Day 2

I woke up today extremely sore. The new work out program has officially kicked my butt. I think it was the reverse pull-ups that did me in. My upper abs, lats, triceps, and biceps, you name it, and it hurts. I was going to do chest and triceps today but I think I will change it to legs. I don't want to work my arms if they are still sore from 2 days ago. My trainer will be happy that I am sore. She looks forward to that.

For my diet, I plan on having my green juice for breakfast again. I plan on doing a month of this juice and at least 60% raw food a day. Raw food consists of anything that is not cooked above 118 degrees F. I will consume a pomegranate for snack, homemade mushroom and kale soup or turkey lettuce wraps, and a salad with smoked salmon for dinner. I realize that if I plan my meals out exactly what I eat for the day, I can stick with it better. I planned yesterday and did not waiver. Even though I ate only raw food, I still consumed over 1700 calories. The almond butter itself was 900 calories. That is the only issue I find with raw food, trying to keep calories low. There is a lot of calories and fat in nuts, however they are a major source of protein for raw foodist. But I didn't hit my protein intake. Protein was only 40g, however it was pure protein that was easily absorbable. The first few days of tracking calories and protein with mostly raw food will point me in the direction that I need to follow. This will also guide me how how many protein shakes I need to drink. I did have a chocolate one yesterday. While seaching the net, I found a company that makes raw protein powder. Its a little more than I want to pay but in the long run it will be beneficial. I will finish the chiro blend powder I have now before I switch. If I go 90% raw consistently, I will change over to the new powder. Onward to day 2.

Changed up My Weight Routine

It has been about a week since I hit the gym last. I continued to do cardio at home but missed the weights due to the holiday. I met with my trainer yesterday. We worked on back and triceps. I was confused. She put me on a 4 day weight training program. Back and triceps, chest and biceps, legs, and shoulders with abs 2 or 3 times a week. I gazed at her with a blank look. Since I have been lifting for 3 months, it was time to change my program. By hitting back with triceps, I would still be using my biceps to pull with back exercises therefore hitting my biceps twice in a week. Same as for chest and triceps to hit my triceps twice a week. It is time to continue to grow in my body building. I have been increasing my weights consistently, but I was ready for a change. I was starting to get bored with my routine.

This work out started with dead lifts. She threw 45 on each side. Gulp. I don't usually start that high but I do end up that high. I can do this! Wrapping the bar with the straps, bent knees, butt down, shoulder blades down and back, and head up, LIFT. Push away from the floor Stand up and back down. Reposition -butt down, head up, shoulders back, lift. stand up, and back down. 2.  Three more were like this. Then it was rest time. Another set followed with the same weight and then 10 pounds were tacked on for 2 more sets. I was exhausted. Next, she had me do reverse chin ups. I have never done that before. Today, my arms and back are really sore. It was a great work out. Looking forward to tomorrow for chest and biceps.

Take 2 or is It 3

The holidays have been crazy. Just like most people, I slipped, again and again. I have been horrible on my diet. But now is to start a new day, again. I feel like I keep writing the same thing. I was in a loop without any ending. I was on a spiral downward and couldn't get out. I was defeated diet wise. So what did I do, eat more. Fortunately, I continued to exercise so that my weight didn't spiral out of control. I'm not sure what was going on. But I am determine to bounce back. I moved my competition up to July. So, I only have 7 months to get the weight off and build the muscle.

Now today is a new day. I watched "May I Be Frank" which is about a lifestyle change to rawfood and detoxing as well as positive affirmations. I started to research again how to be raw food while be a body builder. I finally found someone on Facebook that was a raw body builder. I was encouraged to know that it is possible. I know in my heart it is but listening to trainers say it's not is discouraging. Yes, its true that I need 100g of protein and will not be able to consume that quantity of nuts and seeds. However, the protein in the raw food becomes readily absorbable and utilized compared to cooked meat.

I am looking forward to the next few days. I will start to notice more energy and a better mood and out look on life. Being home with the kids is stressful at times with no break. When I went raw in the past, I became clear headed. I was happy all the time with tremendous energy. I can not wait to get that back. I'm sure my kids will be grateful to get me back as well.

Today, I had a perfect day. I started out with a green juice of kale, spinach, apple, carrot, ginger, beet, and cayenne. I ate clementines for snack and raw Pad Thai for lunch followed by a handful of almonds for snack. I will have a protein shake soon and raw enchiladas for dinner. It smells really good while its dehydrating. Scott always love when we go raw. He usually doesn't have a lot of choice when I make his dinner. But he is very receptive to trying anything.

It is a new day and I am ready again. If I fail, I will keep trying. I will live one day at a time and not be discouraged if I get off course. I will persevere and accomplish my goal. I WILL PREVAIL AND NEVER GIVE UP.

Vacation and Holiday Weight Gain

It has been a while since my last blog. I was on vacation for 2 weeks. During that time, I continued to lift weights. I needed to exercise to counteract the food and alcohol. I think the workout only helped with  one drink. Since returning, I have continued working out but have been having a hard time getting my eating under control. I gained 3 pounds on vacation and another 2 since. I have been struggling with parties and the cheese and crackers, seaford newburg, stuffed mushrooms, etc. I have not had much desserts, but its the great tasting food that I struggle with. If its in front of me, I want it. Even if I am full, I still want it. Of course, I feel sick after. This doesn't count the alcoholic drinks that I have been consuming. Orange creamsicles, toasted almonds, lemon drops. Tonight is another party, where I will be eating and drinking again. This week has been much better with eating than it has the last month. I have lost 2 pounds already, but today is not going to help.

I have been lifting heavy as directed by my trainer. I can now bench 95 pounds. I am very happy with that. I have started working out at home as well when the baby lets me. For one week, I walked everyday on the treadmill at an incline. By doing this, it helps to lift and define the gluts. That lasted a week. Then the baby decided to change her nap schedule which made working out impossible. So then I changed my cardio to the Insanity workout and exercised while the baby was playing. It made it a little easier. I wanted to up my cardio to help with the weight loss, even though my trainer doesn't want me to. She wants me to lift heavy all the time and keep cardio to a minimal so as not to lose muscle. And start losing weight in March to diet down for the competition.

So today, I will be doing my Insanity program to counteract some of the damage I will do tonight. Once the holidays are over, the temptations will be minimal. It will be easier to stay on my diet.

