and wash it out. I can't sit there with an empty plate and a table full of food. The fourth serving of pasta is calling my name.
I have been inputting every single thing I eat into this app on my phone called Calorie Counter - its online as well. There are a ton... loseit is another great one. You type in what you are eating and the portion size. It has a huge database of foods and brand names and it automatically puts together a daily total of calories, fats, sodium, carbs, protein, fibre, you name it! It is a great way to see how much of what you are eating. For me it was eye opening because I always thought I ate healthy - and I do - but what it showed me was that I was nowhere near the amount of protein and fats for my body and I was WAY over my carbs - but interesting enough, my calories were always low. This should mean I am thin, but what I have learned is that it is the right combination of fats, carbs, and protein to equal the right amount of calories that will allow me to lose the weight. This online calculator can figure out what works best for you... IF Calculator
So I have committed to 30 days of this and to be honest, am already finding it tiresome to input everything, but I am doing it. I have faith that this will work, and if not - then at least I have learned a sh#tload about myself and my bodys needs vs wants.
The past few months quite a few people have been talking about HITT training, specifically Tabata training. I had NO clue what this word meant until last week when I was looking at Dr. Sara Solomons webpage for inspiration and workout ideas and came accross it. According to TabataTraining.com....
"Tabata was founded in Japan by Izumi Tabata. He conducted tests on two groups of athletes; comparing moderate high intensity training with high intensity interval training. The results were that the athletes training in high intensity interval training improved their aerobic systems as well as their anaerobic system. The athletes who did the moderate high intensity training only improved their aerobic system and had little to no increase in their anaerobic system."
What this means for us normal, non athlete people is WEIGHT LOSS! You are burning more calories in a smaller amount of time however you are working stupid hard for a good chunk of it. There are a bunch of different things you can do for your Tabata training.
- For your 20 seconds of |GO GO GO GO|
-run like a lion is chasing you
-jumping jacks like a starfish
-hyper marching band leader (see my video)
-dance party like a 5 year old (see my video)
For your 10 seconds of |zzzzzzz......|
- stop moving (not ideal if a lion is chasing you)
- bounce lightly up and down
- bounce side to side
- march on the spot
basically you are doing anything that is giving you a second (well actually 10 seconds) to catch your breathe before your loose it again for the next 20 seconds.
As far as I have researched, it doesn't really matter the timing 20 seconds/ 10 seconds or 30 seconds/ 15 seconds or 1 minute / 30 seconds. As long as your GO GO GO GO period is longer than your zzzzzzz..... period. This can be your workout (so a few circuits of this for 10-15 minutes) or if you have no time you can do this for 4 minutes (or 1 song) as soon as you wake up and it will keep your metabolism going in high drive all day long. Its fun, its easy, you need NOTHING - which for me is most important because I don't have anything :)
Some good songs to Tabata to...
Bruno Mars - Locked out of Heaven
Rihanna - Jump
LMFAO - Party Rock
Sean Paul - Get Busy
Justin Bieber (i know i know) - Beauty and a Beast
Madonna - Give me all your lovin
Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire
Try it out, at least once this weekend and you'll see how much fun it can be. Alrighty kids - im off for the day!!!!!
Today was plyometrics day, which means my knees hurt :)
Plyometrics is an AMAZING high intensity workout that works your whole body, especially your legs and bum. You sweat like crazy and feel so amazing. Its short, intense and makes the biggest difference in your body shape if done multiple times a week.
Me and food have had a long time tumultuous relationship with each other. We break up, we make up, over and over again for the past 20 something years.
Now that I think I finally have a handle on my eating habits I feel like I can share what has worked and not worked for me. I think I have tried every diet for at least 30 days in the past 10 years and have lost, gained, lost and gained all kinds of poundage. Right now, this is what I am doing:
Intermittent Fasting
- it usually ends up being about 17 hours of no eating... roughly 7:30pm - Noon ish
- from Noonish until 7:30pm I eat healthy foods, doesn't matter when, or how much at each sitting
- I input everything into a Calorie Counter on my phone to make sure I am meeting my Recommended Daily Intake so that way im not over in Calories, Carbs or Fats and that I ate enough of the right stuff.
