Day 68 of Metamorphosis!!! WOW!

Holly-molly! Day 68???!!! Already!!!??? I'm on disk 3 and I just have two new MS workouts left in Meta... Wait... WHAT??? I still can't believe it...

So anyway, today was the day like many others. I was tired, couldn't get up at 6 am, woke up around 8. By the time I did my DC, had a shower, ate my yummy breakfast, got ready - it was already 11... So, I was in office only by midday, and then a friend dropped by my office for coffee... And you know how it goes... So started work much later than I hoped for... But - when my colleague walked into the office, she stopped and asked "Wait, did you lose more weight?" And no, I did not, but I guess I toned more, and she said that I look so much more toned and slimmer. 

Then I went to salsa – finally after not being there for about a month. And I was really shocked and surprised. Because Wally (our trainer) started saying from the minute I walked in “Wow, Liuba, you are so skinny!” And then everyone was talking at the same time on the same topic... And several of my friends who came in – even those who have not heard this conversation with Wally – were saying that I lost weight. So, the secret is to be away for a long time, and then people are surprised. :) But hey – I don’t even notice if I am smaller than I used to be or not anymore. I simply get used to being how I am at the moment, and then I stop being surprised… Ah, that all made my day today.

And you know, the best feeling throughout all those conversations, remarks and questions (i.e. “How did you DO it??”) was that I actually achieved it. Yes, it is great I actually weigh less now and I love the feel of my body when I am stretching in bed in the morning – it feels lean, strong, small, and simultaneously soft and muscular. But the best thing about people noticing is that I set the goal 3 months ago (holly molly! Has it been already 3 months??!!), I told people about it and I stubbornly went forth to achieve it. I didn’t give up on the way – not once. I did have bumps on the way (I still do), I do overeat sometimes, I am lazy sometimes and it is hard to start the workout, I procrastinate (something that I have to deal with seriously from now on), I sometimes don’t have time even for 30 minutes cardio, but I put in as much as I can – even if it is just 10 minutes… I did it all myself! I am strong enough and disciplined enough for that! This gives an amazing feeling. Now I have to be just as strong and disciplined in writing my PhD...

As the workouts go, I am definitely not in love with level 7. I heard I’m not the only one… It is hard and… well just hard. Super hard. It has lots of exercises in plunk-push-up position – and I do not like those. I feel like my arms are still not strong enough to hold me in plunk position… If it is not plunks, then it is a lot about balance. Try to balance on left knee and right elbow, while doing some stuff with right leg and left arm… Honestly, this almost feels like some kind of torture! I feel it in my ass, and my abs, and my thighs… I feel it everywhere. I actually am sore from time to time during this level. And feel like I need more sleep. But anyway, as soon as I could do all the reps, I added the ankle weights. And boy that took me back to 25-30 reps again (instead of 40…) Wow.

On the bright side, I had a bit of a breakthrough with DC I think. Not that I like it more than before. No. I am of course used to it by now and my body knows it well. But these past two weeks I tried to really make myself perform. And well surprise surprise… It was not that hard actually… You know, I am naturally a performer I think. I like to be cute and shiny on stage. I used to for ages – ever since I got over my childhood shyness I guess (and having one pretty embarrassing stage appearance, which I will never forget, but which probably changed me and challenged the performer in me), I have loved stage. I wish I could sing… But I tried acting, poetry reading, now dancing… When I was performing salsa last year, my trainers asked other more experienced and advanced dancers to come and look at me… They used to stop us (we were performing in a team of 3 couples) and tell the others “Liuba is outshining you all, you have to start performing, and not just going through the dance routine desperately trying to remember the steps”. And thinking about it, I was constantly wondering why was it so hard to perform DC for me?.. Well – duh! Cos there is no audience! No one to smile and flirt with, but then we did train dancing in empty rooms too. So I started imagining there IS an audience in front of me, started smiling and flirting… For a laugh sometimes I would put my little stuffed animals in front and do the DC “for them” :) Or turn on the camera and film my "performance" (no, not a soul is going to see it...)… This changed my DC completely. And I know now what the difference is between performing and just doing the DC. After each time I actually performed, I was sweating like CRAZY. Really – I don’t even know how to explain it. I drank half a litre of water after that in one go and was feeling like I perhaps ran a marathon, but definitely not a half hour workout… But the most surprising thing – I tend to check my heart rate from time to time… Throughout the performing workout my average was 150-158!!! Compare it to 120-130 of when I’m just doing it on a moderate speed. I am not ever sure it is actually healthy to have such a high heart rate… But the difference is obvious. After such a workout, I take some protein shake – cause I feel like I might start shaking from exhaustion. And only then proceed to MS.