I had a great workout today. I focused on back with the trainer. Unfortunately, I have been doing dead lifts wrong this whole time. When I perform it, I didn't place the bar on  the ground. She had me bend much lower than I have been going.This made the exercise much harder. The bar was heavy trying to pick it off the floor. She said that I could do it, and I did. Concentrating on arching my back and keeping my shoulder blades down and in while standing up was difficult. As I lifted, I had to concentrate on pushing away from the floor. This helped to focus on the movement.  I started with 115 pounds and she bumped me up to 135 for 6 reps. I felt like a heavy weight lifter squatting in this position with my butt down and shoulders back. It is not the most comfortable position.

She also wants me to start doing pull-ups and push-ups everyday at home. This will help with increasing my grip strength and for back strength. I also was told to separate shoulders from back which will help give me another day of body building.

After talking with her about the body building competition I went to, we spoke about another competition. This one is in July. I was curious. Could I actually be ready for this competition? Do I have it in me?  I asked her if I would be ready for competition in July. She seems to think that I can do it. If I wasn't ready, then it's easy enough to do the competition in October instead.

 I would have to start dieting down in April for the July comp. If I did the competition in October, I wouldn't diet down until July. But, I want to look good in a bikini next year, so the July comp. would get me nearer to my goal, sooner. I liked that idea. I want to look good for the summer at the beach. I can not wait to get the rest of this weight off. It is driving me crazy. The trainer says not to worry about it and concentrate on lifting but I can't get my head wrapped around it. I continue to ask her in multiple ways about cardio exercise and weight lose, and she keeps answering the same. I keep asking her the same questions in a different way until I get the answer that I want. So far she is sticking to her guns and not answering the way I want her to. I need to go light on cardio and build, build, build. I can do more cardio during the diet down faze. I am not looking forward to eating extremely strict without any alcohol. That will be the hardest part. The weight lifting is the easy part. But I am very excited to see this muscle grow and the fat to melt off.

Scott's only concern about the dieting is if it will interfere with vacations. Fortunately, her program is for a four month diet down, in cases of sickness or vacation. It is not a 6 week "starvation' diet. The slower I lose it, the longer it will stay off. I am looking forward to that. However, if I compete in July, then the Danskin triathlon will be out the window. I will not be able to diet and train for the triathlon at the same time. The tri takes too much energy and will deplete my mass that I am trying to build. For now I will stick to body building and cross the triathlon rode when it is time.

6 Week Checkup

Yesterday was my 6 week re-evaluation. I knew that my weight didn't decrease since my first visit.  However, I hoped that my measurements decreased. 6 weeks ago, I was 29.7% body fat and BMI of 25.5 . I still hovered around the over weight category. But I knew that I made great strides since April ,so I wasn't too upset. Moving on to today, the trainer proceeded to hand me the body fat machine. I held it out with arms straight and waited. It was a long 10 seconds. Then the numbers appeared. I looked at them and then down at the paper and back again. What I saw was not right. My numbers remained the exact same as 6 weeks ago. I did not lose any body fat. I was not too happy. But it is what it is. I have been lifting weights for 6 weeks, 3-4 times a week with light cardio on off days, and I lost no body fat. After receiving that blow, he continued to measure my waist, hips, thigh, biceps, and thighs. Holding the tape measure on my belly button, I proceed to turn to wrap the tape measure around me. He was very careful to observe boundaries. He repeated this for the hips. I was not expecting much since everything else remained the same. However, I lost a half inch in my waist and 1.5 inches in my hips. I smiled in enjoyment. I couldn't believe that I lost inches. I also lost inches in biceps and thighs. My weight training was working. I am starting to slim down and gain more muscle. I can see the muscles on me becoming more defined. I can see the door at the end of the road. But I still have a long way to go to reach my goal.

Granite Sate Open

The Granite State Open Figure and Bodybuilding Competition was yesterday at Dover High School. It amazed me to see everyone in perfect shape. When we entered the building we sighted a few competitors. They were so tan that they were unrecognizable. The darker they are, the less shadows and the better the muscle pops out. Most were unnaturally dark.

The Figure Competition entered the stage first. About 20 very fit and tanned women in high heels grazed the stage. Some had a hard time walking, the heels were so high. They were called to some poses and had to hold them for at least 30 seconds each pose. They had to flex their muscles and stand with shoulders back, butt and chest out, head high, and all muscles flexed. Standing under those lights must have been very hot because they were sweating their tan away. Then they had to walk the runway, like models and strike their best pose. Most did really well. It must have been very intimidating to stand up there in a little bikini with everyone staring at you. Plus, with the amount that they had to contract theirs muscles, it look exhausting. I was exhausted watching them tighten up.

After the Figure, the body building started. These women and men were bigger than the figure. The women didn't have to wear high heels or shiny bikini. The had to strike more poses. Flexing the back, chest, triceps, biceps, abdominals, legs, and serratus. They were sweating like crazy. Some were flexing so hard, that they were shaking.

The competitors were ripped. Every striation of muscle was enhance. During the month before the competition, they diet down to almost no body fat so that the muscles becomes more defined. My friend and I decided that we want to look like them. But the dieting down is not for me. It will be interesting if I can get my body to look like that, hard and sculptured. Scott has no problem with me looking that that. He encourages and supports me to follow my dream.

Not Yet Bikini Ready

I finally took the picture of myself in the bikini. I didn't look half as bad as I thought. When posing and flexing, there is actually definition in my arms. I like to wear tight sleeveless shirts when working out upper body to see my results. However, I still have a nice spare tire around the middle. Due to this, I will not be wearing the "bikini" to Cancun especially because family and friends will be going. I don't want to embarrass myself that much. But I am going to spray tan before I go. Tan fat looks better than white fat.

I am back up by 2 pounds again this week. I made a break though last week by losing that 2 pounds. Now its back on. This last 10 pounds is very hard to lose. But I will perservere and lose it. I wanted it to be gone by Cancun, but that won't be able to happen. I will just keep plugging away day by day and week by week. It will come off and by the summer I will look "hot".

Weight training has been going very well. I increase my weights each time I go. I am now benching 75 pounds and squatting 105 pounds. The trainer wants me to bench and squat my weight. I guess I need to lose more weight for that to happen. I have no problems with squatting my weight. I am worried about hurting my back, so I don't go to heavy unless she is there. One of my patients broke her back while squatting. It was a long recovery for her. She couldn't lift anymore or run. So I always have that in the back of my mind. With bench pressing, I am afraid that I won't be able to lift that last rep and might drop the bar on my head. That would hurt. I know I can always call out for help, but that is not my personality.

