Day 3- Fitness Vacation

Well, day 3 is in the books! Today was my favorite so far. I started a little late because we were kayaking, and I didn't want to be too tired. Breakfast was at 8:30 and it was really good. Half of a wheat english muffin, poached egg and tomato and avocado relish. I was still hungry afterwards, so I grabbed a couple teaspoons of sugar free yogurt and strawberries.


9am was a quick tabata abs session. I liked this class because the tabata style reminded me of crossfit :).

9:30am: Fitball strength. This was a pretty fun class, it kind of worked it all. 10:30am was a metabo meal. I had an orange and some broccoli.



Funny side note: there was an alligator chillin' on the golf course today:




At 11am I went to an awesome lecture on emotional eating. I will write a separate blog about this one, too. The speaker was amazing.

Ok, lunch was pretty sweet. At noon we walked over to the dining hall to find a buffett! Since there are so many buffetts in the "real world," they want to teach us how to make the best choices. The trick is to go ahead and walk around the entire buffett first and decide what you want, that way you're not just piling on crap. So, here's how it worked: you had 300 calories to eat and everything was labeled. I fixed my plate and it was only 185 calories, so I went back and got seconds :)









1pm was KAYAKING! YAY! Omg, it was so fun. I haven't been kayaking in forever. So, I was freaking out about whether or not I was too big for the damn thing. I mean, I knew I wouldn't be, but I was still scared. Once I got in it and pushed off it was such a relief. I'm so tired of these fat fears consuming my time. Kayaking was a blast. The best part? There were dolphins! They were swimming so close to us it was surreal. Totally wasn't expecting to see dolphins. My mom is terrified of water above her head and she's never kayaked before. I was really proud of her for giving it a shot. And she had fun! When we got back to the spa it was time for a metabo meal. This time I had a handful of grapes.


The next class was "butts and guts" at 4:30. We were so exhausted that it was hard to do the movements! I'm definitely going to be sore tomorrow! After that class we ran back to the villa to get cleaned up for dinner. Dinner was salmon with asian bbq sauce with brown rice and snow peas. It was delicious.



After dinner we shuttled over to Harbour Town to watch the sunset. I was so jealous of all the folks out there drinking beer, eating fried seafood... But I quickly got over it. Thank goodness we had already eaten or I might have run away from fat camp right then and escaped to the bar! The sunset was absolutely beautiful.













We got back to camp around 8 and my mom and I broke down and had to get some coffee for the condo. It's so funny to me that of all the things I could be missing and craving, it's coffee. Not chocolate or fried food: coffee. We might have gone a little cray cray considering we only have 4 days left, but it's going to be awesome having that magic elixir when I wake up! We went to Fresh Market and ground FOUR different kinds of coffee! Haha. And you see that Tervis? I plan on filling it all the way to the rim and drinking every last drop!

Fitness Vacation Day 2!

Ok, so today was a little tougher than the first day. There is no coffee in our villa- scratch that. There IS coffee and a pot, but no filters and no creamer. They probably did that on purpose to be mean, horrible people lol. My mom tried to make coffee with a paper towel- disaster, of course. It's crazy to me that of all things for me to feel deprived of, coffee is the main thing! There is coffee in the dining hall from 6:45am- until the end of breakfast and it is a hot commodity I tell ya! I have really learned to appreciate the taste of hot tea. I've never really been a big fan of it, but with a little bit of lemon, it has quickly become something I think I will enjoy more of when I get back home.

 

Anyway, so we woke up about 6am, got ready, and biked the mile and a half to the health spa. We were supposed to be there at 7am to go for a sunrise beach walk but it is FREEZING here in the mornings. We skipped the sunrise beach walk and enjoyed 30 minutes of hot coffee-guzzling bliss.

 

                                              Oh, and then we took some selfies :)
                                       

 

Breakfast was at 7:30am. It sounded delicious, but it was not. Banana Bread french toast with blueberry topping and a mixed berry smoothie. I added cottage cheese to meet my 300 calorie allowance.

