Day 48 of Metamorphosis... and the bumps along the way

Yes, it sounds crazy that I am - still - on level 5, but I had to restart the level, as I had too many interruptions. Now, however I am delighted to finish it tomorrow (if all goes well, and it should), and start level 6! Wohoo!

MS

Don't get me wrong, it was my own decision to restart level 5, but oh boy I am tired of it. I am simply getting bored. I know every single exercise of the MS, and well now can do it in full reps (though it takes me a little longer than Tracy). This hasn't happened with previous levels. But in true, I have done it like 15 times by now! So I am happy to move on. It is true that you get bored of the same thing, and when you are doing one of the MS longer than supposed to, it also loses some touch of excitement. I was always excited thinking "Just 10 workouts like that - get the most out of it!" Now I am thinking "Oh I wish it was day 50 already!!!" So it definitely is time to move on for good.

DC

Dance cardio is indeed getting boring. But I have to say I know it by now (which is only logical after doing it for around 50 times...), and sometimes I simply turn it on and start jumping automatically - before I manage to convince myself that I don't need to do it. And then the automatic jumps get more energy and I enjoy it. Sweat is the magic powder after all! ;) I also catch myself that while I concentrate a lot on MS, I tend to drift a little bit on DC nowadays - cos my body and mind know by now what I am doing, and I am not working out the specific muscles, I am jumping and dancing to get the heart beat up and loose some calories in the process. But I nevertheless enjoy it. Why? It makes me feel good. As simple as that. I feel great when I finish it - physically and mentally. I love it.

Food

In terms of diet, I went off Tracy's diet. Sigh. Well, I was going to follow it for around 30 days anyway, and I did it longer. But simply when those Body Reset repetitive Weeks finished, I could not deal with the ones "with diversity any more (starting Week ??? the BRW become diverse, which involves more recipes, and hence more time for cooking...). My PhD taking most of my time (and this is the biggest reason why I actually disappeared for so long). I sometimes work till 8-9, and then drag my feet home (still have to take a train to get home and all) and drop nearly dead. My driving school also continues... And with being busy and not having enough time for anything, I simply could not follow all the recipes of TA Dynamic Eating Plan any longer. But I keep eating healthy and fresh (mostly). I got into a good routine with food, I already calculate or estimate my calories without needing to really calculate them. I eat lots of salads, lots of fruit, add some fish, poultry or meat on top of that, sometimes I have one of those protein bars and protein shakes to keep me up on protein. Eggs, cheese, quinoa, nuts and just a little bit of chocolate are also in my diet. I also sometimes make soups - really with only veggies and not too fat. Yum!

Little bit of smoked trout and some yummy rucola-tomato-cucumber salad. I love food! Mmmm.

My feelings overall

To be honest, I was feeling a little guilty - for going off the diet, for missing some days (4 days for salsa festival and 4 more days for a wonderful weekend in Monaco), for not eating too healthy all the time (I confess to having an addiction to chocolate as of late and I simply can't do anything about it...), for missing the DC sometimes - that's really naughty of me! Monaco has set me off a little bit, as French cuisine offers a lot of temptations! I gained 2 kilos there, but by now they all went off - without even a big effort on my side. So after all I decided to not feel guilty. I am working out, and Meta has my back. I am doing my best, I am not pushing it, but enjoying every single workout. I don't want to suddenly feel so tired I would not want to workout at all. I LOVE the workouts, I feel great after them - both physically and mentally (after all, I never stop to fight my weaknesses, and every little victory is oh so sweet!) I still eat well and healthy, even if I allow myself to eat some bread sometimes. But generally I keep it better than ever before in my life. So why on Earth should I feel guilty??!! I should feel proud and delighted, satisfied and really glad with myself. I am working on myself and doing the best I have ever done! What can be more pleasing???!!!

So, the advice is: be realistic. No, one should not give up at every difficulty saying "It is realistic: I can't do it" I say "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can" and I move forward. But instead of beating myself up, I praise myself and motivate myself to go on, to keep up to the healthy food, to the workouts - to the better and transformed lifestyle. Cos this is my end goal: A better and healthier lifestyle.

And if on the way I look in the mirror and see the beautiful abs and tiny ass - hell, I won't say no! 

3rd Palladium Voyage

I know I disappeared. It was a crazy crazy crazy time… As I wrote in my previous post, I had a salsa festival over the weekend of 12-15^th April, hence I had no time. After that a nightmare of a week at work started, and then this weekend I was in… Monte Carlo! In other words – Monaco...

