Day 4: Sick in bed

What a bummer! I am really frustrated! I woke up this morning and felt really sick. As much as I wanted to go to bootcamp and stick with my workout plan, I had to listen to my body. In the end, that's what it is all about, right? I spent the day in bed with a big cup of tea and a lot of water. Slept a lot, tried to focus on light, vitamin- and zinc-rich food to give my body the best support to get healthy again. I hope I'll feel better again tomorrow, the challenge continues and I am 100% motivated! 4 days down, 38 to go!

Day 3: Getting a cold

Wednesday is a “bootcamp free” day. I woke up at 5.45 am (feels almost like sleeping in…) and drove to the gym. I haven’t been in the gym for a long time, and ever since I started running and outdoor-training I really have a hard time going back to the gym. But I actually enjoyed it this morning. Initially, I wanted to run to the Ferry Building (one of my Wednesday's favourite runs), but then I decided to give my body a little break since my cold is getting more serious, unfortunately. Also, I have been working out quite a lot for the last 3 days. So I have been on the crosstrainer for 30 minutes with a low/moderate intensity followed by 15 minutes of free weights, that was it.

Probably because of my cold, I really craved tea this morning (which usually never happens…), so I had no coffee and I have to say that I felt much better throughout the day. That makes me really sad because I can’t imagine a life without coffee. May be I shouldn’t make it a daily habit. It’s only day 3 in my challenge but I am getting used to drinking a lot of water, that’s good. I went to another Bar Method class tonight, it was great. I guess I should have just stayed at home and get some rest, but I really enjoy going there. And since I won’t be able to afford more classes after the “special offer for new clients” is over, I have to make use of it now. Somehow I have the impression that the Bar Method is a lot about routine, I almost feel like the instructors use the same phrases, intonations and words…I mean it’s great because after a couple of classes, you almost know what will happen next (which can be good or bad), I wonder if my posture will be good enough after a month that I could may be get the DVD and do the workout at home…would safe me a ton of money! We’ll see, but as of now, I really enjoy going to the class. I hope I feel better tomorrow, I am not sure how I could push through a Basic Training workout with a serious cold and a running nose…Argh, I really don’t want to get sick…but I can feel it coming :(

3 days down, 39 to go! And I'd like to point out that eating healthy is a lot easier than I remembered…

Lyon Street Stairs craziness

I woke up this morning with a weird feeling in my throat/nose…feels like a cold creeping up. I really hope that I won’t get ill because the challenge is challenging enough as it is now…Fantastic, I swop chocolate and red wine for fruit, whole grains and vegetables and I get sick right away…haha!

I arrived at Basic Training 5.58 am, that’s still 2 minutes earlier than everyone else ;-) Today we did a “Lyon Street workout”. Jesus Christ! The Lyon street steps are hard enough to run on its own, but running up to the steps from the Palace of Fine Arts provided an extra challenge (=serious hill). As a consequence, I was already knocked out before the “real” workout started. Needless to say that I was still the slowest runner even though we were 16 people in class today. Oh well, I guess I have to get used to it during the next 6 weeks. And it’s not that I am not trying, I just CAN’T run faster (especially not uphill). So we got to the stairs finally (that was the warm up), we ran the lower set of stairs followed by some serious abs-exercises and upper-body workout. And push-ups. While my sweat was literally dropping down from my face onto the pavement, Michael (who is one of the instructors) asked me how I am feeling… At this point I could barely talk so I squeezed out an ironic “great”. The guy working out next to me started laughing and said “Hey Sue, you don’t have to lie!”. Very true! I indeed didn’t feel great at that point. Well, may be I’ll be more honest once I know the group a little better :) It definitely seems to be a nice and fun crowd (yes, they actually smile and crack jokes even when they are in pain…).We ran more stairs and more hills, did more abs, arms and more push ups. Honestly, for a while I thought I was in hell. I can’t remember when I sweat that much the last time… But, even though I was in pain for 60 minutes, I have to say that I feel AWESOME now and I am already looking forward to the next class! Surprisingly, I went for an easy 5k-jog after work - wasn't really planned but I really wanted to go for a run. Made good food choices today and drank water like a horse, so it's all good :) 2 days down, 40 days to go!