- I drink anywhere from 3-4 litres of water plus tea and of course espresso all day long.
- I chew gum and brush my teeth like 14 times a day to get the taste of food out of my mouth and subsequently out of my brain
HITT workouts
- so now I am on a Les Mills Combat kick, I do it 5 times a week and on the weekend I do my own concoction of things. Everyday its only 20-30 minutes but its the most intense, sweaty 20 minutes of the day. Sweat is fat crying!!!
- I was a gym rat, but I just can't manage it right now. Maybe when shorty goes to school in 3 years it might happen, but as for now - my time is hers. All my workouts are done at home in my foyer (don't drive by my house around 10am - you'll see me jumping up and down like a maniac). I have my weights, weighted gloves, bands and runners in my front closet. I was working out in the basement, but its dark and sometimes spooky, so I can't do it anymore.
- the thing about HITT workouts is that you need to give 'er the whole time. Its HIGH INTENSITY so you need to be out of breath the whole time. I mean don't pass out or anything, but you should be right there. You will get the BEST results in the shortest amount of time if you really push. You always have more you can give, take a BIG DEEP breath, let it out and keep going. You will feel so amazing afterwards!!!!!!
Let me know if you have any questions for me - I don't know if I covered everything. Or if you want my trainer friends to answer anything either. Lemme know!
Some websites you need to go to for more information!
- Dr. Sara Solomon http://www.drsarasolomon.com/
... look at her body, she is amazing and an inspiration. Her blog and videos have so much information in them and she is proof that this works.
- IF calculator http://www.1percentedge.com/ifcalc/
.... this is the calculator I used to come up with my RDI. Its super complex, but super easy so read the definitions and learn about what works for you!
- Beachbody Les Mills Combat
....this is the workout I am doing right now.
Today was leg and butt kicking day. Those are some big muscles to work out, but we did it. Legs are like my second most important hot body component. First is my abs / muffin top - even with gorgeous gambes, a muffin top can kill them instantly. My legs are full of cellulite, psoriasis, eczema and more often than i'd like...hair but they are strong and will be lean for the summer time. I don't think the cellulite will ever go away, and to be 100% honest, I don't really mind. Everyone has it, even super models, so why are we all hiding it away from each other? Who wants to be in pants in 30 degree weather??!! I am proud of my legs and I always have been - especially when they are tanned!!! they have always been the body part I work out the most and have successfully stayed relatively the same post baby. They are the easiest to work out - walks with the baby, squats, lunges, taking the stairs up and down in the hospital (yes we did that for 4 months) - every move you make involves your legs so make it worth it. Even if they don't change shape, just moving them makes me feel more confident in them - and really really, isnt that what this is all about? Feeling confident in what you have and working your ass (or legs, or abs or arms) off until your happy with it? You have to live in your body, not anyone else - so make it your own, make it strong, make it what you want it to be.
I've had quite a few questions and comments on my diet - so im gonna work on posting exactly what i'm doing later on tonight. so check back alright?!
I did abs today. I don't have abs, I have flabs, but when I do this workout, I can feel something deep inside my tummy burning (and no, its not the spicy food I ate yesterday). They say "abs are made in the kitchen" yes, well I would like the recipe because im always in the kitchen and never make these abs you speak of!
I know something is working because it still hurts, 8 hours later, but its such a great pain. Like tweezing your eyebrows - nobody will admit it, but ladies - that pull of the hair brings us a little bit of joy, no?
I hope you said yes, because now I look like a weirdo. Well, even more than what I already am.
So the diet has been going great, it's 11 and i'm starving. Sounds about right for the third day. I actually hit all my goals today so that's pretty bonus. I weighed myself and went up a whopping .4 lbs! who cares. Lets see what happens tomorrow after I did my ab workout and crazy Tabata training as well. What is this Tabata you speak of Daniela?? Well, check out my friend Dr. Sara and she'll explain it way better than I can, also her body alone will motivate you to get off your mum bum and get moving. Check er out...