I have the tendency not to ask for help at all. It is easier doing things myself so as not to bother anyone else. Also, the task is completed on my time, not someone elses. That is probably why I am up at 1am with my mind racing with things that need to be done. Its usually not a problem, crawling out of bed and completing my tasks, except last night when Ella woke up and woke up Scott and none of us went back to sleep till 4:30am. Sorry hunny. Its hard to stay in bed when my mind is racing with all the items I need to accomplish. I bought a tiny light for my Nook, so I can read instead of getting up. But I do enjoy this ridiculously eary morning rising. No kids. The quietness is so peaceful. I complete my bible study, write on my blog, clean the house and wash dishes, relax and catch up on TV. I look forward to it, except when I wake everyone else up because of the baby.

Laughter Makes the Heart Grow Stronger

It has been a great week. I have been eating healthy and working out regularly. I added the extra Insanity work outs in. It feels great to get a good sweat in and my heart rate up. My heart feels strong, my body feels strong, and my posture is more up right. I am walking taller and straigther.

I went to lift weights with my husband on Friday. I never laughed so much. He wanted to do cardio and I made him lift with me for back day. We started with dead lifts. It was very awkward for him to perform this new exercise. He was worried about his disc. During my turn, he repeatedly moved on to a new exercise and then came back when it was his turn.

When we started weight lifting years ago, we both originally performed supersets. This included back pull downs and chest press for 3 sets without a rest in between. This caused our heart rate to stay elevated to burn more calories. However, for building mass, it doesn't work this way. The body needs full recovery in between sets to allow to continue to lift heavy. I remember when I started lifting with the trainer, it was odd to rest between exercises. I don't break a sweat anymore while working out. So usually I try to do 20 minutes of cardio after weights to get in that burn.

We continue to pull ups and I showed him how to use the band to assist him to pull up. I pulled the band down, he put his knee in, removed his foot from the floor, and howled in pain. His leg hairs were being pulled by the band. I thought his back gave out, but when he told me about his hair, I laughed so hard. He is hysterical. After shifting the band around, I still couldn't get it to stop pulling his hair. To his credit, he sucked it up and continued to perform the pull-ups. After his first set, he glanced at me and stated that he would be sore tomorrow and grabbed his shoulders. I laughed again and again. He is someone who can run miles and thrives on triathlons, but to pump weights, he is not a fan. Half way through our work out, I told him this was a fun way to spend Friday afternoon together at the gym instead of at a restaurant. He sarcastically agreed. We will see what next Friday entails. P.S. He wasn't sore the next day.

Its been a rough week

I've had a rough food week this week. I didn't seen to care what I ate. Its been about 2 weeks of spiraling in the food category. I have been stagnant with my weight and reached a plateau where I wasn't losing any weight. It was getting depressing. I stopped weighing myself and then when I did, I was higher than I should be. So of course, I ate.

 I started the day off great. I had my 3 egg whites with mushrooms and salsa, followed by a decent lunch of meat and cheese and small salad. But my nighttime, I was so tired that I didn't care anymore. I didn't want to cook for me or my kids. Of course the kids were happy that they could have chicken nuggets and french fries one night, 3 nights of pizza, Chinese food, hot dog. (I am an awful mom, but the kids enjoyed not eating "real food")

So I vowed the next day to eat better. eggs whites, good lunch, and again horrible dinner. I couldn't break the cycle. My schedule is so busy that I forget to go to the bathroom sometimes. Also from eating bad, the pipes started to clog and that caused much irritation. Even chirocleanse didn't work. My stomach was not feeling well. So of course, I ate bad again. Like I said, I was on a downward spiral.

I woke up yesterday and decided I was done. I needed to break this plateau. I only have 4 weeks left before vacation to fit and look good in a bathing suit. I wanted to lose 10 pounds. I upped my workout yesterday. In the morning I exercised to an Insanity video, then in the afternoon I met with my trainer. We worked legs and I hope I can walk this afternoon. They felt like jello after working out. I had 2 protein shakes after each work-out. I actually made dinner last night. I slow cooked pull-pork, which I never made before, with corn on the side. It was fabulous. I was impressed. It was so easy. I love my crock pot. I don't use it enough. Some friends have gave me a couple of recipes to try out. Using the crock pot is great because I don't have to think about what to have for dinner when I am completely wiped out.

Today I woke up feeling great and energized. I got on the scale and broke my plateau. I couldn't budge from 152 in weeks. Now I made it to 150.4. I cannot wait to be in the 140's. I would like to be 145 before Cancun. I am on my way. I took a before picture in a bikini that I want to wear for next summer. It is skimpy and I will not post it until I like how I look in it now and are not embarrassed by it. Above is a picture of the bikini without me in it. Next year, I intend to wear this and look good. Wish me luck.

Weight training on my own

After meeting with my trainer for 3 sessions, I was on my own. It was time do work on my back. I pulled out my form with my exercises on it. I started with dead lifts. I went over to the corner to the squat machine. I proceed to arrange the bar where I needed it and added the appropriate weights. I placed my hands on the bar, feet apart, back arched, shoulders down, shoulder blades back, butt out, and abs tight. WOW! There is much to remember on this one exercise. I thought I was doing them correctly all these years. Boy was I wrong. I was always told I had very good form, but not any more. It is very hard holding your shoulders back while lifting. I now know I have a lot to do to get my back strong. Next, I moved on the pull-ups(with a band). Luckily the gym was not to crowded. If you would have seen me try to get my knee into this band that was hooked over the top of the pull up bar. I was using the machine that you hold yourself up with your elbows and do leg lifts for abdominals. I had the band over the top and it reached to my stomach. I had to hold onto to the side so I don't fall and use my other hand to pull the band down. The band does not stretch very far. Standing on tipie toes didn't work either. Ok, new strategy, turn around and lean on the back and the side of the machine and pull. A little better. Trying to pull without falling over was interesting. Finally, I was able to get the tip of my knee into the band and slid it down farther. Yeah! I did it. I was ready to do the pull-ups. After the set, I squirmed my way out. That was fun. But I had to do it again. I looked around the room to make sure no one was watching and wiggled myself in it again. I could only laugh at myself. I'm sure it was a great sight.

