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How’re You Doin’ Week–Are You Still Fat?

General Rant, How're You Doin'?, The Quest 02.03.2009 No Comments

As I was trying to come up with some topics to write about this week, I realized I should probably do some follow-ups on previous rants. I mean, I don’t want to come across as one of those people who just bitches and moans–I understand I complain a lot, but I’m trying to work on it. I want to bitch, moan, become a better person, and maybe make you laugh now and again.

So this week I’ll be revisiting some topics, especially those where I asked for advice. It’ll be a bit of, “How’re doin, Jill?” I plan to talk about cooking (which Hasina was curious about) and food shopping, living green, and anything else you’re curious about. Just let me know in the comments if there’s anything you’re wondering about that I can bring you up to date on.

Today’s topic: Are you still fat?

Short answer: Yes. I left Fat Camp last June weighing 168.3. Right now I tend to weigh in anywhere from 167-170, and I’m actually OK with that at this moment. I’m happy to have gotten through the holidays (and a couple of Amy Sedaris cheeseballs) without packing on pounds. As a stress eater, I’m thrilled to have made it through the last two months without really gaining weight either. Now that it looks like we’re out of the woods for a little while in terms of money, health (except we’re waiting to hear if we’re approved for insurance), and work, I can start thinking about exercising and eating right again.

We do have a membership to the YMCA, and at least once a week the Boy and I talk about whether we should keep it. Do we save the money in our budget, or are we using it enough to be beneficial? Right now, it’s a watch and see. The Boy’s been cleared to ride an exercise bike, which he can only get at the gym. I like yoga classes and the opportunity to swim now and again. I figure that if we go at least 3 times a week, it’ll be worth the money. We may drop it later in the year because we both like running outside over the treadmill, but for now, it’s a decent way to get exercise, and it’s not all that expensive. Yes, the Parks’ Department is slightly cheaper, but the conditions are also slightly worse (the pool? Gets a little gross). At least the locker room at the Y is quite clean.

The other thing I’ve started paying attention to in the last couple of days is portion size and what’s going into my mouth. True, I did make a batch of chocolate chip cookies on Saturday, but I did freeze half the batch so we wouldn’t gorge on them. I either measure out my food precisely or make sure my portions seem reasonable. Fish is starting to make its way into the house (this is probably a conversation for another day, but I didn’t grow up with much fish beyond Long John Silver’s and Market Day scrod. Getting more fish at home hasn’t really been a priority for me). I try to think about why I’m eating what I’m eating.

Still, even though the weight loss seems to be on pause, I can’t keep it there. Time to get back on track because I don’t want to have to keep admitting to you that I can’t get my body to where it needs to be.

The Diary I Don’t Want to Keep

General Rant, New Year's Goal, The Quest 09.01.2009 2 Comments

This week I’ve grudgingly decided to start keeping a food diary again. I don’t like doing this–mainly because I do like to eat, and I don’t like to think about what I’m eating. However, my weight is either not budging, or it’s going up slightly. I’m still overweight and would like to lose more, but I can’t seem to do it. Yes, holiday eating is one aspect of why the weight is stubbornly sticking to me, but the other reasons are that I’m probably eating a little too much, and I’m not exercising consistently (which I also need to work on, but one thing at a time).

Take for instance, this conversation I had with the Boy last Sunday. We slept in and ate breakfast probably around 10:30 or 11:00. I had a scrambled egg with cheese, an light English muffin, and a small glass of orange juice. The Boy had an egg sandwich and some orange juice. A little before 2:00 he was ready to eat lunch. I was still full from breakfast.

“So I’m going to cook up some lunch. What are you having?” he asked.

“I’m still full from breakfast, so I’m not eating,” I replied.

“Well, I’m going to have some pork. Do you want some pork?”

“I’m. Not. Hungry. And when I am hungry, I’ll cook up the chicken tenders left over from last night.”