So, all in all, I loved my workouts and am getting closer to level 8!!! I’m amazed! And only one thing pressing and stressing me and making me down – is my PhD, which is not going so well. But I still hope I will find strength – also from my workout and healthy lifestyle successes – to be more disciplined and work more.

Breakfasts...

I used to be very very very bad with breakfasts. Really. Growing up I would wake up 45 minutes before school started, take a quick shower (won't even bother dry my hair), throw in a cup of tea and run for school. I was able to get ready in under 25 minutes - from the moment I opened my eyes that is. So naturally by lunch time I was always starving... My habits never improved during my University years - I got food whenever and wherever was convenient. So by the time I was 26 I got into a hospital with acute stomach aches from some defect I apparently had from birth, but which developed and progressed due to my eating habits. The doctors then advised me to go on a healthy eating diet (especially nothing fried and too spicy - unfortunately not spicy...) and start having good healthy breakfasts.

That was couple years ago, and since then I became a definite breakfast-addict. I cherish my breakfast time, I hate eating fast and on the go... I can tolerate it for other meals: something small for lunch on the go, carrying a box with salad and eating it whenever I feel hungry is a normal thing. But breakfasts! For me breakfasts are sacred. So I get a cup of tea (and a juice when I'm in Prague), something nice, take out my ebook and lazily read through the news or the novel I am reading at the moment, while enjoying every bite of breakfast. I don't like to be disturbed then. Nowadays, I don't eat anything sophisticated, rather something simple with fresh fruit and veg thrown in for a good measure. But I love the time when I get up, prepare something nice and allow myself to indulge a little. Getting ready for me never takes under an hour-hour and a half now, but well for the pleasure of having a nice relaxing breakfast, I will wake up earlier.

So this is my ode to Breakfast. :) Today I had some nice apply blueberry puree, cheese with cucumbers, a mandarin and a steamy cup of hot Earl Grey tea. Mmmmm. Nothing spectacular, I know, but hey - it was good and filling. Savoir those moments!

Who doesn't want hearts for breakfast? :) Don't break hearts, eat them!!! (I just bought some of those forms for making fried and poached eggs, and they didn't have any simple round ones...)
Poached eggs, cucumber-tomato-celery salad, a little tzatziki, dried ham

Ciabatta roll with egg salad (2 boiled eggs and a table spoon tzatziki), cucumbers.

Cheese, eggs, cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh juice. No sophistication: everything in its pure form, but oh so yummy! And my Kindle at my side too.

Enjoy your meals people! Add a little of taste to your life by savoring the moments when you have something yummy and what you like. Those are little, but still oh so important joys of life!

My Fitness Pal

I really don't want to make an advertisement. Really. But I simply have to mention this app and web-site. Previously I have been using My Calorie Counter (MCC)  from Everyday Health, and I still use the website, it has a lot of interesting info and offers a lot of options. But yesterday I ran into My Fitness Pal (MFP). I do not know how I didn't know about it earlier. Jeez! It is great! Moreover, you can install the app on your iPhone (iPod, iPad, Android, etc.) and it works offline, and whenever you have Internet it synchronises everything. Basically, it stores all your info on line. MFP offers much more than MCC especially in terms of individualisation. For example, calculating calories for your favourite menus, individualising recipes, and creating your own list of most often used foods. It also has personalisation with exercise in a similar way, so I hope to create the TA Meta workouts there at some point... It offers gadgets (I added a tracker to my blog now), and a community as well. All of you- especially those who are not using one of TAM menus, can definitely keep track of your weight and exercise there - it is very useful!!!

This is how it all looks on iPhone:   

 

Good luck!

Level 7 restarted, day 62 of Metamorphosis

So, I'm back from the land of pains and feeling sick and weak... The heat is taking lots of my energy, but I am back on track. I still eat a bit more than I should I guess, but Meta has my back again. I am not gaining weight, I am not loosing it, I am just right. And I love it.

