Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Tuesday May 31, 2011

Workout: 30 Day Shred + 2 Miles running at 5.0mph
Friends: The One Where Paul is a Neat Guy 


Went to the zoo yesterday.  Had a good breakfast, a light lunch at the zoo (packed) and a really crappy dinner at the in-laws.  Too many cheesy potatos and ice cream dessert.  It was good, but I felt really icky afterward - not guilty icky, but physically.  So at least that is a reminder why I need to be diligent in eating well.  


Slept in this morning because I was so tired and Georgia was up twice last night with growing pains.  So I just finished my workout and am going to hit the shower, then a good breakfast and some coffee.  Workout was good.  I had intended to do a full 30:00 on the treadmill, but it was getting too close to ticket time so I had to cut it short.  


I feel like by running slower I am more able to focus on proper breathing, rather than going to through the constant mental gymnastics of convincing myself that I'm not miserable.  Running slower is somewhat enjoyable because its not so difficult.  My heart rate is still reaching that 168-174 range, but I don't feel like my head is going to explode.  Maybe someday I will get back to running outside, but for now I'm enjoying this and that is more important to me for now.  


Yesterday after walking all day at the zoo in sandals, my feet were so tired and my knees were so sore.  My knees have really been bugging me lately.  I need new shoes in a bad way.  Next month they will be in the budget (PS - April and May are such expensive months, geesh it was craziness over here).



Friday, May 27, 2011

Friday May 27, 2011

Workout: 30day shred + 2 miles on the treadmill
Friends: The One Where Ross Meets Elizabeth's Dad


I took a day off from working out due to being over tired.  Not sure whats up again - maybe it is because I ate ice cream on Monday and Tuesday nights.  Could that sugar have that big of an effect on me?  


I ran 2.5 miles (30:00) on Monday morning and did my old Rodney Yee Yoga for Flexibility DVD.  Tuesday I did BL Bootcamp (all three levels = 60:00).  Wednesday I ran 2.5 miles and did Rodney Yee Yoga for Power.  Here I've been looking for a good yoga dvd and this one has been in my bookcase for years and it is perfect.  Pretty much exactly what I'm looking for... I did it years ago, but had never done yoga before and didn't get it.  Now I totally do and this one rocks.


Today I did level 1 of Jillian Michaels' 30day Shred.  Ouch.  It is only 20 minutes, but it is a really, really hard 20 minutes.  Then I ran on the treadmill - barefoot - for 2 miles (24:00).  I'll be interested to see where I'm sore tonight and tomorrow as the 30DS is going to make me sore and the barefoot running is going to cause soreness in places I didn't know existed. It will definitely be interesting.


Jason, Dave and I are also doing the 100 pushup challenge beginning Monday.  I did my initial test last night and did 21 consecutive pushups to failure.  When I was going to start the plan in March I did 17 pushups, so I've already increased my strength since then, which makes me happy!


After my workout today I came up with a good workout plan, which I've been lacking.


M/W/F - Running barefoot 2 miles + RY Yoga for flexibility + 100 pushups challenge
T/Th/S - 30DS + running 30:00 in running shoes


Hopefully that will help me build strength and gain muscle and flexibility.  I will also start tracking my calories on Tuesday.  Not sure that I want to focus on my weight number as I should be adding muscle and therefore may not be losing weight, but I don't think I've been eating enough since starting this sugar/yeast/alcohol fast. 

Friday, May 20, 2011

Friday May 20, 2011

Workout: Run 30:00 + Yogalosophy 25:00
Weight: 122.2
Friends: The One Where Ross Dates a Student


Took my speed down even slower today.  Really trying to make an effort to train in the right heart rate zone...  So I ran at 5.0 mph / 12:00 pace.  It feels hard to run that slow, but I want to really work on this.  After the first 1/2 mile my heart rate was 162, but by the end of the 30 minutes it was back up to 174ish.  


Did the second part of the yogalosophy dvd.  This part was sun salutations, balance postures, warrior poses & stretching.  While I felt like it was better yoga than the other portion, she is still obnoxious and she does not cue this portion of the workout very well at all, making it difficult to follow along - especially for the first time.  All in all I'm not pleased with this video and am annoyed that I can't return it.  

Monday, May 16, 2011

Monday May 16, 2011

Workout: run 30:00
+ 35:00 yogalosophy DVD
Friends: The One With Unagi


Ran for the first time this morning since ash wednesday - so I don't know... March something. I decided to take it slow and to just run for 30:00 and not focus on distance or speed.  I ran at 5.5 mph or 10:54/mile and ended up running exactly 2.75 miles in 30 minutes.  It felt comfortable, although every time I took my heart rate it was still up at 175bpm, even at the slower pace.  Can't get that down... not sure why.  


I enjoyed running.  I ran on the treadmill and watched an episode of Friends, which definitely kept my eyes off of the clock and my focus off of the time.  It was definitely enjoyable and I plan to continue to do this when I run on the treadmill - I'm going to work my way from 1/2 way through season 6 to the end of the series.  


Weather has been horrible this spring, so not sure when I'll venture outside again.  Also, I need to get new shoes.