I understand the Boy has a higher metabolism and can eat more than I can. I understand that he wants to eat lunch together, and that’s nice. However, I still need to lose weight, and since I’m stalled, I need to go back to the Fat Camp tools that worked for me. In the case of food, I have to pay better attention to what I’m eating and whether or not I’m really hungry when I do eat. If I’m not physically hungry, I shouldn’t eat. And I’m not going to go overboard and starve myself and claim I’m not hungry just to try to shed the pounds. That’s stupid, because then your body goes into starvation mode and clings to what fat it can. I’m just trying to be more mindful, and I’m trying to get back in the mode of eating to fuel. Not eating because I’m happy or sad or because someone else is eating or because it would make someone else happy.

I’m glad I have some tools I can use that work for me. Even though I was able get into the habit of eating right, I can just as easily get into a habit of not eating right. I’ve got to nip that in the bud, because I definitely want to improve my body more this year. Just how I’m going to do that, I still have to figure out, but this is another goal I want to achieve.

Weighty Issues

Fat Camp, General Rant, The Quest 12.12.2008 5 Comments

It’s been a while–OK, several months–since I’ve talked about my weight loss progress, especially since I’m not at Fat Camp anymore.

Well, that’s because I really haven’t lost any weight.

Oh, I dropped a little more, especially when I was doing the Navy SEALs Fitness Challenge, but I put on a couple of pounds, and with the holidays, I’m fighting off all the caloric goodness the season has to offer.

Needless to say, I’m not happy with myself.

I’ve apparently found another plateau that I’d forgotten about, though I now remember a time when I was 167, was told to lose some weight, and got down to 163 before I stalled and eventually went back up.

Now I have to fight that plateau once again–and be more persistant about it. Even though it’s nice to weigh as much as I did 10 years ago, it’s not my ideal weight. And even though all I want to do is curl up under a blanket and watch TV, I’m going to have to find a way to motivate myself through this one.

Sigh.

Are We SEALs?

Not a Rant, The Quest 08.09.2008 4 Comments

Well, we did it. The Boy and I managed to get through the Navy SEAL Fitness Challenge. And what a challenge it was!

It took place at UIC, and we got there about 40 minutes before our 9:20 scheduled start time. We had the option to jump into the 9:00 group, which we took (this was good because the 9:00 group was smaller). We got green rubber bracelets to wear throughout the challenge, which signified our group, and then we were shepherded to the locker rooms.

The women’s locker room was totally empty–I was the only girl in my group. Actually, this was a mostly male event, although a few women showed up here and there. When my group leaders realized I was the only female, I was told I had to represent. No pressure!

First off was the swim. The pool was 50m long, and we had to swim 9 lengths in order to get the 500 yard requirement (the Boy did the math and realized that the distance we swam was just shy of 500 yards, but they probably didn’t have too many options when it came to locations to stage the event). The leaders asked me how I swam, and since I figured I’d do well, they told me to stay out of the end lanes. The better swimmers were to swim in the center lanes. Well, put a few male egos together, and the center lanes filled up quickly. I saw that lane 2 was open, so I grabbed it. [The Boy went to lane 1. Speaking of egos, I told him that I wasn't swimming with him this time because I knew I'd have to manuever around him, and I didn't really want to deal with that] Another guy joined me, so one of us was swimming second (there were 15 seconds between swimmers). Stupid me let him start–he said he was decent–and I passed him before the first length was over. Go figure.

My swim went really well. Sir was in town and joined us to watch the carnival, and he told me I was third out of the water in my group. And I started 15 seconds behind the first group. The Boy even did really well and finished strong.

Once out of the water, we had 10 minutes to change and get back to the pool holding area before we went outside for the rest of the challenge. Of course, the women’s locker room was a long way away, so I had to really bustle to get back in time. Luckily, I had already proved that I might contend, so the Navy guys and Fitness Challenge scorekeepers were really nice about looking out for me.