But I should tell the tale in order, so salsa first. The festival was called 3^rd Palladium Voyage, took place in Bremen, Germany. It took place over the span of 4 days with the first party starting on Thursday the 12^th of April, and the closing party – on Sunday the 15^th of April. Several international salsa and Latin dancers performed during the parties on Friday and Saturday, and everyone had a chance to dance with some of the world’s leading dancers – such an experience! Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 till 17:00 were filled with workshops on technique, styling, different styles of salsa, Bachata, Pachanga, Cha cha cha… On Friday I had a formal event at the University, and ate something there (my guess is that I might be highly lactose intolerant, and I ate some cream) and my stomach started to kill me nearly. I had horribly painful bloating with nausea, and of course could not go to salsa that evening. But Saturday I started on full speed. I took all the possible workshops, and ended up dancing 6-7 hours each day on Saturday and Sunday (including workshops and the parties). By the party on Sunday, everybody was squeezed out and exhausted, but all together it was a great great great fun! Some pics below!

Day 44 of Metamorphosis

Yesterday and today were tough. Level 5 doesn't get much easier: my arms are still about to fly off when I'm doing the arms section, my abs are in pain when I'm doing lying abs, and by the end of the leg section I feel like both my feet and bottom are about to fall off too. But all of those are great feelings, and then standing in a long-ish shower, I enjoy the hot water caressing my aching muscles. I love hot and contrast showers after the workouts - they bring back the strength and refresh. Sometimes I also want to have a bathtub, to be able to take quick baths very fast, but oh well - in my next house. 

Wally and Gallo - our teachers, from
La Sandunguera dancing school.

I have a confession to make... In terms of diet... Well, I have had a little bit of chocolate addiction in the past two days... I mean it is after Easter now (technically Orthodox Easter is this weekend, so I'm not supposed to celebrate quite yet), and all the Easter chocolates are on sale. You can get all those yummy eggs and rabbits for half or even 1/3 of price! And I simply couldn't walk past them. So, I obviously excluded the choco pudding from the diet, as I already had enough of chocolate to last me at least a week... But still - too much sugar in my diet :)

In the next couple days I'm gonna keep really busy, as a Salsa festival is taking place in Bremen, and I am volunteering with some help (keeping the long story short, I'll say that I am volunteering): reception, some food and drinks tasks, and hosting 2 artists. Besides that I am going to have dancing workshops whole days on Saturday and Sunday. So, I'm saying all this, because I might have no time at all to get back here till Monday or so, and I might as well skip the DC a couple of times: after all I will be dancing up to 6-7 hours a day... I think that is enough of a cardio... :)

And just some memories - my salsa performance in the end of last year (November) - before I went for three months to a cold and dark Stockholm... I love to look at those pics and hope that one day I might do it again - now looking much better too! :)

Rest day and the power of indulging

Today was my rest day. Not very resting though I have to tell you. I woke up at 6am because some builders were making noise outside my window... At 6am!!! I am still sleeping at that time, and they are already "noising" around!!! And I have to tell you, I went to bed only at 2... So, not much sleep.

At 9 I had to be at the university at the structural equation modelling (SEM) course - which to be honest was interesting and exciting, so I was not - thankfully - falling asleep. After that - as a normal PhD student - I got so excited, I went back home and started using SEM for my own data... By the evening I was exhausted from work, and sleepy. 

I did let myself indulge in a little bit of dinner: carrot-parsnip puree, quinoa (yes, I found it thanks to one of my readers Nina - Thank you so much!), several olives, a slice of cheese, pureed tomatoes with garlic and some weird bio-diet-ham (of only 8 cal a slice... weird! but I simply had to try it). All that with a little glass of wine, some candle light and instrumental piano music of genious Ludovico Einaudi... Perfect evening, just wish my sweetheart was here in person and not just on Skype... :)

Dinner, Week 7 with some extravagances... :)

I LOVE candles... Long time ago I used to find them a waste of time and space... Now I love the little flames...

Meta Level 4 results (with photos)

Well, to be honest, they are not so grand. For anyone, but me. Cos I know my body best, cos I know what it is like, and what it was like. I had so far a great - an amazing and fulfilling journey! But my best friend (Ritych) once said "May be it is because you have not worked out before, your body got shocked from all the exercise". And I think she was right. Truly right. Very often it takes so much longer for people to see any results at all, when their bodies are toned and fit already. It takes so much more time to reach those accessory muscles of theirs, and tone everything up, lean everything out. For me - all my muscles we shocked, I was shocked, and here we go. 

