Day 11: Bootcamp and Bar method

Today was a really exhausting day. I went to bootcamp this morning, the group was huge! We were 22 people. Honestly, one instructor wasn’t enough for such a large group but who was supposed to know that we would be so many people. But I guess you have to design the exercises differently if you have to work with so many people compared to groups of 8-10. Anyway, we were a large group but I certainly got my butt kicked! We ran quite a lot considering it was Thursday and not really the “running-day”, I think we ran a total of 3 miles. In between, we did a million lunges (at least it felt like a million), wall jumps, upper body work with the resistance bands again, crunches and many more exercises. Again, I was in pain and it felt really hard for me to do, but I like to be challenged and pushed beyond my comfort zone, it was a really good workout. They made us partner up today, everybody had to run with a buddy. I felt quite sorry for Lisa who was my running buddy because she is much faster than I am…But I tried to push myself and for a change, I didn’t come in last but left 4 people behind me :) Ok, rank 18 out of 22 isn’t exactly brilliant, but I have hope that I will get better eventually. It started pouring at 7 am when the class was over…that was lucky! My legs were slightly sore all day but I felt so good about myself once the workout was over. It is addicting! I went to another bar method class tonight. Don't even ask how much my muscles were shaking during the exercises since my legs were already tired before the class started...but I always feel very relaxed and calm after a bar method class in the evening. I had a small portion of low-fat chili con carne with brown rice for dinner (to load up carbohydrates and protein to fuel well for tomorrow's workout) but now I am really done for the day and need some rest…

11 days down, 31 to go!

Day 10: Another bar method class

As Wednesdays are the "bootcamp-free" days, I went to a bar method class at 6 am this morning. Man, I was really tired, I need more sleep. My food choices start drifting a little to the unhealthy side, I need to get better control again. I noticed that I eat a lot more when I sleep less than 6 h. Bar method in the morning was great but I went for a 20 minute run on the treadmill afterwards and I have to say I felt a bit guilty (since I came straight out of class and headed to the gym and the biggest "NO" that the bar method is giving away is to running...). But in the end you have to do what feels good for you and I wanted to squeeze in a short run. I have to run more miles a week if I want to survive the marathon in october but at the moment my schedule is pretty packed...

Whooohooo, 10 days down, 32 to go. I didn't really eat very healthy the last 3 days, there is definitely room for improvement. But tomorrow is another day and I love my workouts!

Day 9: Great friends, Pizza and cookies...

5.20 am this morning, the alarm goes off…I am feeling a relief because I can’t hear rain, fantastic! I am not really in pain but my legs feel kind of stiff... After a good warm up at the Exploratorium, everyone got a resistance band and the group did an “Indian run” to get down to Crissy Field. We stopped for some “push up burpees” on the way. At the beach, we did more push ups, mountain climbers, sun salutations, sprints, dogsleds, more push ups, more dog sleds, exercises for the arms and upper body using the resistance band and a couple of really painful (=efficient) exercises for the abs. It all happens so fast, there is almost no break in between the exercises which is great because even though I am in pain, I don’t even have time to think about it because the next task has started already. After all this, we ran back to the parking lot. I think I did a little better with the running today even though I was the last person again, but the gap between me and the other people in the group was a lot smaller compared to the other days (unfortunately, the new girl didn’t show up today…). It started raining at 7 am for the rest of the day...perfect timing!

One thing I do like about bootcamp is that the people are really nice and many of the exercises are done in teams of two, so you automatically get to know new people and possibly make friends (the pain ties you together…). I feel like everyone cares and respects the fellow bootcampers, there is a really good vibe amongst everyone. Our trainers constantly motivate us and also push us (without yelling…), I think they are doing a great job. They also run back and forth in between the group when we are running, so I never feel lost when I am at the very end of the group, they watch out for me. It was a great full-body workout this morning in a beautiful setting, but now I start to feel sore and I think even though I took a shower, I still have sand in my ears…