Another thing I just want to mention, I am not obsessed with the numbers on the scale and I don't ever think anyone should be. Don't have a goal weight, have a goal size. I am 20lbs heavier post baby but fit in my pre baby jeans (hooray for spandex!). Nobody told me my hips were going to widen and stay that way. Nobody told me what happens to your boobs after breastfeeding (or in my case pumping 10 times a day). And I didn't even go full term! bah! I can't imagine what another 3 and a half months would have done to my ass.
I want to be smaller than my pre baby jeans because I was fatter than my pre married pants (thanks to my mother-in-laws cheesey/buttery/oily/salty/tasty cooking. Oh Ang, thanks for always tasting the rapini first :P) and my moms larger than life "small" dinners. Since when is Cordon Bleu, Pasta Alfredo, Tossed Salad and something au gratin a tuesday night meal?
(sidenote... my mom wrote an amazing cookbook based on my Nonna's reciepes... the Antipasto section is on sale for you ebook readers... check it out!
Needless to say, once I got married and had to finally cook for myself, nothing changed. I could make what I wanted, so I made pasta. All the time. And my cousin showed me how to make popcorn on the stove - so much more healthy than the microwave, but I would eat a whole pot full. with butter. and salt.
I have changed the way we eat since we got home with le babay. We always eat good, healthy food and the pasta is kept only for my hubby or guests. I was on a Gluten Free kick for a while, but just because its gluten free doesn't mean its fat free or that you can have it every other night. I kicked it to the snowy curb and said goodbye pasta, hello egg whites! I want my daughter to grow up thinking pasta is a treat, not a staple. I want her to know that there is a whole world of veggies and fruits and she should eat them everyday, all day. Most importantly I want her to look at food differently that I did. I want her to look at it as nourishment not comfort. More on this another day......
so im off now to get my "8" hours, which by the way, ended up being about 4 last night because the little miss thought that it would be fun to wake up at 2:30 and not go back to sleep until 5am then start her day at 7am. ah, life with a baby.
So I thought it might be fun to add in some videos of my workouts, my thoughts and my frizz. Today s workout was all about ARMS. Mine are burning still, but it feels so good to know that I am actually ripping apart muscle fibres to rebuild killer pipes. The diet today wasn't that bad. I ate WAY too much once I could start eating ... Which ended up being about 12:30 after Shorty's physiotherapist left. I scarfed down peas, rice, a protein shake with bananas and mangoes and entered it all in my calorie counter. It was a whopping 745 calories!!!!! Apparently that's ok though because for the rest of the time I made sure to meet my recommended daily intake of foods and actually came up short on my protein intake, but perfect on my fats and carbs. Not to shabby! Calorie wise though I over did it by 500 calories. I gotta ask someone to see if that's correct though. I ended up eating 1837 calories for the whole day, one website I looked at said for me to eat 1300-1400 a day. Ya, I don't know about that. I think if I just meet my day RDI (recommended daily intake) I should be fine. It will end up being about 1800 calories anyways.
So, now it's 10:30pm and my husband is bingeing on grapes, cereal, baked feta cheese with Italian spices on it and I am not. Ugh. I know it will benefit me, but I'm so flipping hungry tonight! I went through a whole pack of gum and like 2more litres of water. It's ok, half an hour until bedtime and then we start all over again. Noon big fat sandwich here I come!!!!!
So, As you can see from my picture below... I have what my husband likes to call, "Pipecleaners". I'll show him Pipecleaners! By the time I'm done, I'll be cleaning with these pipes!!! (uh, ya that makes no sense).
Although it might look like I have a bit of a bump - that's my baby carrying arm!
So, I have been "fasting" since about 7:30 last night, its 10:42am and really really, im not as hungry as I thought I would be. My usual morning routine was wake up with shorty, have a protein shake (Magnum Quattro in Chocolate! yum!) and obviously an espresso. I would work out during her nap and then have something more substantial afterwards which usually is about this time (depending on how long it takes me to put her down or if she actually sleeps). So really really, this morning wasn't hard. Last night on the other hand... oh lordy. I wasn't hungry, I know I wasn't but I really wanted to eat - I think it was because I knew that I "couldn't". I drank so much water! At least 2 liters of it - which then broke up my 8 hour sleeping for washroom breaks. so, note to self - stop drinking so much water before bed!