The rest of the challenge took place on the soccer field. The next step was push-ups in 2 minutes. The Boy and I paired up for this. He did his while I counted, then I did mine, hoping to reach my goal of 20 (when we first started training, I could only do 10. I really wanted to double that number). Then we did sit-ups, with the same deal. After that, we had the opportunity to grab some water before going to the pull-up area. There were 7 pull-up bars, so I held back for a little bit of rest before attempting to do mine. Then we got another 10 minute rest before our 1.5 mile run.

The run was a lot more difficult than either the Boy or I imagined. We were pretty gassed from the other activities and the run drained us. I believe there was another guy behind me for the entire run, and I did pass a guy (who ended up dropping out with a pulled hamstring). That alone was a big success. True, I got lapped by pretty much everyone (including the Boy), but hey, I passed someone!

So that’s how it went. Oh, how did it go? Here are our results:

500 Yard Swim (breaststroke or sidestroke):

SEAL Standards: 12:30

The Boy: 12:19

Jill: 10:30

This one really played in my favor. Breaststroke has always been my best stroke. Not everyone liked this because we saw guys in a later group try sneaking in freestyle here and there. If you think my time was fast, a girl in a later group did it in under 9 minutes. Whoa!
Push-Ups (in 2 minutes):

SEAL Standards: 42

The Boy: 46

Jill: 44

So much for that goal of 20! I totally surprised myself…though the Navy guys were a little easier than we thought they’d be. If you stopped during the 2 minutes, they told you to keep going, even if I’d put a knee down to take a break. Still….I made the standard!

Sit-Ups (in 2 minutes):

SEAL Standards: 50

The Boy: 66

Jill: 69

I know! I didn’t think I’d best the Boy in more than one category!

Pull-Ups:

SEAL Standards: 6

The Boy: 6

Jill: 3******

Um, yeah. About that 3. I really couldn’t do any pull-ups. I’d really hoped to be able to do 1, but in the last week of training, I still hadn’t been able to muster one. I really couldn’t do it on this incredibly tall pull-up bar. I was lucky to be able to reach the bar once I got up on the booster pegs. But after I tried, one of the Navy leaders held my feet and assisted me in doing 6. I asked how many I could count, and he thought for a second before grudingly letting me count 3.

The Boy barely got his 6–the Navy guys encouraged him to do one extra “for the corps” (and to ensure he got his chin over the bar). He was happy, and I was really proud because he worked so hard to get that one.

1.5 Mile Run

SEAL Standards: 11:00

The Boy: 12:21

Jill: 14:40

The Boy was so close to getting the tan shirt for meeting the standards! He thought he was on pace, but just couldn’t pick it up at the end to pull it out. On my last lap around the soccer field, one of the Navy guys ran with me, talking me through everything. That was really cool of him. Yes, I was a little upset at what felt like a poor time, but I knew going into it that I wouldn’t make the run. I’m still too slow and too heavy to do it that fast. We figured that if anyone could meet standards, maybe the SEALs wouldn’t be considered so elite anymore. Still, we finished, and that was a big enough accomplishment.
Overall, we had a great time and were so glad we went through the hard training. The Navy folks were great and so encouraging. Next time they come through, we’ll be ready (and maybe I’ll even be able to really get those 3 pull-ups)!

Day of Reckoning

Not a Rant, The Quest 05.09.2008 2 Comments

Tomorrow the Boy and I will see if we have what it takes to join the Navy SEAL training program (if we were enlisted and so desired to, etc.). It’s time for the Navy SEALs Fitness Challenge!

We’ve been working our butts off for the last 4-6 weeks, using a fitness program the SEALs site created for us. Honestly, it’s been a real pain in the neck, but I’ve seen enormous improvement in just a short amount of time. Although I started off slowly, I can now do 4 sets of 15 push ups, 5 sets of 25 sit ups, and I’m this close to 1 pull up. My run and swim times are faster too.