 

      
     Then I added more cottage cheese and fruit because the french toast tasted like shit.

 

 

After breakfast I went to "retro dance" at 8:30. I was actually feeling a little queasy because I'm still on antibiotics from when I had strep throat last week, and I almost didn't go. But, I went, and I decided that if I threw up in front of everyone I really didn't care. Some of the fools here get on my nerves so damn bad. My mom and I have picked out the "regulars." There is this group of people who come here every year, even a few times a year and they know EVERYTHING. They are constantly bossing everybody around as if we are a bunch of high school freshman trying to find our way to language arts. During the classes or lectures, they are always interrupting the instructors and it's just funny. Anyways, back to the retro dance class. At first I was rolling my eyes because the teacher was ancient and we were dancing to songs like Barry Manilow "Copacabana." It was basically a big snorechestra. Then out of nowhere the cupid shuffle came on and I got so excited I almost peed my pants. All these old women (OLD) started laughing and yelling about how they've never done the Cupid Shiffle sober! HAHAHA! OMG, that livened me up so much. After that we started doing the twist and other fun songs. Well played, instructor lady.

 

9:30 was "treading." Don't let the treadmill fool you. This was the hardest workout we've done yet. The treadmills are these fancy woodway machines that really feel like you're walking on the ground. It was 45 minutes of intervals and inclines, walking/jogging, led by an instructor. It was a fantastic workout. I was sweating like crazy.

 

Then at 10:30 we had a metabo meal. This is 100 calories and I chose yogurt and half of an apple.

 

At 11am we went to a lecture on nutrition and health. I will have to come back to this part in full detail later because I really want to share with you all I learned.

  Lunch was at noon and it was awesome. It was just a bean burrito, but the flavor was really good.

 

After lunch my mom and I hopped over to the tennis resort and had an hour lesson. The coach, Shelley, was really good. My mom and I have played tennis our whole lives, so it was nice that it was just the two of us that signed up for the lesson. We actually got to play a lot. It's been a long time since I've had a tennis lesson, so it was great being reminded of some of the fundamentals. It was a pretty good workout, too. It reminded me of summers growing up on the tennis courts, constantly running around doing drills, picking up balls, then doing it all over again. This retreat is motivating me to get back to my old self so much. I used to do several activities a day and I was so happy.

 

 

After tennis we had part two of that nutrition and health lecture. Again, I will come back and post details about the information learned there. The speaker was amazing.

 

At 3pm we had another metabo meal. I opted for almonds and celery. The almonds tasted like tiny sponges. It was so gross, dude. OMG. They were soggy and chewy! Yuck!

 

At 3:30 I opted out of taking another fitness class and biked to the beach so I could bike ON the beach. That's right... ON the beach. It was about a 3 mile ride to the beach walk and it was a beautiful trail. I am in love with all the spanish moss and palm trees that are EVERYWHERE. This island is way prettier than I imagined. So, biking ON the beach is the bomb. The sand here is so hard, it's like biking on cement. So cool! It gives you a little resistance, so it's a great workout.

                                                                         

 

 

 

I biked for about and hour and a half and then got ready for dinner.  I was starving by the time dinner rolled around. The spongy almonds had long since left my stomach. Salad with artichoke heards, hearts of palm and fat-free french dressing, followed by chicken cordon bleu. The chicken was stuffed with turkey and spinach and breaded with Panko. It was baked of course. On the side we had broccoli and sweet potato. It was really pretty delightful.

 

                               
                                 
  For my 8pm metabo meal I had two cans of low sodium V8 and celery. Guess what I was wishing it was!! :)

 

 

The best part of the day?? My best friend sent me mail!!! I squealed like a little girl when I got this at the front desk. Lee and I grew up together and we spent many summers at camp as kids. This was so sweet and it just made my day!!

 

 

 

Day 3 is kayaking- I am stoked! I hope I don't tip over!!