No, I have not reached a plateau. I just nearly reached my desired weight - I don't really want to lose weight much below 52 kilos. And I am already quite small in measurements. So in the past level I got my boobs back :) Sorry for mentioning that, but i guess I will always go around 1-2 cm up and down there. The only other areas I still lost cm in were thighs (HOORAY!): -1, left bikini: -1 and right bikini: -0.5. Weight went 0.5 kilos down, but it generally tends to keep within a kilo or so throughout the week (going up and down).

And as I am not going to present the before and after pics now... As a teaser, and for all those who are still not inspired enough... I am gonna show you my abs... They are getting better each day... But when I got a new bikini (cos I am going to Italy this summer - YEY!!!), and took some pics for my boyfriend to see... I could not believe them myself. So just see for yourself. It does work, people!

Can you believe it is only 1.5 months in between the pics on the right and left??!! I still can't! :D :D :D

Just really look look look at my abs... :)

In the end just wanted to say... I do feel good. I do eat enough, I exercise, I am following most of the things. I love the way I feel. I love the way I am. I love when I can't find my sizes in shops as everything is too big. I love to fit in my old jeans. I love to feel confident and secure, energetic and healthy. I run up the stairs, and I don't loose my breath. I dance for an hour in salsa, and I am still able to go on. I love it. It is not only how you look (it is just the easiest to present) - it is a lot how you feel, ladies. And I feel great!!!!

Day 42 of Metamorphosis

Yes, I started level 5 yesterday… I think on April 13 I will celebrate the half-done Meta… I am so proud of myself and am a little surprised all the same with how much I managed to achieve so far. Tomorrow I have a rest day (yes, I missed some days here and there, so my rest day moved a little too), but then I am going to continue rocking it.

I find DC getting easier and easier. I mean, it should, right? After 40 or so times doing it?! And I keep changing music, sometimes returning to Tracy’s list, sometimes choosing my own. But the MS in level 5 is a killer. I know, I say that about every level, but honestly, this time I realise what a “killer” actually means – before those were just rehearsals… Really, even level 2 is nothing compared to this. Somehow throughout arms I keep finding myself wondering: “Just how on Earth can she move so fast – with weights in her hands too??!!” I mean, I sometimes feel that if I go faster, my arms will fall off – as I still have to use a little bit of momentum to go that fast… So I decided to slow down just a little… My muscles were not sore since week 1, and here I was today in the morning: my arms and thighs were in amazingly satisfactory pain. Abs also got harder – with all the “both-legs-lifts” – I feel like giving up in the middle (but I don’t!). Legs… well legs… Plunks are back (only one exercise though), and then the weird lunges and extending leg to the side… At some point I feel a LOT of muscle pain and find myself gritting my teeth and swearing aloud. I cannot do all the reps, I am slowly doing about 10-15 less than Tracy does, but it’s OK, I think. As long as I am doing my best.

So, beware all Omnis – level 5 is no joke! :)

Just to share a little thing I am proud of: I finished off the first page of the calendar.... I am using the TA calendars from the community, as I just feel horrible writing on glossy paper and all. Besides, it gives you an incredible feeling of achievement, when you finish each page!!!

The change of the direction of crossing out of each date is the change in level. Half-crossed day is a day, where only half the workout was done, on this sheet it was always DC that suffered from being neglected. Missed DC: 5, missed days: 1. Not proud, but it is how it is. :) I also notice, how much my weight fluctuates... sometimes by 2 kilos over two consecutive days... I guess it is partially the process of fast weight loss.

TA Diet controversies...

Everything in the world has its critique. Everything. Everything can be praised and criticised, and in the end of the day - except for may be maths and physics - there is no ultimate truth. So in this post I wanted to raise an issue of TAM and Meta major criticism - its diet.

First and foremost, I have to say I am NO dietician or a doctor, all the statements below are only my own opinions, and what I discovered works for me. In no way am I advising anyone to follow anything I am saying below. 

So... There has been a lot of talk about the evil of TA diet... Recently I ran into this article by Rebecca Wilcox... It is pretty old already - about a year old, but well it does talk about TAM and Meta, and the diet I am currently on. 