So what did the SEALs make us do? Well, we worked out 6 days a week. Monday was running long slow distance, and the distance increased by 1/4 mile every week until we reached 4 miles. Tuesday was a continuous high intensity swim (minutes increased weekly until you hit 17) with sit ups, push ups and pull ups (4-6 sets). Wednesday was running 1/4-mile intervals, with sit ups, push ups, and pull ups. Thursday was a long slow distance swim. Friday was running continuous high intensity with sit ups, push ups, and pull ups. Saturday was swim intervals with sit ups, push ups, and pull ups.

The training has been hard and has eaten up a lot of time (especially when the YMCA pool closed for cleaning, and we had to find other places to swim), but man, have I gotten stronger! I’m so pleased to be able to go from doing a few push ups on my toes and the rest on my knees to busting out several sets on my toes. I’ve dropped a couple of pounds too, and I’m looking leaner.

Although I’ll probably just get the white t-shirt that says I participated, with the way my physical fitness has improved, I’d say I was a winner already. I’ll check in Monday with our results.

Bungee Weight

The Quest 06.08.2008 No Comments

You may be wondering, If Jill’s doing this Navy SEALs whatever-it-is, she must be losing more weight, right?

Well, not quite. Ever since Fat Camp ended, I’ve been doing a decent job of exercising regularly, and I eat all right. I’m not as good with my eating on the weekends, so on Monday my weight is usually up slightly. During the week, it trends downward, and the cycle starts again on the weekend.

The weight feels a little like a bungee cord and how it bounces once you’ve jumped off the bridge. Sometimes there’s a big variation in weight, but as I keep bouncing, it settles into one number. I’ve bounced as low as 166 (!), but I’m also still bouncing into the low 170s at times if I’m weighing myself before bed. Admittedly, the 170s aren’t coming around as much, nor am I going as high, so if I can stay in the 160s, I’ll feel a good sense of accomplishment for now.
Why do I let myself bounce? Well, I’m not as focused on my weight loss at the moment. I don’t keep a food or exercise log, so I know approximately how much I eat. I’m also still getting through a major plateau, and that just takes time.

The hardest part will actually be this SEAL training. When I work out a lot, I start to think I can eat anything, but if I look at the calories expended, they won’t be nearly as many as I think I’ve burned. I still have to be careful, but I’m getting better at it.

N.S.I.T. (Navy SEAL in Training)

The Quest 05.08.2008 2 Comments

Because there are two sides to every story, I’d like to use this public forum to explain my side of the story. If you hear the Boy tell it, this is all my fault.

I may have mentioned this, but we’re signed up to do the relay at the Men’s Health Urbanathlon in October. Last week, the Boy e-mailed me this article from the Sun-Times and wrote, “Should we do this too?”

“This” is the Navy SEALs Fitness Challenge, which is coming to Chicago at the beginning of September. During the challenge (which is obviously a recruiting event, though everyone over 13 can take part), you do the Physical Screening Test, all the tests a regular Navy person would do to enter the SEAL training program:

Swim 500 yards (breaststroke or sidestroke)

Sit-ups: As many as possible in 2 minutes

Push-ups: As many as possible in 2 minutes

Pull-ups: As many as possible

1.5 mile run

Now, the Boy likes to test his fitness levels. He keeps talking about how he wants to get into better shape. When pressed for a definition of “better shape,” there’s not really a good answer. And although he’s never really wanted to be in the Navy, if he could be as fit as a Navy SEAL, he’d be all geeked out about it. So I said we should sign up.

A while later, after looking at the training program the site provides, I get an e-mail saying, “How do I let you get me into stuff like this? I am going to try to qualify now.” Oh, so I talked you into it? Um, if you weren’t interested, why did you bother to send me the link in the first place? I’ll be his little scapegoat for now. We’ll see if he says, “Well, I didn’t want to, but Jill talked me into it, thank goodness,” when he passes the test.