Now moving onto wide grip pull downs. Atleast I didn't look ridiculus this time. I set my weight and pulled. I went up to six reps pretty easy, rep 7 was a huge struggle, and during rep 8 I was barely able to pull this down. This happen for all three sets as well as the next narrow handed pull downs. I continued with the rest of my work out without any other incidents. I also added extra bicep exercises since I was feeling good. The hardest part of back and shoulder training is the posture. I had to constantly remind myself to fix my posture. The trainer said as my back becomes stronger, it will be easier to keep better posture. I can't wait for that day. Next on the rotation is legs.

Great Island 5K

One more race down. Today we ran the Great Island 5K in Newcastle. It was a beautiful run.  The weather was perfect. The sun was shining brightly and warmed the air to 75 degrees. There were 1400 people ready and waiting at the starting line. "On your mark" "GO". and we were off. 30 seconds later we crossed the starting line. Up the first hill and around the bend we traveled. The roads were very curvy so you never know what to expect next. The first mile, I was at 10.01 min. Perfect, right on target. We slowed down in mile 2 to 10.12 min. After mile 2, I kicked it in. I wanted to average below 10 minute miles. Running faster and faster the last half mile, I proceed to pass 1, 2, 10, 20 runners. I crossed the finish line at 30.41 which put my average at 9.54 minutes. I broke my record and completed this race my fastest of the season.

I love to run. I decided not to quit running while on this journey to body building. I will continue to run 2 times a week with a lower heart rate. This will continue to get my heart rate up to burn the fat. If I am having problems with building mass then I will cut back on cardio. I am planning on another series and another triathlon next year. I plan to finish these races by July which will give my body 3 months to put on the mass for the competition.

Legs training in peace and quiet

 I looked around the gym and it was quiet. It was a Sunday morning and there were not many people there. It was peaceful. I put my headphones on and enjoyed my training. I am accustomed to working out with the kids "Momma, momma, I need....." "Mom, Logan hit me, but he started" Or the kids coming down and watching me work out. They want their tv show on, even if I'm doing a video. Or they want to run on the treadmill when I am. So I am enjoying the silence.

I had an amazing workout yesterday. I focused on legs and added in a back exercise. I started with squats. I wanted to do the hardest exercise first before my legs were fatigued. I started lifting with just the bar. It felt good.  I moved onto dead lifts, leg press, leg extension, leg curl, adduction and abduction, and calf raises. I actually did abdominals as well. I do not like ab work. I have to remember to do crunches at the end of a workout.

It was also nice working out without becoming very sweaty. My face always becomes very red from cardio work. It was nice to remain my natural color. I want to continue to run twice week to keep up my cardio. I can't imagine not running on my off days. I want to be able to chase after the kids without getting out of breath. Or walk up stairs. For me, I am discovering that I would rather have smaller muscles and run than larger muscles and feel out of breath. But I do reserve the right to change my mind depending how body building goes.

The Right Way to Count Calories- Part 2

1.     Counting Calories: Most people assume that all calories are equal. This is the first myth.

 To start out on a calorie counting program is very easy. By searching the internet, you can find many calorie counting programs. But here is the hard part. YOU NEED TO EAT HEALTHY. Let’s say you are allowed to eat 1500 calories. This should be broken up in 5 small meals a day. Most people will eat only 2-3 times per day and get all the calories that way. So you will probably be more hungry and need to consume a large amount of food. Spagetti and meatballs will fill you up and go towards your calories. However, these are not nutritious foods. You need to learn how to eat the proper nutritious foods. By eating more nutritious foods, you get hungry less often.  Fruits and vegetables are very low in calories. Plan on eating fruits for your snacks. Have a large salad everyday for dinner. Add turkey, chicken, or fish to get your protein in.  Make your salads interesting. Use a lot of quality vegetables and strive for color. The more color there is in your salad, the more nutritious it will be. However, watch your salad dressing. That is where you will consume the most of your calories. Try making your own dressing.

Salad dressing #1

Mix equal parts flax seed oil, olive oil, apple cidar vinegar, and basalmic vinegar. Add spices and enjoy.

Salad dressing #2

            Lime juice, olive oil, garlic, and fresh dill

Salad dressing #3

            Lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, and fresh parsley

There are many combinations that you can try.

If you are on an exercise program, you will need to eat more calories to feed your muscles. This should consist of high protein foods. If you do not add the extra calories, you body could go into starvation mode. This will cause your body to respond and take that hard earned muscle and start breaking it down for fuel. You need to eat to lose weight and grow.

Limit the amount of empty calories that you consume. Soda’s, diet or regular, fruit juices, and lemonade, are all examples of drinking empty calories. Also, coffee and alcohol can be high in calories. These drinks will take away the nutritious food that you could be eating. Watch out for snacks. There are many 100 calorie snack packs on the market today. They do not have much nutritional value. They will waste away your needed calories. This is one of the reasons why calorie counting gets a bad review.

Calorie counting is great when you go out for dinner. Most restaurants list the calories, carbohydrates, and proteins either on the menu or on a separate card. You can also find this information on different websites. It is amazing how many calories are in a Caesar salad or chicken fajita salad. There can be over 1200 calories in that one salad. That is a whole days worth of calories in one meal. No wonder why America is overweight. It takes 3600 calories to gain a pound. Eat 3 of these “salads” a day and gain a pound. We are thinking that we are eating healthy and we are far from it.

Counting calories should not be an excuse to eat what you want as long as you stay in the range. You will lose weight initially, but eventually it will catch up to you. Remember watch your calories but really learn how to eat healthy and get rid of those empty calories.

Training Day

Yesterday, I met with a trainer for the first time. She is a body builder and competes in figures competition. She had me start with dead lifts to get my overall body. We started with easy weights to get use to this lifting exercise. Next we moved onto pull ups.  I did not do to well with this. I barely was able to do one. We continued to train back, shoulders, and biceps. She kept increasing the weights I was lifting. I usually do 3 sets of 12-15 reps.  She had me doing 6-8 reps. So my weights continued getting heavier and heavier. I kept being told to :arch my back, squeeze your shoulder blades together, stick out your butt, and tighten your abs". There is a lot to think about to lift weights properly. I always thought I lifted properly, but I guess not. I have a lot to learn. After working out, my back was tired and achy. I thought I was going to be very sore today. I am sore but not as much as I thought. I can still lift my arms over my head. That is a good sign. I guess I am in better shape than I thought.