I decided to restart level 7, as I missed about 4 days due to sickness. And as I said before, it is important to take care of your health. So, it was all good. Besides, I don't feel so bad about restarting the level: I was only 2 days into it. And as before, level 7 is indeed tough. Get ready for it. I definitely cannot do all the reps, cannot go Tracy's speed - which I sort of could in level 6, so I take it easy and try to push myself just a little bit each day. I am thinking of starting using ankle weights as well. I want results!!! 

To be honest, I should be happy about what I have. The problem is that I won't be getting visible and evident results I think anymore. No, don't think I am a pessimist - I am not!!! I swear! Its just I can't really become much lighter or skinnier... My weight won't go down anymore - I am in my normal slender healthy weight right now. And skinnier - well everything much skinnier than now (in terms of measurements in a way) would make me unhealthy. So here. The only visible results I could get at this point are muscles... But surprise surprise - TAM doesn't give you too many visible muscles... So, I am definitely becoming more toned, my muscles are more defined, but they are not bulking out and are not too visible. And because of all this I do lose motivation sometimes. Not for long - but long enough to stall my workout for an hour or two...

Now I feel like I need to find a different way to measure my results... I definitely feel more energetic and strong every single day. But how do we measure it? I also feel a little addicted to workouts, and really positive about them, and the day starts only after one workout. That's good right? It means I am closer to the goal of making a healthy lifestyle a habit. Cheers to that!

Level 7 started… and dropped…

So, yes folks, I have started level 7. And as Michelle Styles mentioned – all of the levels would be different and surprising. And it is so true. Level 7 also surprised me – may be a bit less than level 6, but it was only because level 6 sudden change was so unexpected…

Level 7 is tough though. I can do only half of the reps at most now I guess. And some of the exercises simply kill me – I start swearing quite not-lady-like and scream sometimes. Ah, the joys of exercise! It is a good excuse to use bad words! ;) Surprising is the ending of level 7 MS, cause you find yourself… on your back… Yes – that was really shocking. “Are we doing abs AGAIN??” But even though those exercises do involve abs, they are still for legs. Ah well. :)

But as the title says – I did manage to start level 7 (days 1 and 2), but then I could not continue. I also missed 2 days in between level 6 and 7, and 2 days already now. I feel bad about it, but really there is nothing I could do about it. I felt really sick all week. First some digestion disorder, then I managed to do two days of workout, and then I started having strong pains in my lower abdomen and - well girls’ parts… So there was NO way I could jump, or squeeze any muscles for that matter. I am still in recovery today – even though the strong stabbing pain went a bit away, I am able to move (yesterday I spent most of the day in bed or on the couch – exciting huh?!). So we are going to an outdoor weekend now, for some badminton, tennis, games and fun. It’s not like I’m going to be able to participate in all the fun – but at least the sun, fresh air and 'greenness' would be good.

So, I’m still smiling, still shining, but just taking a break while I recover. Have a great weekend everybody!

Just enjoying the sun and breeze of a great sunny day in a cabrio. :)

Day - OMG!!! - 60 of Metamorphosis

So, I did finish level 6. Without any bumps or bruises. Fast and easy, almost breezy! :) I am amazed and positively surprised! 2/3 of Meta done today! I am ecstatic and still can't totally get my head around this. 

WOW!!!!

This was just the small part of what we ordered...

Level 6 was I think so far my favourite. I know I might have said it before, but hey, it truly was interesting and exciting, yet challenging and sweaty! Tomorrow I will get some of the results. I have not kept up very well with diet - today for instance I had a sushi feast (and I DO mean a feast!!! - but after all I am 2/3 done with Meta, I do as well deserve a little - or big-ish - treat!), and I haven't lost any more weight, though I am not trying to anymore. I am just trying to keep my current weight, and get even more toned. So, I will try to take some pics tomorrow, and see how this goes.

Very nice relaxing weekend and week in general for me. I wake up and have my workout, in the weekdays I then go to driving classes, come back for lunch with my sweetheart, and start work. Then more driving in the evening, and nice homey evening afterwards. Today we also watched hockey - Russia won!!! Hurrah! And funny enough, I am in Czech Republic right now, and this is the team we bit. :) Oops. Today was a great sushi day and I am still stuffed. But I simply couldn't resist. The sushi from (funny enough) the Sushi Bar were really great, and I simply couldn't stop... Ah.