I mentioned qualifying. Yeah. The SEALs have two results indicators. One is the minimum needed to get into the training program. The second is more of an indicator that you’ll actually be able to complete the program. How does that break out?

Minimum Standards:

Swim: under 12:30
Push-Ups: 42
Sit-Ups: 50
Pull-Ups: 6
1.5 Mile Run: under 11:00

Competitive Standards:

Swim: under 10:00
Push-Ups: 80
Sit-Ups: 80
Pull-Ups: 11
1.5 Mile Run: under 10:00

The Boy and I went through the tests to find a baseline for where we’re at. Surprisingly, I’m a little better than him at the moment–I qualify in the swim and the sit-ups–but realistically I’m probably not going to massively improve my performance in the other three categories to earn the brown t-shirt that signifies you met standards. I can only do 10 push-ups, I can’t do any pull-ups (unassisted), and even though I pushed it, I did the run in 14:20, which is really an amazing time for me. I can’t imagine being able to take off 3:20 in five weeks.
The Boy can do sit-ups, but he’s only got to add 10 push-ups and 3 pull-ups. His swim and run are not that far off standards either, so if we follow the training program we got from their website, he may actually be able to pull it off.

Me? I’ll just try to survive.

The Boy Attacks Fat

The Quest 17.07.2008 No Comments

Lately, the Boy has become a bit obsessed with his body, specifically the slight paunch he’s started to acquire that makes him realize he’s getting closer to middle age.

I call him Pauncho Villa now and try to pat his belly whenever possible, just to remind him it’s there. After all, I’ve got a lot of payback for being called Fatty McFat Fat.

Now, if we’re being realistic, his paunch is not huge. He does not have a big beer belly that makes him look pregnant. He isn’t in danger of toppling over. You don’t look at his skinny legs and wonder how they can hold him upright. He’s just moving a baby step away from the six-pack abs he’s trying to develop.

Don’t pity him though. He’s tall, with fast metabolism. He doesn’t drink his one Coke a day for a week, and half of the paunch is gone. It’s really disgusting.
Meanwhile, I’m still at end-of-Fat-Camp weight and am not too happy with myself about not working hard enough to break through this plateau.

More Numbers

Fat Camp, The Quest 23.06.2008 2 Comments

I got my last round of numbers from Fat Camp, and it was nice to see more improvement than just weight loss. Because I hadn’t eaten breakfast before my last visit, they could do a cholesterol and fasting glucose test to see my overall improvement. Both the American Heart Association and the Mayo Clinic have nice charts talking about cholesterol numbers. Here’s how I stack up since my first results on April 30, 2007:

Total Cholesterol:

Then: 207

Now: 174

I went from Borderline High Risk to Desirable

HDL-c:

Then: 69

Now: 68

This is the type of cholesterol that aids in protecting you from heart disease, and if it’s over 60, you’ll get some kind of protection.

LDL-c:

Then: 120

Now: 93

I was at the high end of the “Near Optimal” range, but now I’m “Optimal for people with risk of heart disease.”

Triglycerides:

Then: 89

Now: 64

Although this is much lower, I never was out of the “Desirable” range to begin with.

Fasting glucose:

Then: 91

Now: 70

Again, according to the NIH, I was normal, but I was getting awfully close to pre-diabetes levels, which scares me. One thing I was worried about before I started losing weight was getting diabetes because I was so fat. If I take the risk test at the American Diabetes Association website, they had the old me firmly in pre-diabetes. I feel a hell of a lot better knowing that I don’t have to worry as much about becoming diabetic. And the cool thing is that I made that happen–there’s so much about life that you can change if you put your mind to it, and it’s nice to know that over the last year I made my life better.

So why am I sharing my numbers with the entire world? Well, I feel that if I’m going to share my story, I’m going to share everything that’s relevant. It is embarrassing that I let my body and health go so much, but seeing the hard numbers helps me (and maybe you) see how much concrete progress I made. Yes, I can tell you I feel better and clothes fit better, but I think seeing all of the facts gives this story a little more impact.