I'm all done my workout, which was the fastest most intense 20 minutes of arms I have done. I love it. The music is so loud you can't even hear the guy, and it doesn't hurt that he has a stupid hot body. So thats it - thats the formula - fast for 16 hours, eat for 8 and workout like a nutcase for 20ish minutes.
Ok, so shorty just woke up, Hooray for a 40 minute nap! I'll post my videos soon!
Today I embark on a very familiar journey.
One that I have danced on my whole life, getting into shape.
I have always been active, always in the gym, always playing sports, but never have I ever been in the body I imagined for myself. I'm talking fitness model, proud bikini sporting, head turning body. I am determined to make it my goal for this year. I am not making excuses, but the only catch is now, I have a little bean who has taken all of my me time, that I never appreciated before baby, and steals it for her feedings, her poopy diapers, her oatmeal baths and her giggles. I love her to bits, but sleep already so I can get my workout done! :)
As most of you know, she was born super early - I was 25 weeks pregnant. Yes, you read that right, 6 months - I just started to show my bump (before that it was just fat.. cuz you know, im pregnant so I can scarf down a Costco size bag of Smartfood) and never felt her kick. It was a shock to say the least and after 112 days in 3 different hospitals, multiple surgeries, and more blood transfusions than I would like to count - we brought out little bean (she was 1lb 3 oz when she was born) home. Life has been very stressful with doctor visits, follow up appointments and a wide variety of therapists (physio, nutritional, occupational, speech, early intervention) in and out of our home, it seems that working out, wasn't working out. It has seemed to calm down a bit and shorty seems to be falling into a routine and I have faith that I can start kicking my ass (I can probably reach it with my foot as I now have mom bum from sitting so much!)
so this is it.
I spent the past 4 days researching all of the popular diets and workouts, all of the unconventional ones and have made the decision to do the Les Mills Combat 5 times a week (Monday to Friday) and my own HITT workout on Saturdays with Sunday as my catch my breath day. I know that sounds like a lot of workout, but I have been doing Insanity on and off for the past 2 months and I really need something short (the videos are like 20 min) and effective (they say High Intensity Interval Training is the best!)
In terms of nutrition, I have a ton of allergies that I don't listen to (Gluten, Dairy, Wheat....) and I am going to listen to my body and stop eating what I know is bad for me. I eat fairly healthy - no more smartfood for me! but I need a bit of a kickstart into this new me. I researched @SaraSolomon - go check her out, shes stupid amazing and she preaches a Intermittent Fasting program where you fast for 16 hours a day and eat your specific required caloric intake during the other 8 hours. The idea is that your body produces HGH (Human Growth Hormone) when fasting, and combined with healthy eating meeting all of the nutrients you need for a workout like mine, it becomes super effective.
I have always wanted the quick fix, the fat burners, the raspberry keytones, all the sh#t TV tries to convince you will make you loose 5 lbs in 1 week. It never worked, I hated myself on it, and it just made me more upset in myself for "failing" yet again and falling into another trap. This time its different. This time I have declared it to the world that I am making these changes. Its gonna happen. I will be the body I want to be by the end of the year. Im starting with 30 days (which brings me to March 18th) and will reevaluate the program and make the necessary changes. I'll keep you posted.
Now im off to get my 8 hours of sleep (ha ha ha, I have a baby with Bronchilaitis right now, who the heck is sleeping longer than 45 min :S) and ive started fasting at 8 (so im "cranky" says my husband) - not to eat until 2 hours after my workout so that brings us to Noon tomorrow. sounds hard, but hey, I've been faced with harder challenges this past year - I can go a few hours with no food if it means im going to look like a rock star. Alrighty kids - lets kick some mum bum!
.