Now after couple hours of work I am off to bed, to see a more beautiful day tomorrow, to start level 7 and hopefully finished the work I am doing right now. Good night everyone!

Rest day...

Rest days are marvelous... and ah - so restless too. I have to say I wake up every day with the though of exercise. No, I am not waking up hating it and not looking forward to it. Neither do I jump out of bed to get into the exercise because I am so excited. Nonetheless, I do wake up and one of the thoughts on my mind is about the workout. Neither good, nor bad. And I think it is indeed a great development - it is as if my body doesn't see a day without it. So, I actually have to remind myself the evening before and the morning I get up that "Hey, calm down, you are not working out today". And it is strange not to. I try to enjoy the break - so that I actually rest. I take a slow breakfast, I laze in the bathroom or put make-up twice longer... I have time to open the book (Kindle actually) and read with my breakfast and juice... I have time to take it easy and slow down in the morning. But I feel strange. As if something is missing.

I start work, and my brain is not as concentrated and I keep returning to the pleasure of stretching my muscles, and doing this exercise and that... I keep interrupting myself with searching the web for nice fitness and sports videos, health tips and other fitness-related things. I keep falling asleep too. So I get a coffee, and try to muddle through some more work. Then I go to a driving class, and by the time I am back, my eyes hurt, my back aches and I just need some stretches and activity. I do a little bit of back and legs stretches, and stop myself from working out. 

It is so strange how this works, isn't it? How the psychology of us humans works?! On the days when I have the workouts, I still have to talk myself into them - rather my laziness. I have to force myself start it early enough so that I can fit it in. On the opposite, on rest days I am restless and can barely stop myself from exercising... Funny beings humans :)

Day 56 of Metamorphosis

Level 6 is definitely going to be faster and easier to finish than level 5… I mean I practically have only several days till the end! But to start with I am not travelling as much as in the last level – or rather not taking long weekends off, which are not very encouraging for working out. I have to say, I really do admire people who go on vacation and continue workout!!! I mean, I can imagine the workouts in the form of walks, jogging, playing badminton and tennis, swimming, cycling… But real cardio and muscle work??!! Hmmm… Well I still haven’t reached that point I guess.

I did travel though – but not for just a weekend. I am now staying at my sweetheart’s in Prague for two weeks. We are living our normal everyday lives and enjoy working in the evenings together and finally have our little dinners together… I might get used to this too much I have to say! It is so different to practically live together, and then see each other over distance. Sigh. But I went off topic.

So, level 6. It still surprises me to a very high extent! And it is not only the different rotations, vectors, the weird moves… It is also about the after-effects. So the last time I had sore muscles was – well, let me try to remember … - in level 1 suppose. Yes, I only had sore muscles in the very first few days of Meta – when the body experienced its initial shock. Then it seemed my muscles had adjusted to workouts pretty fast and knew what they were doing… And imagine my surprise when I woke up on day 52 with my butt hurting!!! I though “Wow, how peculiar! This level rocks! I have the sore muscles again!” And off I went to do the next workout, being particularly thorough on my leg lifts and angles for butt – thinking “Yey, smaller butt, smaller butt, smaller butt!” Well, then imagine my – no not a surprise anymore – more like a shock, when I woke up on day 53 and felt my ABS hurting!!! I thought “What the hell?! How is that possible? I am doing the SAME exercises! Nothing changed since yesterday!” Ah, dear reader, still more to come… Because the next day I woke up with sore muscles in my arms… Then I stopped getting surprised, just accepted it as inevitable and I love to wake up to new sensations in my body, to feel slightly differently, a little more and more alive each day… Because if muscles are sore, it means they are working right? It means they are really really alive… It means I am alive! Hurray to level 6!!! 

(Anyone had the same experience? On Omni or any other Meta type?)

DC is getting more routine-like, but I don’t have patience or very often time to do it in full. So I do as much as I can. So, if I have 50 minutes, I prefer to do the full MS and 20 minutes of DC. Yes, I don’t do full 30 minutes from time to time… Well, the main thing is that I keep to it right? And despite all odds, I do fit in at least 45-50 minutes of workout ever day.