Day 1: No, I won't post my "before"-bikini-pictures ;-)

Whoohoo, I survived day 1! And I am feeling pretty good but also exhausted… I got up at 5.20 am this morning to get ready for day 1 of Basic Training – honestly, I was quite afraid, because usually day 1 of each session is dedicated to a fitness-assessment-test…but not today, I was lucky! Most clients didn’t really like that test so they now offer them on demand but not by default. Thanks!! We met at 6 am, Monday is ususally the day which is dedicated to running. We ran quite a bit. We started heading out towards the warming hut where we did some pull-ups and then kept on running to the Golden Gate Bridge. I don’t mind running in general, I guess the problem is that my pace is a lot slower than the pace from the rest of the group (I think they were at least 20-30% faster than me…), so I was quite exhausted afterwards since I tried to keep up with them (but clearly couldn’t). Luckily, there was another girl sharing my problem, so I didn’t feel all that bad…I definitely got my muscles worked this morning! I think we ran a total of 4 miles. And of course, I ran into my "old" bootcamp, right on the first day. I feel a little bit guilty.

At work, I was incredibly proud of myself for resisting free pastries that we got offered during a meeting in the morning (they looked soooo good though…). As far as my plan for “having breakfast every day” is concerned, that didn’t work out too well and needs to be improved tomorrow. Even though I bought whole grain toast and oven-roasted chicken breast (yes, I know...but I prefer savory stuff in the morning), I didn’t have the time to eat it. Of course I had my daily fix of coffee but it only came with an energy bar. Oh well, I was really in a rush. But I managed to drink 1.5l of water and a cup of tea – hurray!! That really wasn’t easy for me (I guess I usually drink 0.7l of water a day at the most…) and the worst part about it was that I had to go to the bathroom probably every 30 min… I am clearly not used to drinking that much. Oh, and I had my home-made thai soup for lunch today - it was horrible! Luckily, I also brought some fruit so I had enough to eat and didn't feel hungry.

After work, I went to a Bar method class; I wonder if any of the women working out there are able to smile outside of the class room (because clearly they don’t look very friendly during class. Or before class. Or after class). But it doesn’t really matter because the instructor is great and I got a good workout. I am tired now!! I wanted a good start for my challenge, I ate healthy (I had no chocolate today! I can't even remember the last day I had no chocolate or some kind of candy...but to be honest, I would probably kill for some M&M's right now…), drank a lot of water and got a good workout in. A good day!

Some of you asked me if I would post my current weight and before/after pictures...Claiming that this would encourage you to read my blog...Sure...! I am crazy, but I am not THAT crazy! I don't think I am ready to post my bikini-pictures (but yes, I took some "before"-pictures), but I will keep you updated on my progress :) One day down 41 to go!

Getting ready for week 1!

Now I am officially 31 years old!!! After a great birthday with LOTS of food and many drinks, I am trying to get in the right mindset for my challenge today. “Day 0” – the challenge starts tomorrow! I am really excited about it but also quite nervous… I went for a 6 mile trail run today – I love San Francisco’s coastal trail down to Baker’s Beach, it is one of my favorite runs. I broke in my new trail-running shoes, they don’t feel quite comfortable yet… I hope it will get better with more runs. Also, I went to a Bar method class this afternoon – oh boy! It was a lot of fun and it is a really hard workout, I don’t think I ever had my muscles trembling that much from exhaustion. Pretty impressive! It involves a lot of stretching, too, so it might be a good addition to the bootcamp and the running. “Basic Training” starts tomorrow morning 6 am, I am praying for a miracle and hope that I won’t be too sore to begin with…

Also, I went to the grocery store and bought a lot of fresh fruits, vegetables and high-fiber bars. I cooked a pot of the thai soup tom ka gai with lots of fresh vegetables, low-fat coconut milk and cod fish. It tastes healthy but also quite delicious; I hope I will feel the same way about it tomorrow when I’ll have it for lunch.

Tonight I will take measures of my body so that I will be able to document my progress during the next 6 weeks. I will also control and note my weight starting tomorrow morning (hey there is NO chance that I would step on the scale after dinner…). I put all the remaining German chocolates in the very back of my closet to have them out of sight. I should probably just give them away, that would be a safer way to deal with it… I feel ready!