Before I get into a long discussion about it all (which I want to try to avoid not to bore you all too much), I have to say I read all of that (the critique I mean) before I started Meta. Meta was not a rushed decision for me, it was not a whim one Sunday evening or an idea that may be I'm lacking some excitement in my life. I am not - and Meta was a choice I made after analysing the scene... I am a PhD student after all: I don't make rushed decisions normally, and I can't afford spending money without some thought behind it. I am careful in making my decisions, and would always investigate and read a lot before starting a new venture. When I needed to buy a new laptop, I actually spent a week on learning about computers, reading about them, and getting to know what characteristics were most important for me - again as a PhD student. I don't rely on advice usually (may be unfortunately - this would have made my life so much easier) and I don't believe commercials. I also don't really care how stars look - they are there and I am here, I have to be realistic and down-to-Earth. I have to understand what is good for me - just for me - and not for some rush towards a "Gwyneth body". And I think this is in a way where it started wrong for the author of the above-mentioned article... She tried to reach something she is not, and didn't listen to herself and her body.

Hence, regardless of what you are starting (school, hobby, training), you have to listen to yourself! When you starting a new workout program or a diet - you have to listen to your body, it won't lie to you. And if you are good at it, you will understand when it is just lazy (i.e. making up excuses for not doing a workout) or when it is actually suffering, or in pain. And the earlier you notice this, the better.

So, coming back to the above mentioned article... The main argument of it was "I did get the Gwynie body, but I starved in the process"... Then there is a lot of evidence from nutritionists, dieticians, doctors, etc., who basically say that this diet is a "pamphlet of patients with anorexia nervosa", that it is only 700 calories a day and lacks calcium, iron, carbohydrates, proteins, salt etc.... Basically, it is hugely imbalanced, and non-nutritive against what it is proclaiming (to the other criticisms I will get in a separate post I think). 

My response to that.... 

Week 7 diet

So, I am starting week 7 diet tomorrow. I did the shopping yesterday, so my fridge is stuffed - mostly with fruit and veg... This happens a lot lately, but it is still overly full (and I live alone, so it is only my food!!!)

OK, so in this week's menu we have:

• Power Juice
• Chocolate Pudding
• Kiwi Basil Puree
• Waldorf Salad
• Veggie Snack
• Carrot Parsnip Puree +
• 1.2 c red quinoa
• Fruit Puree

I substituted the Waldorf Salad with Chili, as I really didn't like the Waldorf Salad, but the reason for that may be lies in the fact that I did not use chestnuts for it. And I absolutely loved the Chili. I know it is not the best substitution, but at least I will enjoy it. :) So my shopping list was a bit different from the one on TAM web-site - including Chili ingredients. I couldn't find quinoa... Actually still have no idea what it is, had to Google it and read about it on Wikipedia, and check out how it can be called in German. :) Still no success - even in the international cuisine shelves...

So, my shopping list:

• Chocolate/chocolate chips (I still have the rest of the ingredients)
• 3 cups spinach
• 2 English cucumbers
• Pack of celery
• 1 lime
• 1.4 kg ground beef
• 6 tomatoes
• 1 jalapeno
• 1 large or 2 small zucchinis
• 1 red bell peppers
• Roasted garlic
• 6 parsnips
• 3.5 cups quinoa
• 14 kiwis
• 40 basil leaves
• 2 oranges
• Pack of strawberries
• Pack of blackberries
• Pack of blueberries
• Pack of raspberries
• 2 big bunches fresh mint

So, today I am cooking. Chili and carrot-parsnip puree are ready, I just have to finish the chocolate pudding, and the rest I would prefer to eat fresh.

Here I also wanted to mention the vitamins and other supplements I am taking. I used to take multi-vitamins, but now I decided I need more attention to certain functions in my body, like eyes, my brain (concentration and memory), bones and muscles. They supplement each other, and the same vitamins do not repeat from one pack to another. 

I also started taking L-carnitine - just to try it out. We'll see how it goes and if I will see any interesting results. :)

Have a great Sunday everyone - and a good rest of Easter weekend!

Day 39 of Metamorphosis

Or level 4 day 9. One day to the end of level 4. Just one. Again, how could this happen?

If you read my post on level 3, you remember, I was really shocked when it was over. Well, no less I am shocked that level 4 is over. I don’t know if it is the busy life, or the fact that workouts become more “normal” and every-day for me, rather than anything special. Don’t get me wrong, I still have to have a battle with my laziness every day to start the workout, and sometimes it is more painful, but I also reached the point, when it also is enjoyable at times. All the same, the fact is, the levels fly by, melt away. Just around the time I start to “get” the MS, I have to change it. It is a little unfair I think. But then again, it is good for the muscles right? That is the whole point of MS and changing it every 10 workouts.