We spoke about different aspects of training and whether I can still do triathlons. If I do a lot of cardio exercise like running and biking, then my muscles will not grow. I will lean out but not grow bigger. I am very accustomed to running, so to stop will be difficult. I need to decide what is more important. I planned on running the Will Run for Beer road series that starts in January. But she said I shouldn't run more than once a week. What to do, what to do. I also planned another triathlon and half marathon next year. If I can get those races over by the beginning of summer, then I will have 3 months to really pack on the muscle. Can I do both? Maybe. I will do some of the runs at the beginning of the season but I might have to skip the tri and half. I guess I will wait to see how my body responds to the new schedule and lifting heavier. Wish me luck:)

I finally joined the Gym

I finally joined the gym today. It was really great. It was freeing.  It was so nice to work out without kids barging in. I made an appointment with a personal trainer who specializes in body building. I am excited to start a new program and a new chapter in my work out. Unfortunately, they did all my measurements. That, I will not post. But my next goal is to lose 10 more pounds by November to fit nicely in a tankinie. Slow and steady. I did buy a new belly button ring to start wearing again since my belly is getting smaller. My kids were fascinated watching me put it in.

I went on a run on Sunday and my knee is still sore, so I am not happy. But at the gym is a biking contest that I am going to try to do. Its a spin bike with a video that looks like your out on the rode. I want to try that on Thursday. So I am excited to meet with the trainer and get a bran new routine and get ready to go.

Keep Going

Last Saturday was the Pumpkinman and I was on fire. I had a great weight training work out on Sunday and ran 5 miles on Monday. On the 4th mile in, I started having severe knee pain, I walked it off and as soon as I started running again, severe pain. Great:( I thought. After half running and walking, I finally made it home. I iced, adjusted my knee, and took arnica. There was no pain to the touch. But it hurt walking. This reminds my when I was a kid playing sports, I had a lot of knee pain. There was also no pain to the touch and an x-ray and MRI showed nothing. Here it comes again. Its depressing being in the mood to run and you can't. So I took the week off of running and concentrated on weights instead. I had another great weight work out on Tuesday. Wednesday was such a busy day, that I didn't work out. Thursday was suppose to be back and legs, however, I woke up with alot of back pain that it felt like it was going to go out. So there goes another day of not working out. Friday I had a baby sitter so there was no excuses. But did I work out, nope. I did errands instead. By Saturday, I was so out of my routine that I did nothing and hung around the house all day. The kids were sick and Ella was really cranky. So I could use that as an excuse, but I was just being lazy. Why is it so hard to exercise after you have a day off or two. Your body needs to have that day of rest to recuperate and get stronger. But the more days I take off, the lazier I get. I can work out everyday whether I am in the mood or not, but as soon as I take off a day, it is so hard to get back into it. On Sunday, we got out of that house and it was a beautiful day to run. However, I didn't want to get a babysitter just so I could go for a run. I was trying to plan how I would do this and decided I would just run on the treadmill when I saw my training partner at church and she was going for a run. Her kids could come down and watch my kids and I would take Ella in a stroller. Perfect. God provides, all you have to do is ask. I was able to go for a run, just what I needed to get my motivation going again. Of course my kids were not happy when I got back. Since I was now in the mood to get things done, they had to clean their rooms and the playroom. So I am back on my mission to weight train. I will get my back and leg training in. Tomorrow is another day and I will finally join a gym.

Why do we gain weight and what to do about it. Part 1

Why Do We Gain Weight? This is the first part in a multiple part series of why we gain weight and what to do about it.

#1 Lack of Exercise

FOR LONG TERM WEIGHT LOSS, EXERCISE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO

A reduction in food intake jump started the initial loss of body weight, however, only an increase in energy expenditure (exercise) was necessary to maintain the reduced weight, even after food consumption returned to normal. The findings suggest that a continuation of reduced food consumption is not critical to maintain a reduced body weight as long as there is a sustained increase in energy expenditure.  Endocrinology August 2002 143: 3183

Exercise provides two major benefits that will result in weight loss:

First, exercise increases your metabolism. This mean that as your metabolic rate increases, you will burn more calories.  Your basal metabolic rate is your energy expenditure while at rest. When this increases from exercise, you will lose weight while you sleep.

Exercise also improves your insulin receptor sensitivity. As you consume more and more sugar (glucose rich foods), your insulin receptors become overloaded. Muscle and fat require insulin to be able to absorb glucose. If you are not moving and exercising, your body automatically starts making the adjustment to the insulin receptors. There will not be enough places on the cell for the insulin to attach, so the glucose remains in your blood stream causing many health conditions. As you exercise and decrease your sugar intake, your insulin resistance will decrease and you’ll have lower insulin levels, which makes it much easier to burn fat.  This will lower the amount of glucose floating in your blood helping also with chronic health conditions.

Below are some guidelines to consider when starting an exercise program that will help you be more successful with your journey:

1. Listen to your body. Exercise should not be painful. There is a difference between your muscles being sore and pain from an injury. If exercise makes you feel worse from over doing it, you need to stop or modify your program. Start out slow. As your energy and health improve, you’ll likely be able to tolerate larger amounts of the aerobic and anaerobic exercise.

2. Hire a personal trainer. It is always good to get the advice of a professional. A personnel trainer can give you the right program and instructions to follow to make you more successful. They will give you an exercise program that will work for you. Everyone is different. Depending on what your goals are, weight loss, body building, getting healthy, a trainer can modify any program to make your goals be attainable.

3. Stick with it. Starting a new program is exhilarating and hard. But change is good. The body needs constant change in exercise to continue to grow. This is called muscle confusion. If you stay on a stagnant routine, not only will you get bored, but your body will also. You can hit a plateau. If this happens, change it up a bit. Change it, don’t quit. The results will amaze you..

4. Do the right amount of exercise. Typically, you should exercise at least 30 minutes of a day to experience any weight loss benefits. Large studies have shown that 60 minutes a day would be better. Ideally the exercise should be continuous, but it could be split up into two 30-minute sections.  Anaerobic exercise consists of weight training. In order to keep your metabolism higher for a longer period of time, you need to have more muscle mass. This does not mean you need to be bulky, just tone. Aerobic exercise is jogging or biking. This will increase your metabolism but only for shorter periods of time. Aerobic exercise has many heart healthy benefits. A combination of weight training and cardio are the best to keep your body healthy and lose that unwanted weight.

5. Be sure to take one day off per week.  This allows the muscles to recuperate properly. The muscle fibers break down during exercise and grow during rest. It is be beneficial to take a nice walk and do some stretching on this day. Don’t stop moving but modify it on rest day.