After running I did 35 minutes of Yogalosophy - a DVD workout by the girl who teaches yoga to Jennifer Aniston.  It wasn't much of a yoga workout, more 80's style toning exercises.  There is an additional 25 minute workout that I'm going to try next time that includes sun salutations and stretching, which hopefully will be more yoga and less dog-leg lifts and less of the woman talking about how obsessed she is with inner thighs and having a nice butt.  Interestingly, you can tell by what she relates to the viewer that she is definitely in the LA/Hollywood culture as body and having a good butt is a huge focus.  It was kind of annoying, but they were decent exercises.


Tomorrow I head to the gym for the first time in a while.  Light cardio + some lifting.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Wednesday May 11, 2011

Day 3 of the sugar/alcohol/yeast fast.


I caved on the caffeine and decided it was the least of my worries.  I have cut down a lot though - having only 1 cup of coffee each day rather than nearly a whole 8cup pot.  Yesterday I made it until 7pm before I finally gave in and brewed one cup just so I could chase away the dull head ache I had all day.  This morning I just set it up right away and had one just now because I wanted one, not because my head hurt.  


Yesterday, I believe I had some yeast at the end of the day.  Dave wasn't home for dinner so I ate pretty late and all I could find was something with noodles in it - either chicken noodle soup or a frozen meal with pasta.  So I opted for a sweet potato & the frozen meal.  All in all, not horrible, but not a complete fast either.


So far my energy level has increased dramatically.  I don't know if I can definitely point to the fast as the reason or if it is just a difference in weather or what.  My head feels clearer, my disposition is more positive than it has been, and I feel like i have the energy to do stuff again.  My thoughts are getting untangled and I'm beginning to feel like myself again.  I do NOT know what was going on - whatever it was, it was horrible and disorienting as I really did not feel like myself.


I'm beginning to think about what I want to do in terms of working out.  I'm trying to think about what i ultimately want.  And right now, I think I just want to feel strong and fit.  Which means that I need to get back to decent cardio and some better weight training.  I'm thinking of running 3 miles 3 days/week & lifting weights 2 days per week.  I generally like to work out 6 days/week, so I'm not sure what to do for that 6th day.  I haven't fleshed anything out yet, but I need to try to take some time to figure it out.


I think ideally, if I could run for 30 minutes and come home and do 20-30 min of yoga immediately afterward, that would rock.  I need to find a decent yoga video, though, because if I'm going to do that I don't want to do the hard-core power yoga of Jillian Michaels or P90x.  And the sucky thing would be that I need to start getting up at 5-5:15 again.  Ugh.


Then on my weight days I could go to the gym and do light cardio for 15-20 minutes and do some good weight lifting for 30-40 minutes.  Again - would need to get up at 5/5:15.


Will need to discuss this with Dave to see what his intentions are for working out so our mornings don't conflict.  I need to get back into it and I don't think the Biggest Loser DVDs were good for me - my body was so stiff and my back hurt so badly when I was doing them.  The break has been good.  I need to get back, though.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Monday May 9, 2011

Weight: 126.6


Really struggling right now.  Physically, my body does not feel right.  Nothing major, I can just tell that I don't feel quite right.  I am incredibly tired and lethargic all day.  I sleep 7.5 - 8 hours at night, skip my workout and by 8:30 I want to take a nap.  Forget about my afternoons while all three girls are at school - while I normally get a whole lot accomplished during those three hours, lately I haven't been able to muster enough energy to get off of the couch... for the entire 3 hours.


This is not normal for me.  At all.  I'm a very energetic, self-motivated person.  I don't sit on the couch and do nothing.  But for the past couple of weeks that is exactly what I've been doing.  So I get nothing done during the day and then by 8:30 at night I'm wasted and ready to go to bed.  I suspect that I have a slight candida overgrowth as a result of my antibiotics for strep a couple of weeks ago.  I haven't felt right since taking them.  


Candida overgrowth is a pretty unrecognized condition - as in traditional, western medical people do not recognize it.  However, I just can't shake the fact that unexplained fatigue is one of the symptoms and it can be caused by antibiotics.  So in light of that, I started a detox/fast this morning: sugar/alcohol/yeast/caffeine.  I promptly broke the caffeine fast at 9:30 and had a cup of coffee...  I couldn't shake the headache and was not thinking clearly and decided that caffeine was probably the least of the possible candida issues.


Dave and I have committed to this for only 2 weeks.  I want it to be doable - and saying that I'll give up pizza for a month is a death sentence.  Two weeks is doable.


I also picked up some acidophilous & a high-potency multi-vitamin in the hopes of introducing some good bacteria into my body and getting some additional iron.  I looked at an iron supplement as well, but decided to wait it out and see if the multi helps - if I don't notice a significant increase in energy after the 2 weeks, I'll get the iron supplement, too.


So hopefully the change in diet and the additional supplements will do the trick.  I'm sick of being so tired & I'm sick of my head feeling fuzzy and unfocused (another symptom of candida overgrowth).  I have a lot of stuff swirling through my head at any given moment and I know that part of my fatigue could also be attributed to the mental energy that I'm expending in trying to make sense of what I'm thinking.  But if I can't focus long enough to have a coherrant thought (again - so not like me), then I can't get a handle on expending that mental energy.  


So far, today has been good - with the exception of the coffee.  I think part of the headache issue was remaining hangover from Saturday night when I drank way too many beers in anticipation of the fast :)  Energy levels felt much better today.  My mind is clearing and I feel better.