In respect to food, today turned out to be a little bit tricky…I had some high fiber cereal, low fat milk and a banana for breakfast - that was the good part. For the rest of the day I have been eating “socially” which means I had great company but also way too much food. But sometimes you just have to live by the moment! I was invited for lunch (as a belated birthday present) to Crepevine in Burlingame. Hmmm, I love their tuna melt and their roasted potatoes! But I tried to be good and ordered a salad with grilled salmon. I ate a lot more then I should have but it certainly was the better choice (I even managed to ignore the baguette and butter that came with the salad). It was delicious! Tonight I faced a second challenge… I met friends for dinner and they bought pizza...another friend joined and she brought what she called “the best cookies ever”. I had two slices of veggie pizza and half a cookie…the cookie really wasn’t planned but after all, it had to travel all the way from New York City to San Francisco, I had to try it. It had chocolate chips and walnut pieces in it, it certainly was the best cookie I ever had. But probably also because I didn’t have any sweets the last 8 days…At least I didn't drink any alcohol, you always have to see the positive side of things..I had a great evening with great friends !

9 days down, 33 to go! Today wasn’t really a "perfect" day as far as my nutrition is concerned. I made poor food choices but I had a great time with my friends, it was worth every calorie :)

Day 8: "Superstar of the week" with serious food cravings

Monday morning, 6 am – what better way to start the week than with a workout?? Good thing I didn’t realize it was raining before I was out the door, I might have had a different view on this otherwise…And no, for all you critical minds at work, this is not a “Yuppie-Marina bootcamp”, we actually do work out hard, we do meet rain or shine and we also "dig in the dirt" if necessary! As I mentioned last week, Monday is Basic Training “running day” – we ran to the Aquatic park, did some pull-ups and trizep-dips, ran hill-repeats near Fort Mason, did some more pull-ups and dips and jogged back. Overall, I think we ran approximately 3 miles, not too crazy, but it was a good workout (especially with the hills). A new girl joined the bootcamp today so I wasn’t always the slowest (what a nice change). Yay. I tried to put in more effort to keep up with the group, but honestly, I have no idea how to do it. Should I do longer strides or faster steps? It just doesn’t work! I talked to Michael, our instructor, and his advice was to do interval training...I guess I knew the answer before but I have been trying to avoid fartlek speed runs for a while and that is probably why my speed is not increasing with time. But he promised me that he will try to help me to work on it, I will definitely give it a try.

I had a “Quinoa Vegetable Tofu bowl” for lunch (can you believe it? Who would have ever thought I would order this voluntarily…but it was good, even the tofu!), however, I got some SERIOUS sugar cravings at 4 pm… I ate a cup of strawberries but that didn’t do it, I chewed fruity gum, that didn’t help either…By then, I really wanted some sugar so I decided that after a completely “treat-free”-week, a cookie would probably be ok. In low-sugar panic mode, I went to the desk of my coworker and said “You know, we really have to get a cookie. Or a muffin. Or a brownie. Anything that is sweet! NOW!”. He just said “Alright then, just give me 10 minutes” (I think he is somewhat scared of me when I am having low blood sugar and he knows when I am serious...). The good thing was that by the time we finally got to Starbucks to get me my treat (which was almost 30 minutes later), my cravings were gone. I was a little mad with myself because of my 3 year old habit, I automatically ordered a “tall skinny vanilla latte”. No!!! I am trying to get away from sweeteners and non-fat milk, so this order was a complete failure. I didn’t enjoy my drink and therefore, I only had half of it. And I would like to point out that I didn’t buy any pastry (but I was really close…).

I had another bar method class at 7 pm, I walked in the class room and Julia welcomed me speaking in her microphone with “Susanne is back! She is the superstar of the week!”. THE SUPERSTAR OF THE WEEK. That sounds sooo good and made up for all the sugar I resisted today. Thanks Julia!! I am really starting to like the bar method it won’t take long and I’ll be hooked. It is very relaxing after a long day at work. But it is a lot harder on my muscles after a day with a bootcamp workout in the morning…Altogether, I had a somewhat rocky start in week 2 with quite serious food cravings, I think I will allow myself a treat every now and then so that this won’t happen again. I weighed myself this morning and I was happy to find out that my current weight is 2 pounds less than last Monday. That’s a good start! There is definitely hope to fit in the dress in a couple of weeks!

8 days down, 34 to go, week 2, here I come!!!