6. Exercise at the right intensity. The first step of exercise is to start walking. There is little risk of injury with walking. Walking will make your heart stronger, strengthen your legs and back, and give you more energy. However, don’t let walking become stagnant. Mix it up a bit. Add a jog to the next telephone pole. Then walk again. Add hills to your walk. Add more mileage. Depending on if your goal is to continue to walk or wanting to finish a 5K, keep moving and increasing the intensity. Remember muscle confusion is important to grow.

7. Try running. Once you’ve achieved a baseline, you might try jogging to get added benefits. This does not require any special equipment except a good pair of shoes.  But be careful and don’t overdo it. Running can be hard on your knees, so alternate everyday.

8. Be smart. Exercise has many great benefits if done correctly. However, injury can occur if you are not careful.

9. If you are having certain muscles that are weaker than others [i.e. quads vs. hamstrings], you may need to be adjusted by a Chiropractor. This allows proper nerve flow to the muscles so they can function properly.

Pumpkinman Triathalon

I did it!!!! I finished the Pumpkinman Triathalon. It was a beautiful day. The sun was bright and there were no clouds in the sky. We made a lot of friends on the route. We started the day with a moment of silence in remembrance of 9/11. Then cheers went up after the National Anthem. There was excitement in the air. Triathaletes from all over the country were rearing to go. Everyone was nervous but exhilarated at the same time. We were ready. We trained all summer for this moment. Running 2-3 times per week, biking 1-2 times per week, swimming 1 time a week. All that training was ready to be used. We were scared, ready to start but waiting for our waves to get called.

The elites went first. Cheers rose up. Then the next heat, and the next. and the next. I was in the 6th heat. There were only 2 heats behind me. I was nervous about getting in the water, but I was ready. My last 2 swims were practicing putting my head in the water and breathing side to side. My goal was not to be the last out of the water. Our wave was called, "GO GO GO GO". And we were off. I stood to the right and back of the pack. Everyone rushed into the water to get out front. I stood back a little. With swimming in tri's, there are so many people that some don't pay attention to where they are going and run into you, cut you off, and/or kick you. I found my pocket where the risk for getting dunked was less.  I was in the groove stroke stroke breathe, stroke stroke breathe. The finish line was near. I made it out of the water in 14 minutes, much faster than my first year. Now the climb up the hill challenge. I started jogging and then hit the steeper section and I had to walk, most people were walking. I took a breathe and smiled for my picture, then continued panting.

The transition area went smoothly. I changed out of my wetsuit, socks, shoes, helmet, and glasses on and off I went. The bike was a little challenging. There were so many hills that my legs were burning. I needed to conserve strength for the run. It was hard to push myself through the bike. The last couple of weeks of bike training was difficult. I didn't have the drive to push myself. My thoughts kept going back and forth to push harder, I am good going slower, I'm tired, I can do it. Mentally it was hard to keep focus. I finally got my drive after Great Hill. I pushed and pushed after that. I think I was very nervous to ride Great Hill that I defeating myself in the previous sections. However, I rode the 14.25 miles in 53 minutes. I beat my time again from last time. Going through transition was easy, change shoes, take off helemt and go. I went out on the trail and started running. Oh No, I forgot my number belt. I had to run back and get my belt. There was some wasted energy. After biking and then running, your legs feel like bricks. I felt like I was running so slow and I kept trying to speed up. After the first mile, I met someone on the run and we chatted the other 2 miles. It made time go by much faster. We started getting into the transition area and I started breaking out, faster and faster, down the hill. My name was called as I came through the finish line. "Jody Ferreira from South Berwick, easily running on her home turf." I did it. I finished. I felt great, exhausted but great. My time for my run was 29:44 which was faster than all my 5K's. Overall my time was 1 hour 44 minutes. Not bad. I was happy. My training paid off. Later that night we went home and was looking at different series to run. Our challenge for next year is to do Will Run for Beer series and a half marathon. Maybe the Dempsey 100 mile ride and the Danskin triatholon. But for now, weight training and figure competition is next in site.
PS: I actually did do a weight work out the next day.

Thanks for the pictures Donna!:)

Food Combining

I feel great today. When I went on the scale this morning, I was not looking for progress. I just wanted to lose what I gained last week. To my amazement, I lost another 2 pounds plus the pound I gained. I am thrilled. My pants definitely fit loser. I went out Tuesday to TJ Max and bought a couple of cute shirts. They looked good but would look better in 5 pounds. I can't wait. My diet was perfect these last few days. I ate my normal eggs for breakfast. I made skinless buffalo chicken for lunch, and steak tips and salad for dinner. I do not feel deprived with my foods. I enjoy eating salad and have always since I was a kid.

I am training my kids to eat salad as well. They have a salad every night for dinner. (Evan usually asks for seconds.) Usually they eat a meat as well without rice or potatoes. I believe that we should properly combine our foods to achieve maximum digestion. We should eat protein and vegetables or carbs and vegetables and not combine protein and carbs. Based on the digestion system, the proteins and carbs are an acid or base. What happens when you combine an acid and base? They neutralize themselves out. Your body needs to make digestive enzymes to breakdown to the food. It is easier to break down proteins and carbohydrates if eaten separately. Fruits should always be eaten separately. This type of food combining will make it easier to digest your food.
I am trained in holistic nutrition and raw food. There are many theories of eating correctly. Some follow the blood diet others like bodybuilders believe in eating carbs and protein at the same time to get all their nutrients. I try to heal the body and eliminate the toxins in the body. That is why I chose this type of program. This is the simpliest and easiest to follow. I am trying to work with the kids diet now and teach them the lifestyle that I want them to continue into adulthood.

I know there are many that don't agree with this theory. I have been eating like this for the past 10 years. When I am home cooking, I eat a salad almost every night with chicken or steak on it. My salads are not a small side salad. I find the biggest bowl I can and load it up with lettuce, cucumbers, shitaki mushrooms, tomatoes, pine nuts, sometimes avocado, scallions, red onions, dulse flakes, kelp flakes, maybe an egg, and anything else I can find. But when I go out to eat, forget it. I make healthier choices, but salads are usually more calories than fish and potatoes. So I definitely do cheat when I go out. I am only human after all.

