Lisa sent us some feedback of how it's going! So, so proud of her... She is ON IT!
Well, its been an interesting ride, in terms of watching how stress and life events can have such an impact on derailing even the best of intentions. If it weren't for this program I would have definitely, definitely already caved on my resolutions. But some of us work better when we have a little authority, and apparently I'm one of those people. ;-)
My goals are to be more consistent, lose 10 lbs, and become stronger in my upper body and core (I have never in my life worked out my upper body. Major weak!!) Fitness really just wasn't a steady tone in my life, and being in film production, my schedule can make it really difficult to fit in healthy eating and consistent exercise. For years I have had a pattern of one step forward, two steps back (and of course, since I hit 40 its more like one step forward, three steps back). While my progress is slower than I'd like it to be, I do feel I'm making longer term changes. I'm really not interested in "winning" for the sake of winning - my win will be when I am able to see these new habits follow me through the rest of my life. I do feel these kinds of institutional changes are much harder - I know I could probably rush to the finish line and starve myself and work really hard for four months, but what is the point of that if I'm burnt out at the end of that process?
So, I was paired with Cyndy Reid. Cyndy asked me to:
- eat 100% organic (I eat A LOT of organic, but its pretty difficult to do 100%. I'd say I'm at about 80% and holding).
- my work outs started at 4 hours of cardio per week plus 2 hours of strength training. I started with what I have been doing for a long time (ellipticals and stairclimbers, etc) but kicked it up from 3 days a week (total, if I made it in that often) and 1/2 hour on the machines to 6 days a week and an hour on the machines. I also started taking yoga classes, and those were my 2 strength training classes.
- I have long been in the habit of ending a long day at the bar, having a few drinks and maybe a cigarette with friends. Done. I now only have a drink or two on the weekends.
- After a few weeks, Cyndy asked me to ratchet up the workouts to 1.5 hours on two of those workout days, and 15 minutes of some kind of burst of energy every morning. I found the morning thing to be really, really difficult. For one thing, I stay up pretty late (read: bar time. special time with friends!) and what was happening was that, by the time I woke up (around 9:00), it just seemed like I really needed to get to work quickly which was leaving me no time for either a good breakfast or 15 minutes of work out, AND, often my schedule would make it too difficult to get to the gym later in the day.
SO, I decided something really had to change. I now wake at 6:00 a.m. 3 days a week and attend the 6:30 cardio pump classes. I tried to go for another .5 hours after the initial hour, but my stamina is just not there yet. Those are difficult classes to get through, and I personally think Kathy Redden is going to hit a new record for the number of people who puke during or immediately after her class. (Okay, seriously, this is NOT my mother's aerobics class).
The other two days I still do the Prana yoga with Sanieh. I won't be able to do her classes indefinitely, as my schedule will change, but at least now I'm used to waking up early and prioritizing fitness.
I still haven't reached a single 1.5 hour workout. I'm hoping to do that soon. And while my clothes fit better, I haven't lost a pound. Which is a real bummer. It's hard to work this hard and not see any results. But, I feel so much better, have tons of time in the mornings and feel I am accomplishing a lifelong goal of getting up in the morning and starting my day with a good workout.
Thanks for the structure! So far, this is making a real difference for me and its only been one month! I look forward to solidifying these habits and really feeling strong one of these days.
The End.
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