I also started doing DC in the morning just after I wake up, and MS in the evening. DC feels better in the morning, because I still have empty stomach and now it became my substitution for a coffee. Really. I won’t wake up properly if I don’t have a workout: I feel sleepy and lacking energy completely! But I also like to do MS in late-ish evening, because it makes me feel that after eating the whole day I do some exercise still. And I love to sweat and then take a relaxing shower before bed. I complement MS with a nice and relaxed 15-minute stretching, and after that I feel like I am definitely relaxed after the whole day. It works for me, and it is hard to find enough time in the morning to workout for an hour. But I am satisfied with how it works this way.

Oh and one more improvement! We have a juicer here in Prague, so I started having a nice juice each morning. I didn’t find kale or spinach here (what a surprise…), but I am having some apples, carrots and oranges in the juice. Yum. I tried different combinations, and love to add some random fruits and veggies from the fridge. They are all good right?! :) Generally, I have slightly more food than is outlined by the Meta eating plan, but hey - I am keeping it healthy and just right amount of calories... I think. :) I don't go hungry - EVER, and I don't overeat. It is great!

Fresh juice (orange, apple, tomato, celery, carrot) and breakfast (two eggs, little tomatoes, 2 slices of cheese and cucumber). Very filling, and energetic! No coffee needed!

What do you have for breakfast people?

Motivation and balance…

I am feeling like I am losing my motivation. Here came that moment, when I sit back and start thinking, what am I doing it all for? Why am I thinking about healthy foods, decline unhealthy but oh so yummy (sometimes) stuff, try to squeeze in an hour or at least 45-50 minutes of workout a day almost every day? Am I really enjoying myself? Am I enjoying the results? Am I doing it for some sick vanity reason in pursue of thinner body? Or am I actually doing it to feel better? And if so, do I feel better? Isn’t it better to stop thinking about any of this stuff and simply let everything go, eat whatever you want and like, drink whatever you want and like, enjoy couch-potato-ing on weekends? Or is giving up simply easier, and not necessarily better?

My best friend once mentioned that her dad said “You women are always either gaining weight or losing weight”… And isn’t it true for oh so many women? Have I also joined the wide-spread paranoia of pursuit for and obsession with small sizes, flat stomachs and tiny butts? And when I reflect on all that – all these tendencies in women are shaped by A) insecurities; and B) media. Yes, it is all about what is actually beauty, what is considered beauty – and that has become a very popular and important topic on so many of the TAM-bloggers I follow… What indeed is beauty?

All bodies are different... Is size 0 really beautiful?!

 It is quite unnerving to have all these question pop into one’s head, when this one has taken on a challenge, which essentially is about losing weight and bringing inches off. So after so many years of being able to proudly say “I don’t care, I like myself just the way I am” – and I have to be honest here, I meant it - I came to the point, when I think "Oh man, I should lose some more weight". Yes, I sometimes felt a little uncomfortable in a bikini, but overall, I never had anything to complain about, and I liked myself. I tend to have this annoying general positivity, which doesn’t allow me to feel insecure and beat myself up for too long. Hence, even when I felt bad, the feeling would go away pretty fast. So all in all, I can’t say I have ever felt like I needed to go on diet, like I was not living my life well. I enjoyed my days and never regretted my decisions (or almost never), I love burgers and coke, and never gave a damn about how many calories I consumed. Regardless, I was happy. And it was easy not to care.

Then one day came when I got into a hospital. And no, don’t get me wrong. I am not going to have a dramatic tale of my past. I never had any eating or personality disorders (and I do respect and truly am amazed by all those women who overcome their problems and fight their disorders – that requires more strength than fighting an enemy!). I got to a hospital for an all-round check of my digestive system, as I developed strong stomach aches. Turned out I had a defected valve (one of them, no point to be more precise here) and while I don’t understand exactly what it means, after a course of medication I was advised to change my diet completely. The diet had to eliminate anything fatty and fried, anything containing fresh onions, garlic, peppers, radishes, lemons and some other stuff. No 'sparkling' anything (soda, water or champagne). There were some more restrictions – or rather advices, I didn’t have to follow them, but after experiencing the type of bloating and stomach aches I used to have, I was ready to do anything to never ever have them again. So I followed the diet. This was 3 years ago. Since then I never had aches as strong as before. I still have some minor aches sometimes – and I think it is because of some food indigestion – but those are nothing compared to what I used to have.