Level 4 was and – thankfully still is – wonderful! It has a lot on balance, and, with an exception of planks, I was looking forward to every single move. I loved the standing abs – but then again I love them always. This level however, I could finally see the pattern in them, notice the details, and not just go from side-to-side. Arms were really kicking and I was feeling like lowering them down so many times – especially after the DC. Today, by the way, I rocked the DC - seriously. Was jumping like crazy, and even bumped into a sofa. Oops.

And I have a huge huge huge revelation… I started loving abs. I don’t mean standing abs… Just normal abs. I never ever liked them – I was always feeling nauseous when doing them, and when I started Meta, I had to take a breather and a water break after them, and honestly, it was painfully nauseous. Now I absolutely love them. I love to feel my abs working. And hey – the great motivation is to see the abs forming. The lean, flat stomach, with nice lean muscles… no 6 pack, just feminine flat stomach with some definition. You just HAVE to love that!

I had a lovely dinner today – backed some chicken with peas and onions, added a bit of salad. Turned out to be quite a lot of food, but then again, I haven’t eaten most of the day, so I think it’s ok. And there was no oils or frying, or carbs or anything unhealthy. Just protein and veg. Yum-yum.

Chicken breast, some cheese, peas, onions, and cucumber-tomato-celery salad. Some garlic, basil, parsley, dill to spice it up. Truly great!

Today was a bit of a slow day, but hey – HAPPY EASTER everyone! Whole Germany is closed – I mean shops and all, and I do hope they open tomorrow, as I am running out of food, and have no money at all for eating out – kinda broke from the beginning of the month. :) I have been shopping lately quite a lot – got some new outfits with my sweetheart for the spring (just when will it come to Germany??!!), some accessories, a new bikini (that all makes a reason for a different post!), jeans and more jeans (to be honest - I love the way I look, so started obsessively checking out which size I can already fit...).

So have a great day everyone and a great weekend to y’all!

Foods in weeks - what is it? - 6 and 6.5?

So I finally have time to talk a little about food... Yes, I am not using "diet" on purpose right now, as...  well I wasn't so good following Tracy's diet in the past 2 weeks. All the roller-coaster of life started in the end of Week 5. Which was already past 30-day-diet-trial-period I set for myself from the start. I have to say, I almost arrived at my desired weight, so now I am concentrating more on keeping it and not gaining more. Though I would still not mind to lose another 1-2 kilos. But... well, I had some things going on, so it was pretty hard to stick to the diet to the T. 

In the end of week 5 (Nutrient Boost...) my sweetheart was visiting from Prague - and hey I just can't resist going for a nice dinner out with him (or two! :D) So we again went to the wonderful Le Gril place on the Weser river bank (definitely recommended to anyone visiting Bremen!!!) - I tried to stick to the grill and salad, and nothing more, and as before Le Gril didn't disappoint us - it was yummy-amazing! :)

With a little bit of dry Martini... romantic atmosphere... great company... What else do you need?!

Beef steak and some salad

Day 36 of Metamorphosis

To be very honest with you, it does NOT get easier. Really. I mean you get stronger and all, and then the new level kicks your ass once again. There is truly no limit to perfection. You can do it probably for years, and new moves would still kick your little shapely butt. 

I have had a crazy of a time recently. As I mentioned before - I started driving school, on top of that work is not becoming less... I have couple of doctors appointments, salsa festival coming up next week and I have a lot to help out with still... Today was the culmination of ridiculousness of German bureaucracy. First I had 4 hours of driving theory class, then had a quick lunch and 6 (!!!) hours of "first aid course" - an obligatory course for German driving license... Yes, besides that I managed to squeeze in DC in the morning before I left, and MS after I came back home at 21:30 or so. I did it!!! I was really afraid I wouldn't have time. And to be honest, with all the stuff going on, I very often find it hard simply to find time - and it is not like I want to skip it! I honestly LOVE to do MS, but sometimes it is so hard to squeeze anything in. 

Tomorrow is yet again a crazy day:

08:00-09:00 Eye doctor

10:00-14:00 Driving school

16:00-17:30 Driving lesson (practice)

20:00-21:00 Salsa training

21:00- Salsa social...

I am not whining - really. I am just trying to sort out my day and think when I can fit my workouts. When the craziness with driving school is over, I will write some more. But I am still hanging on, I just wish for a little more sleep. :)