Fitness Spa Day One

It's finally here! I have been so excited about my "health retreat" for so long that I was beginning to wonder if it would ever happen! So, what is this strange "vacation" I'm on? Basically, it is a week on an island with no access to food except for what they decide to feed us and a ton of exercising. My mom, our friend Meredith, and I stayed in Savannah Saturday night for a "last supper" and some free time before shipping off to camp Sunday. Yesterday morning we had a good breakfast then headed to Hilton Head Island. Of course we got distracted by a Mexican restaurant on the way and had to have a margarita... Oops. That was bad.

We finally made it to the health spa around 4, checked in, got oriented, and did a little exploring. It's exactly like a camp. We all have little backpacks and nametags were're supposed to wear.


We're staying in a villa that's really nice. We all have our own bedrooms and bathrooms, so there will be plenty of reflection time. Dinner last night was at 6 and it was really good- steak and veggies. Then we walked down to the beach for a sunset walk. Hilton Head is so pretty! There's Spanish Moss everywhere! Here are the 3 of us last night on the beach:




Then this morning is when all the fun began! 7am: Screenings and measurements (my favorite thing-ha!). 7:30am: Breakfast/Thermal Walk. Breakfast was really cool. Here's how it works: you have 300 calories you can eat, so you get to pick out what foods to eat. All the food is labeled with the caloric value and fat grams. This was fun.





After breakfast, lunch, and dinner we take a 15 "thermal walk" to get our digestive process going. The grounds here are so beautiful it doesn't even feel like exercising!
8:30am: Cardio Boxing 9:30am: Zumba 10:30am: Metabo Meal, which is basically any healthy snack you want that doesn't exceed 100 calories.



11am: Our first lecture. This was "Habits of Succesful Weight Managers." I actually learned a lot from it. The speaker explained all the habits that are consistent in people who have been able to keep the weight they lost off. It's all about knowing what kind of behavior that will be followed by weight loss. He wants us to focus on our behavior now instead of consuming ourselves with a big end result. Weight is the outcome, the immediate goal is behavior. Why focus so much on the behavior? Because it is so easy to get discouraged when you are constantly obsessing over a big end goal. In a caloric deficit, or while dieting, you must lose at some point, so focus on how to maintain that caloric deficit and how to keep going. Plan. Record. Seek Support. Get Enough Sleep. All sound simple enough, but are things we overlook. A goal without a plan is just a wish. The speaker had a great analogy that explains why I'm here. So many people wonder what the point in going to a week-long "fat camp" is, knowing that you're not going to lose a lot of weight and it ends so quickly. Think of it like this: athletes train before their sport season way harder than they do once the season starts. So this is my two-a-days so I can be ready to "play" when I get back home. After that lecture was lunch at Noon followed by a thermal walk. Again, all the food was labeled w/calories and fat grams. Lunch is supposed to have about 300 calories, too. Today was soup and a chipotle chicken salad.






Funny story: there's literally NO salt. ANYWHERE. Just pepper and Mrs. Dash. I honestly, would not have even noticed that if people weren't freaking out about it. The only time I use salt is when I'm cooking. I really doubt I would've noticed Mr. Stand Alone Pepper. Well, unless someone asked me to pass the s&p.


After lunch, a quick walk and then at 1 I had a health assesment with the fitness director. Here we went over the results of the screening this morning, what goals I have, etc... Besides my blood pressure and my gut, everything is really healthy. Well, not my weight- but you know what I mean. My cholesterol, glucose, and all that junk is good. He asked what I was wanting to get out of the week and I told him one word: control. I have never gone an entire week where I am not in control of what I eat. I have the exercise part down- I explained how I've been doing crossfit and turns out he's a crossfit coach here on the island! So, we talked about nutrition and he agrees that I am on the right track, doing the right things, just needing to learn to tell myself no. No to that late night snack, that 2nd drink at the bar (ok, or 3rd...), no to grazing just because it's there! He wants me to check my blood pressure again on Wednesday, just to see if it's gone down some. Ok, next. 2pm: Cooking Demonstration! There's a really fun kitchen here for cooking classes.