My eating habits have changed tremendously, and I started to feel better. That can’t be wrong right? And then there was this fateful Christmas holiday at home couple months ago. One simple thing changed in me during those couple of weeks, I simply observed my parents. They are great and talented people (both doctors of science, dad in chemistry and physics, mum – in pedagogy), they are also fun and sweet, and I love them so, but they are also the champions of couch-potato-ing… I observed them and their life… And realised I might end up like them as well, and I didn’t want to. And it is not only about being overweight and inactive (though honestly, for me that is already quite a lot), it is about the consequences obesity has: cardio-vascular and heart diseases risks are extremely high. Due to inactivity, your joints and bones and muscles become rusty as well with age - exercise does help! And it was at my parents' house that I thought: "I want to have a healthy life, up to old age". And while it is so hard to change habits when you are in your 50’s, I might as well start now, so that I get used to the new lifestyle and never go back to it again. And I started looking for a fitness program, which would work for a lazy and unorganised person like me.

So I started TAM and Meta not because I was just not comfortable in my own skin and wanted to be 10 pounds less. The initial reason was to change a lifestyle. So now every time I start thinking “God, did I get on the same wagon of slim-madness???!!!” I stop myself and think “No, you want to be healthier and exercise, get a habit of exercising every day or every other day. And getting a fitter body on the way is a logical consequence”. So I stop myself – forcefully – from obsessing over eating just 100 calories more – I munch on chocolate and nuts, and keep my mind happy and sane. I don’t say no to the stuff I like. Simply with years I started liking healthier and healthier stuff. I do sometimes crave for fast food. I do. But then I think – hey I better have a home-made burger than get anything from MacDonald’s… At least I would make sure the burger is not fried, and I use a lot of lettuce and tomatoes… I can be healthier, without denying myself too much, without feeling unhappy for denying some things. And for every little victory I praise myself.

It is so easy to say – I know – balance is the most important… It is so much harder to actually balance life in reality. Hence, every little step you make towards you own balance, towards the world which is free of your insecurities and is a happy place, where you feel happy, loved and loving yourself – you have to value and treasure those steps. Enjoy every minute and don’t let the negative thinking shrink you to a boring unhappy miserable self. You are the person who can change yourself, and even if you start a change for all the wrong reasons, at least appreciate the change for all the right ones.

This is how I think whenever I get obsessed with my weight or measurements, or I think that I can see more of my love handles… It doesn’t matter. I silence myself and think: I am changing my life, so that it is more healthy, happy and long. What else should I wish for?

Anyone else has problems with balancing your life, workouts, what you think of yourself and body image?

Day 51 of Metamorphosis

First and foremost, I am extremely and utterly happy that level 5 is over. Uff. It’s not like it was bad, no. But as I mentioned in my previous post – I got so so so bored of it! I did it something like 15 times (as I did restart it at some point), and by the end was managing the same amount of reps as Tracy – with the exception of plunks. If in the beginning I though “WHOAAAA!!! That’s FAST!” – especially on arms section with weights. By the end I was simply “Yawn… Boring”. Well, not really :) But you get the point. :)

But boy was I happy to have done so much and so long level 5, because level 6… Well, it’s level 6 you know… No, it is not hard and extremely difficult. No no no. I could actually do most of the exercises with the same speed as Tracy does – I was simply following her – again except for the plunks and one more naughty exercise. But it was weird. Really. That was what I was thinking throughout doing it. What weird arms movements – really. Unusual, new, not done by me yet – ever. And the lying abs?! Where did all the moves come from?! Good heavens! The leg sections were somehow strange as well. And I think it was not extremely horrible for me because of level 5 – if you do it well and thorough, it would help you in level 6.

But overall this level really surprised me – I have to be honest here. The movements were not difficult, but my muscles I think were shocked – as much as I was. Now, however, after 8 days of workouts in a row I am taking a rest day (I did 8 to compensate for the days I missed before). Tomorrow I am just gonna wake up, take a shower and go to the office. That would feel so strange – without the workout!!! But I think I deserved my rest day, and if you did your workouts 5-6 times, you did too! Keep it up!!