So as for week 1, I have a couple of things I would like to focus on:

- Drink at least 1.5 l of water every day
- Have a healthy breakfast every morning (coffee alone doesn't count...!)
- Reduce my daily sugar intake

I guess together with bootcamp 3 times/week and bar method 3 times/week, that’s already a good plan. We’ll see how it goes… Wish me luck :)

Getting ready for a 6 week challenge!

A couple of months ago, one of my best friends in Germany - Andrea - told me that she would get married in July (yes, Olli, it really was about time…). That was fantastic news! A couple of weeks later, I realized that my favorite dress (which I wore at my sister’s wedding) doesn’t quite fit me anymore. I mean, it does fit, it’s just that I can’t really move once I am squeezed into this fantastic dress and there is a certain risk also that it might not make it through the night (and I don’t want to be remembered as the "friend from America" who made her dress explode!). Of course, there is always the option to buy a new dress, in fact, that would be a lot of fun (and I might end up doing that anyway). But I have decided to take this event as an opportunity to get in great shape for Andrea’s and Olli’s wedding (and that even though Andrea told me that there won’t be any hot single men at the wedding…really??). Plus, summer is just around the corner, there are so many good reasons to get in good shape now. As I am a Scientist by heart (which is difficult enough on its own), I decided to not just make this a “pre-wedding diet” but to start an experiment. A real experiment. Sue’s 6 week challenge.

How much can you transform your body in 6 weeks with hard exercise and healthy food?

So this is nothing like the “biggest loser” and luckily, I don’t have 200 pounds to lose… In fact, I have been quite active throughout the last year, I go for a run twice a week, I joined a bootcamp twice a week, I ran a marathon and I sometimes go the gym. I enjoy working out a lot, but I think I can kick it up a notch by pushing myself a little harder and especially by watching my diet a little closer. I don’t want to blame you, America, for putting weight on my hips but indeed I have to mention at this point that it was much easier to maintain my weight back in Europe (and we all know Bavaria isn’t exactly known for its skinny people!). San Francisco certainly has many great food options and the major problem is probably the portion size…oh, and the gigantic cookies, they are friend and enemy at the same time. But yes, in the end you have to eat the food yourself, so there is no one else to blame.

The 6-week challenge… not only will this be helpful to look brilliant at the wedding (don’t worry Andrea, I won’t try to compete with you at all!!) but also in order to kick start my marathon training. I just recently found out that I got in the Nike’s women marathon again, so I will take this project quite serious. Not too serious though. It will be interesting to document how much a body can change in 6 weeks…

So what's the game plan?

I just signed up for a 6 week bootcamp program called “Basic Training”, starting May 17th. That is when my 6 week-challenge will officially start. This is not the bootcamp I used to go to the previous months. I did a free test class at Basic Training recently – I thought I would be totally fine because after all, I have been with my other bootcamp for months running stairs and hills like a crazy person and this was Day 1 of the Basic Training bootcamp session of the “Newbies/Beginner” group… Bloody hell, I thought I will die from a heart attack! On day 1! It was so much more challenging than I imagined…so for sure, the next 6 weeks won’t be fun and you will hear me moaning and complaining quite a bit, but I am happy to share my experience with you. I will join Basic training 3 days/week and in addition, I will try to squeeze in as many runs as possible in order increase my mileage for the marathon. I was thinking to sign up for the San Francisco Half Marathon (which takes place end of July), so I better get running. I hope that I will be able to run though, I have no doubts that my muscles will be quite sore from Basic Training. In addition, I have a month worth of unlimited classes for the Bar Method…I know it sounds like a lot and it will be a lot, but it is for 6 weeks only and I am serious.

So thank you Andrea for inspiring me to this project. You have been such a great friend for me throughout the last 12 years! This experiment is an expensive one, so I better make it work….I spent $315 on Basic Training, $100 for the Bar method and $200 for two pairs of running shoes. But hey, wouldn’t you be willing to pay $600 if someone would promise you that you’ll look fantastic in 6 weeks…?? I would. Well, I did. Now we just have to figure out if I indeed will look "fantastic" in 6 weeks...Will it be easy? No. Definitely not. But I stick with the “no pain, no gain”-principle. Will it be worth it? Absolutely! I can’t wait to stand next to Andrea in a nice dress for the most important day in her life. I am very excited to start this 6 week long journey!