Today's demonstration was "sensational seafood." Chef Marvis made a really good lump crab and tomato soup that I will make soon. It was delicious! She also cooked a couple other dishes for us that were good, too. She was very knowledgeable about seafood and I learned a lot!! And we got handouts on how to buy fish at the market :)





Then at 3, you're supposed to grab another 100 calorie metabo meal, but we didn't because we had some seafood samples in cooking class. 3:30: This stupid "drums alive" class. Basically, you just beat on an exercise ball with drumsticks while you're jogging in place, grapevining,etc... it was pretty dumb. Then at 4:30: Bars, bands,.and bosus. This was a pretty good resistance class. I learned some cool new moves with the bands i can do at home when i get back. 5:30: Manager's reception. Here we had a quarter of a glass of red wine (seriously) and one bacon wrapped scallop (seriously- one). The scallop was really fresh and so good, though. I wanted more! Control. Then dinner was at 6. It was my favorite dish: shrimp and grits. And it was fantastic. Dinner is supposed be around... You guessed it: 300 calories. We did get a salad before, which you get to load up with "free" toppings.





Our villa is about a mile away from the spa, so we will be riding bikes to and from each morning and night. Did I mention it's gorgeous here? We're right on a golf course, so my mom and I went for a short bike ride tonight before retiring for the evening.


Then, at 8, you're supposed to eat another metabo meal, same thing- 100 calorie snack. I chose cottage cheese w/green tobasco, salt-free pepper mixture, a rice cake, and a cup of hot tea.

So, I think I'm really going to enjoy myself this week. The food is really good and there are definitely plenty of activities to do to keep me busy! Tomorrow I'm playing tennis and I cannot wait! Wednesday we're kayaking, Saturday we're hiking. The fitness classes are ok- it makes me miss crossfit! But, since we're literally working out all day, I think having this change of pace is a really good thing. Oh, did I mention my bed is kingsize and I have a jacuzzi tub and a walk in closet? Pretty sweet. I am so thankful to be here and I can't wait to see what the rest of the week has in store for us!

The Doctors

I did it. I FINALLY went to the damn doctor. I have been resisting going to the doctor for YEARS. I mean, like 5 years (WARNING to the male species reading this: shit is about to get REAL feminine. Like, I'm about to discuss matters dealing with the vagina. You've been warned).

A normal visit to the doctor is usually me devoting an hour of my morning drooling over Dr. Travis Stork on ABC's "The Doctors" while I drink my coffee before I go into work. Which, btw- real doctors don't look like that. If they did, I wouldn't have waited 5 years to go to the doctor, I promise you. Just in case you have forgotten how beautiful this man is:

Anyways, enough drooling on my blog! Back to the nature at hand...I finally worked up the courage to go to the doctor. I have been working my ass of trying to lose weight. I've been going hard since November and I just can't seem to shed the weight. I wake up at 5:30am every Mon, Weds, Fri and drive across town to do crossfit. This is not as easy as it sounds, because I don't get home from work until around 11pm the night before and it's EXHAUSTING. Because I have a screwed up work schedule, this is the only time that works for me. I have learned to love it, though. There's just something about working out as the sun is rising that gives me such a feeling of accomplishment. I have also been eating really well- juicing, sticking to paleo, etc... and nothing is seeming to give. What is the point in doing all this hard work if I'm not going to see results? If there is something chemically wrong with me that is holding me back from losing weight then I needed to know about it. Of course my first fear was that I had diabetes or a thyroid issue, both of which would SUCK. So, I manned up and went to the doctor. On Valentine's Day. It's been a while since I had a full-scale physical, pap-smear and all, and I was NOT looking forward to it. There is nothing more humiliating than lying on a disgusting doctor's bench stark naked, spread-eagled with your feet strapped in stirrups while a doctor probes and prods your va-jay jay with cold metal thingys. I hate it!! I also got pricked a thousand times while they did blood work. I was there for THREE HOURS. Needless to say, I was hating life. The sweet little nurse, though- when she went to weigh me she didn't want to assume that I weigh at least 300 pounds, so she put the weight on 100, then 150, then 200... and I was like, c'mon, you know I weigh at least 300, stop wasting time lol. But thanks for trying to be sweet :) So, I weighed 315 on February 14th. Today is March 4th and I weigh 305. Ten pounds down since Valentine's Day. 30 Pounds lost total.  The good news? I'm not diabetic or suffering from any sort of thyroid disease. Turns out that I have PCOS and weight gain and obesity is common with this condition. I have had an irregular period my whole life, due to PCOS apparently. My doc says that it creates a large hormonal imbalance and she thinks that it is definitely why I'm having problems losing weight. So, here I am, on medicine for the first time in my life besides birth control.