Day 7: A lazy Sunday

Nothing really exciting to report today. I set my alarm for 7.30 am (on a Sunday!!!) for a bar method class. I know it's crazy and there are several more classes throughout the day, but Julie so far is my favourite instructor, it's worth getting up early. After class, I spent the rest of the day painting my furniture...it's kind of therapeutic but also symbolic in a way. First I decided to improve my exercise- and eating habits, then I decide to change the design of my room, what's next? Watch out! There are a couple more things in my life that do need a makeover and some things are just perfect the way they are =)

7 days down, 35 to go! I can't believe that one week passed so quickly! I am excited to go to Basic Training again tomorrow morning!

Day 6: A nice run across the bridge

I felt much better again this morning, the cold is under control. Sunshine coming through my window woke me up this morning at 7.45 am...there was no way to not go for a run! Saturday usually is the day where I am trying to get a "long" run in (which is app. 7 miles at the moment...). I definitely have to increase my mileage from week to week now. But after the cold, I decided to take it easy and just see how it goes. Sometimes, a run feels like torture but today I enjoyed every minute of it. I ran along Crissy Field, crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and ran down the Coastal Trail for a mile or two. Altogether, I logged 8 miles, not bad at all. It was at a slow pace and also I walked some of the hills on the trail but considering I have been sick the last 2 days, I felt really good about my run. I had some high-fiber cereal after my run, a whole grain bagel with roasted chicken breast and avocado for lunch, a peach and some strawberries as a snack and one serving of whole grain pasta with pesto and sundried tomatoes. Sounds like a lot of food but somehow I am still hungry. I was hungry all day, I guess it's a sign that I am healthy again :)

Already 6 days down, 36 days to go. Not sure if my body has changed yet but I am definitely feeling good!

Day 5: My take on low-fat products and sugar

Unfortunately, I had to cancel Basic Training again this morning – I just felt too sick to go, it probably doesn’t make a lot of sense. As I have signed up for 3 classes a week and only went twice, there is only one way to make up for it: I’ll go 4 times next week! I am planning to go to Basic Training Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (after all, I want to share the full bootcamp experience with you!) and in the evening, I will try to squeeze in a couple of bar method classes. I went to the bar method 4 times this week and the more often I go, the more I like it.

Today, I spent a lot of time in bed trying to fight my cold. I went for a short walk, I enjoyed being outside. I felt envious when I saw all the runners along Crissy Field, but I know I have to get some rest. I am feeling much better now though, I am hopeful to be back to normal by tomorrow again.

Since I couldn’t work out the last 2 days, I tried to focus more on healthy food choices. Honestly, I wasn’t really that hungry because of my cold, so it was easy to make good choices. I especially tried to avoid excess amounts of sugar. Usually, I am a “sweet tooth” and I have some sort of chocolate, candy or cookie every day…Not this week! It was kind of difficult during the first 3 days, but the spirit of the challenge and the upcoming cold made my cravings go away. Sometimes I even think that I am addicted to sugar, but luckily, it doesn’t take that long to break a habit if you really try. I started reading more food labels in the supermarket, and I was quite surprised…I am usually the kind of person who orders a “nonfat latte”, drinks diet coke or buys the 0% fat yoghurt…but did it make me skinny??? When you read the label more carefully, you will realize that in many fat-reduced products, the lack of fat is compensated with increased amounts of sugar. Have you ever looked on a nonfat Yoplait cup…?? Even though it is fat free, some of them have 30 g sugar (which equals almost 1/3 of the serving) in it. I also bought one of the vitamin fruit smoothies today, I thought I’ll help my immune system with some extra vitamins… Don’t get me wrong, I like those drinks, and I keep buying them, but I am more aware now about their sugar content. The picture posted above shows the amount of sugar that is in one bottle (two servings, but I honestly finish the whole thing as one serving usually…). Just something to think about! Despite these observations, I think that in the end, it is all about a right balance and enjoying the food you eat. In that spirit, I traded my “grande non-fat latte” for a “tall whole milk latte” today. The barista at Starbucks looked at me and said “Whole milk? You mean full fat???”. Yes, that’s what I want! No soy milk, no nonfat-milk, just real milk. In my opinion, a food containing 3.5% fat can still be considered “low fat”, right..? After having this “full fat” (…) experience, I am not sure if I will ever order a non-fat latte again. It tasted so much better than the nonfat-latte that I have been ordering for the last 3 years….!

5 days down, 37 days to go and hoping to pick up the workout again tomorrow!