Besides, who am I kidding? Entire world? Reading me? Yeah, right. Right? Prove me wrong, people!

Graduatin’ Time

Fat Camp, The Quest 06.06.2008 No Comments

It’s that time of year where scads of people graduate from high school or college and start a new phase of their lives. I too have just graduated–from Fat Camp.

The Boy wondered what my last visit would be like. “What do you do? Do you get to go to graduation and walk across the big scale one more time? Do you graduate to a smaller scale? Do you get to sit in the smaller chairs?”

I had no idea, but I didn’t think it would be all pomp and circumstance. No certificates, no band playing for me as I walked out of the office, no valedictorian speech to give. But I did have that graduation feeling–that feeling like I was ready to move on. Although I enjoyed going to Fat Camp, I was starting to get that “what am I going to talk about this time” feeling because I’m pretty comfortable with the way things are going in terms of weight loss. It’s going slowly, yes, but it’s still going. And, the bonus is that I’m not really changing my daily habits much. I exercise, I eat less (but it (a) still fills me up, and (b) is whatever I want to eat), I eat better, I’m getting more sleep, I’m thinking better about myself. I don’t know at this point what sort of help more visits can give.
I had my last visit with the Fat Camp Doctor. We mainly reviewed what I thought of the program and how things went. FCD was thrilled that I no longer had the toxic job. She said that I’d spent 13 months focusing on me and what I needed in my life, and maybe all the pieces came together to get me where I am today. I gained the skills I needed to be able to obtain control over my life, and part of that including stepping outside of my comfort zone to start creating the job I wanted. Good things happen outside of your comfort zone, she said, so it’s good to keep pushing it and expanding it as much as possible.

After a little talk, we did some numbers. She was so excited about them!

Starting weight: 190.9

Last month: 170.9

Ending weight: 168.3

That’s a total of 22.6 pounds, or 13.4% of my body weight. Excellent! I’m about what I weighed in 1997-1998, and I’m at this last plateau before I had the 20-pound gain in 9 months. I’m thinner than the Boy has ever known me. And, I’m quite pleased, seeing as how I’m not strict with calories/fat. I don’t lose the 1 pound a week, but I’m really happy with my progress, especially since there were a couple months were I gained some weight back.

My BMI has also gone down quite nicely. I started off in Class I obesity, and now I’m a full point into the Overweight classification. My waist circumference started off at 39.25″ and is now at 35.5″, .5″ away from the point where more risk factors come in.

FCD asked if I’d eaten before my appointment. “No,” I said, stopping myself before blurting out, “I never eat before Fat Camp.”

“Oooo! We can take your cholesterol!” she replied. I’m waiting for those results and am interested to see if they’ll go down at all.

So that’s it. If I want to go back for any one-on-one’s, I’m more than welcome to. I may, depending on how things go. I need to establish some red flags for if my weight goes up, stays up, and I can’t get it down. If I set a number and cross that for a while, I should go back in to see what’s up. Otherwise, I’m on my own.

I think I’ll still report back to you every now and then. I don’t know what sort of red flag to put up at the moment–maybe 172 would be good for the time being. My weight still fluctuates a lot from day-to-day (OK, hour-to-hour, because I still weigh myself a heck of a lot), and it will still go up to 170-171, which I don’t like. I’d like to be totally in the 160s (for now).

This last plateau really has me curious though. Will the weight drop off quickly because this 20 pounds went on quickly? I really don’t know what will happen, but I’ll keep at it

How’re You Doin’ Week–Are You Still Fat?

The Diary I Don’t Want to Keep

Weighty Issues

Are We SEALs?

Day of Reckoning

Bungee Weight

N.S.I.T. (Navy SEAL in Training)

The Boy Attacks Fat

More Numbers

Graduatin’ Time

The Latest of Jill on Twitter

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