I'm not happy about being on medicine, because, frankly, I just don't believe in it. Ain't nobody got time for dat! However, I've lost 10 pounds since I got on the meds, so I guess I'm going to like it a little bit :)

 It is amazing to me how easy it has become to say no to binging when I'm seeing results. Before when I was working out like crazy and eating a menu that would impress even Jillian Michaels, it was easy to binge because it feel like nothing I did was helping anyways. But now that I have fresh images in my mind of shrinking numbers on the scale, I can say no to crap food and the cravings don't linger around too long. I still struggle so much with just not eating when I get home from work. I've asked folks I work with what their eating schedule is and a lot of them say that their 3rd meal is after we get off work. We work 1:30pm-10:30pm/ish. The general consensus seems to be that meals fall in these time slots: breakfast around 10:30/11am, Dinner around 5/6pm, and then 3rd meal around 11pm. Bed time is around 1am, and wake up time is around 10am. Well, since I always have to be the spotted zebra, this definitely won't work for me because I am an early riser. Even when I'm not waking up before the sun to go to IronTribe, I'm up by 8am everyday. So, my eating schedule is pretty much the same as someone who has a normal work schedule, like a 9-6: breakfast around 8, lunch around 12, dinner around 5/6. Then 5 hours later when I get home I'm hungry again! I really wish I could just go straight to bed when I get off but I just can't. I am too amped up after work. And I'm BORED. I am going home to an empty, dark house with no one to entertain me. I work in tv so the last thing I want to do is look at more screens, so watching tv or a movie is not desirable. I'm on the computer all day everyday, so I definitely don't want to play on the computer. I stare at words all day, writing and reading them, so a book is not appealing. Everyone I would want to talk to on the phone is asleep. My neighbors are also asleep, so I can't be loud with music or exercising... It's a struggle. I have turned to food for so many years to entertain me when I'm bored, it's a battle every time I get home. Most of the time I can find a healthy option, but there are times when the Taco Bell craving or the pizza calling my name is just too much to resist. I really do think that the medicine is helping with my appetite, though. I honestly believe that seeing results is the driving force that will keep me from binging at night. I swear I can look at a cake and gain a pound. I absolutely despise people who can eat crap all the time and never gain a pound- they can suck it. But for the people who work hard to stay healthy and in shape, I admire you :). #IJS There are small things I've noticed in the past couple of days indicating I've lost weight that I find weird. For example: my fingers feel slimmer. What a strange place to notice I've lost weight! I had to tighten the bra straps in my favorite bra because they were too loose. My feet- I can see bones on the top of my foot; they don't look as much like they could belong to Fred Flinstone anymore. My face. When I look at myself in the mirror, I actually see a face. Not just a round blob with a huge roll of skin connecting it to my neck. My IronTribe coach thinks I've probably gained a lot of muscle weight over the past few months and that's why it's taken me a while to see results. This is probably true. I can definitely feel that my arms and legs are more toned. Moral of the blog: go to the doctor. It might not be as bad as you think. All these years I've been struggling to lose weight, and it turns out it is an easy treatment of balancing out my hormones.