After a bad week, I am back

Labor Day Weekend ended an unhealthy stretch. My husband wanted to name this blog, "Sun, Fun, and Bad Influence", which meant him. He was a bad influence this week. He was in the mood for burgers every night. I thought, "I worked out hard, I can eat burgers". But with burgers comes beer and sweet potato fries. Not good for a healthy lifestyle. (I am going to say diet as in healthy food choices and the way we all should eat, not in strict, bland, boring, temporary way to eat to lose weight. Diet is shorter than typing healthy lifestyle.) But it was still my decision to eat it. He didn't force it down my throat. It was just what he wanted and I obliged. We started the weekend going out with friends and instead of choosing a salad, I chose fried clams, which I never ever eat it. The next day, we went to the Polar Caves and I had to have a bite of his ice cream. And we were so close to Hart's Turkey Farm. I couldn't have a salad there. The next day we went to Franklin Zoo and we had to go to Hooter's for the wings. But last night I chose perfectly. I didn't let his decision sway me. I wanted a salad with low fat sesame ginger dressing with chicken and that's what I had. After a week of not eating healthy, I am ready to get back to where I need to be. (By the way, Scott is also a healthy eater and is always supportive, he just happened to be in the mood for burgers) Especially after reading everyone's comments here and on facebook about how I am influencing them to get it together and stay on track. You are influencing me to get back on track. Thank you all for making me stay on target and not give up. Bodybuilding and  getting ripped is my ultimate goal. It will take a while and there will be a series of ups and downs depending on life choices. But overall, I will get there. With your help and the support and guidance of my husband and friends, I will get there.

On a typical day this is what we eat:
      Breakfast: 3 egg whites with mushrooms and onions and salsa
      snack: fruit
      lunch: chicken or turkey with vege
      dinner: salad with or without meat
      I drink water all day and a glass of wine at night.

Since this is my typical day, you can see that when I eat bad, I really eat bad. In the future, I will post some of my favorite recipes and more nutrition related topics. I am a nutritionist and need to start following my own advise. I started a book years ago about nutrition and raw food. I will incorporate a lot of that information here to help with anyone struggling to lose weight and eat healthy.

My exercise consists of 3 days of weights and 3 days of cardio. Yesterday, we went swimming and running. Today is back and chest of P90X and depending on the rain, biking. Since I am training for a triathlon that's this weekend, I am exercising more than average. If you have never worked out and want to start, just walk. You don't need any special equipment. Get outside and start walking. Soon, it will be cold out and you won't want to start. Live for today. Don't put it off till tomorrow.

Not a Good Diet Week

This week has not been very good for weight loss. The general public believes that if you work out only and don't change anything else that you will lose weight. That statement is definitely false for my body. Based on my experience from the past and this week, working out only does not do it. Exercise is great. It gets you moving, gives your body more energy, keeps your heart strong, build muscles, and strengthens your bones. But for me, it doesn't cause me to lose weight. I have been working out more this week to get ready for the triathlon next week. I have lifted weights, ran, biked, and swam and have not lost 1 pound. I actually gained a pound. Why?  I wasn't eating my 1200 calories. Usually I am really strict with watching my calories especially at the beginning of the week. I usually lose 2 pounds, then the rest of the week balances off. This week I couldn't get my diet on track. It started over the weekend by going out to dinner and then moved into Monday with a fabulous Jamaican dinner in our home cooked by the Lynx chef. (We won this in the auction that benefited Central School). Then I tried again on Tuesday and Wednesday. I made good choices like I usually do, but I guess I didn't make enough of them. So I need to get back into eating healthy, one meal at a time. So, I guess I can't eat the zucchini bread thatthe boys and I just made. It is my first time ever making this. I am pretty proud because I do not bake or cook.

2 weeks to triathlon

 We have a little less than 2 weeks before the Pumpkinman. This is our second year entering this triathlon. We conquered it 2 years ago for the first time ever and was able to cross it off my bucket list. It was something I always wanted to do. I enticed some good friends into doing it with me. I was the slowest of the bunch, mostly because of my swim. I was horrible at the swim. (Last year I was pregnant, so we didn't do the tri). Now, I am ready for it this year. I think I am in better shape this time than last.

   Two years age, I had to learn to put my face in the water and how to breathe. My deepest fear is to die from drowning. So the swimming part is very scary. If I get tired on the bike or run I can slow down. If I get tired on the swim, I can die. So the first year was trying to overcome my fear. I swam mostly the breast stroke so I didn't have to regulate my breathing. If I tried to free style, I started breathing heavy and panicked. Last time I was so exhausted, I only did the breast stroke during the race. The people on the kayaks asked if I was ok and needed help during the race. That was embarrassing. I was very slow, but I finished it.

  This year for swimming has been great. I started swimming in the pool with freestyle. I still panicked and choked on a lot of water. But I can stand up if needed. I also learned that if I go really slow I can swim farther. However, the water exercise class on the side of me was walking faster than I can swim. After a month in the pool, we decided to swim in the river. After putting on the wetsuit, we jumped in. It was a beautiful swim. It started drizzling as we swam. When we got to the other side, there was a double full rainbow in the sky. It was beautiful. When Scott tells about it, he refers to the youtube video of the man who sees the rainbow and is hysyterical. After a couple of times swimming outside I am very proud to say that I can finally swim almost half a mile doing the front crawl. I am still slow but I can do it. That is a great accomplishment.

Today's work-out was really good. Scott and I went on a 12mile bike ride followed by .3 mile swim. During the bike ride, there was a major head wind. We battled the wind the entire ride.  We made really good time. The swim was harder today. There was a strong current pulling against us. Also, the river was choppy. Usually the river is very calm, but because of the storm it wasn't. It felt good to get out in the waves because of the splashing that will happen during the triathlon. I did choke a couple of times, but I swam the front crawl the entire time.

I am as lazy as anyone

Yesterday we had hurricane Irene come through and it was a perfect time to get in a good work-out. My husband was home to watch the kids and we had electricity, so there were no excuses. For my weight routine, I started P90X last Sunday. I was starting the second week with chest and back. Most of the back work-out is pull-ups and chest excercises are push-ups, but I did need some weights. I couldn't use my pull-up bar in the basement where all my work-out equipment is. I had Scott install the bar in our bedroom. However, the weights were downstairs. Here's where it gets real. I can run, bike, swim, and weight train, but did I want to go from the 3rd floor to the basement, get the weights and carry them upstairs. NOT at all. Why? I can come up with a lot of excuses why I didn't want to get them. But mostly, I didn't feel like it. How lame is that. I am going to work-out, with weights and didn't want to carry them. My excuse is that they are 52.5lbs and I would have to take them apart and make several trips. So obviously, I didn't get them. I proceeded to my workout. I did many push-ups and pull-ups ( I use a chair to help). When the section came on for the weights, I fast forwarded it. Then continued on for round two. How many people have done this? How many have wanted to excercise but didn't put in your all because you were too tired. We shouldn't live in a country of excuses. We need to do it and do it right. Jared's guitar teacher said it perfect today, "It's ok to feel like you don't want to practice. Say oh man and do it anyway, right away." The longer you procrastinate and don't do it, the more you will talk yourself out of it. So get off that couch and work-out.

Like I said "Setback"

Self control: That is the topic today. I did great yesterday. I woke up early and was ready for a run. It was Saturday, so my husband was home to watch the kids. I was getting dressed and liking how I looked in my running clothes. They were tight, which dimished the number of roles that I have. I am happy to finally be out of those baggy clothes. The best part of having lost 20 lbs is that my thighs don't rub together anymore. If you have this problem, then you know what I mean. I had to wear running pants for the first couple of months because I kept getting a rash on my inner thighs. (I found a great cream that helps with the chafing. It works great on the kids rash from wearing a wet bathsuit. I don't go on vacation without it.)

Running is a head game for me. I can easily run 6 miles without being to exhausted. But as I was running I decided to do 5 miles instead of 3. It was only a little further on my route. But it was hot. (Hear comes the excuses). I thought, "I'll see how I feel half way, I have company waiting for me at home. Ella's ready for a nap, I should turn around." The list of excuses can keep going. I finally made it to 1.6 miles and turned the corner to keep going. I went 10 feet and thought, "forget it". The old lazy self took over and I turned around and ran home. I still completed a 3.2 mile run at a 10 minute pace, but I let my head take over my body. I could have kept going but I let myself be defeated. This is something that I need to work on.

The rest of the day went great. Friends texted us to go out to eat. We haven't seen them most of summer, so we were ready to go. We went to Saki's and had some great maki rolls and saki. (Not great for a diet) From there, we continued to Popovers. They have the best dessert. My reasoning to eat this, "I ran today". "I should have ran the 5 miles, oh well." I enjoyed my cappacino and dessert. My husband and I split a scrumptous 7 layer bar and chocolate decadent cake. I was very full. I didn't put this in myfitnesspal because I didn't want to know how bad I cheated. But tomorrow is another day.
My goal is to live one day at a time. I am tired of waiting for Monday to start. If I have a slip up and no self control on one meal, it is only that meal. I try not to make it am excuse to eat bad every meal of that day. I live meal to meal and day to day. Don't give up on your dream just because you cheated for one meal. Get it back together. Get out of your head. Everyone makes mistakes and this is a journey. It takes time to get the figure that you want. It doesn't happen overnight.

The Journey starts after baby #4

I am a homeschooling mother of 4 wonderful children. They are ages 8, 6, 4 years old and a newborn. During my pregnancy with baby number four, I was completely sluggish. I was tired all the time and had no desire to work out or eat right. I was about to break that 200 lb mark, when Ella finally decided to come into this world. I went into labor 3 times before the midwife broke my water and Ella can flying out. After 3 boys, God has blessed us with a little girl. I was very scared to raise a girl after having 3 wonderful boys. But she is the best baby and her brothers love her immensely.

So my workout journey starts 2 months later. I needed to get that baby weight off. I weighed 178lbs and needed to get back to pre-pregnancy weight. However, that was still only 162lbs. I was signed up for a triathlon in September and the Seacoast Road Series all summer. This consisted of four 5K's and two 10K's.  My friend and I decided that we wanted a "tri body" when we actually did our triathlon. We wanted to look like the athletes we were. We wanted people to look at us and say "Of course you do triathlon's", not say "Really, you do triathlons. Good for you."

The first day on the treadmill was awful. After not working out for a year and not eating healthy, I could barely run a mile. But I kept up the work and went on the treadmill whenever I could which was only 2 or 3 days a week during nap time. At this time, I was not into lifting weights. I concentrated on running. I started out with a 12 minute mile. Eventually I ran a 11 minute and then a 10 minute mile for 3 miles. My first race was tough. The baby was 3 months old and still nursing and couldn't be without me. So I ran and pushed her in the stroller. I had to walk a few times but I finished the race in 37 minutes. My next several races were consistently better.

I remember the first time I got back on the bike. It was the beginning of May, 3 months after baby. I rode 12 miles and it took and hour. I was struggling so much. My husband was riding really slow to keep down with me. (For a trained biker, over 18mph is a good speed to pedal at) I was barely staying at 14. So I was very discouraged. I didn't get on the bike again for 2 months. The biggest thing with bike is weight. The less the bike weighs, the faster it goes. Since I was 178 lb, my bike didn't go very fast and I was exhausted.

So I decided that just working out is not working for me. I needed to start dieting. I said it. The "D" word. I am a raw foodist at heart. I have a hard time eating unhealthy food if I need to make it. However, I have no problem eating what someone else makes. I also love to go out to eat. If I lose 2 pounds at the beginning of the week, I gain it back by the end of the week from going out to eat.

I found an app on my phone called myfitnesspal.com. I inputted my information and it said I needed to eat 1200 calories. I have never counted calories before, so this was new to me. I entered in 2 eggs (140 calories), coffee with agave and half and half (100 calories). After day 1, April 18, 2011 I logged 1600 calories. Not to bad but my diet needs work. The good thing about this program is that if you exercise you get extra calories. And if you are at a restaurant, you can find the calories in your favorite foods. I was shocked at the amount of calories that are in a restaurant salad. It was less calories eating fish, mashed potatoes, and vegetables. So I was definitely in for an awakening when it comes to calories.

Like I said before, I am a raw foodist at heart. This means that I tend to eat nothing cooked. I eat superfoods, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. No meat, diary, breads, or anything cooked. When I eat like this, I feel great. I have the most energy I have ever had. I have a positive attitude and can handle my kids much better. My patience is so much better. However, raw food is very hard to sustain. Before I was pregnant, I ate like this for a month but never lost any weight. I was shocked and saddened. I felt great but I didn't look like I felt. It was very disappointing. I realized I ate all the "good" raw foods. I consumed a lot of raw cacao, raw nuts and seeds, and avocado. I ate the most fattening and high calorie food. It wasn't the best weight loss tool. But I felt great.

But my goal at this point was to lose weight and train for the triathlon. I focused on counting calories. ( I had many setbacks). After several months of running, biking, and swimming, I have lost 20lbs. I am continuing my training. The triathlon is in two weeks. I hope I am ready.