Sunday, January 26, 2014

Sunday Funday: Week 27 Review

Right now it's Saturday night, and my class finished a bit early -- a nod to the fact that this is the weekend.  The class has been good, but utterly exhausting.  It's like Groundhog Day; every morning, the same thing.  Only three more days and I'll be done with it, though.  After that, all I'll have to do is schedule and pass three certification exams.  Piece o' cake. Or perhaps piece o' lean protein?

Poor Clarke.  Tail-less and wearing the Cone of Shame.
It's been an otherwise drama-filled week.  My one neurotic dog decided to (once again) chew a hole in his tail, and this time he didn't fool around -- he did a lot of damage.  I ended up having to get his tail amputated because the vet was fairly certain that it wasn't going to heal -- apparently the distal end of the tail was ice cold already.  Yes, it's been a helluva week. Thank God for my roommate who really stepped in a helped out a bunch.

So, while I have a few minutes, the update for the week:

Measurements
Despite the stress and weird schedule, I'm down a little.  This makes me happy. I haven't necessarily stayed true to my nutrition goals 100%, but I also never went overboard when I was stress-eating. This was trial by fire, and I think I did okay this time around.

Workouts
Class starts at 7am, and all but one day I got up early and fit my workout in before hitting the books.  This also makes me happy.  I knew that if it wasn't done first thing, it wouldn't get done at all, and so I simply made the decision that it was important to me.

Habits
A little more, a little better -- this whole week has been a test of this.  And I'd say that I've been doing pretty well. It helps to have this habit in the back of my head keeping me honest.

Intermittent Fasting (IF)
Been pretty good at keeping to this.  It helps that I'm not done with class until 7pm and by 8pm I'm headed to bed because I'm so freakin' tired.

Habit Log
Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic
Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly
Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full
Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal
Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day
Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices
Weeks 13-14: Plan Meals
Weeks 15-16: Log all food
Weeks 17-18: Create a sleep ritual
Weeks 19-20: Drink only zero calorie beverages
Weeks 21-22: Use targeted recovery strategies
Weeks 23-24: Eat only whole foods
Week 25: No new habits (work on the previous ones)
Weeks 26-27: A little more, a little better

Monday, January 20, 2014

We interrupt this blog to give you 9 days of probably close to nothing.

In my real life, I'm an I.T. professional and starting today, I'm taking a Microsoft class on Server 2012 for the next 9 days.  But not just a class -- an intense, bootcamp-style class (without the cardio or fun strength training).  Saturday and Sunday don't even offer a break from the 12 hour days.

In preparation for this, I made a bunch of food so that I could easily stay on track with my nutrition (if I so choose to).  Historically, these classes cause me to eat eat eat -- as I'm working away, or trying to stay awake during lectures, I always want something to munch on.  I've got veggie choices for these snack attacks, and not too much in the way of junk food in the house, so I'm hoping that this doesn't end up being a bad week.

So, posting will be light until I'm done with this special week and a half of hell.  I'm making a commitment to getting up early to get workouts in, and as long as the weather is okay, I'll walk the dogs a little longer twice a day because I'll need a break.  But I won't have time for much more than that.  It's an exhausting 7am-7pm work day.  Lovely.

Don't miss me too much!


Sunday, January 19, 2014

Sunday Funday: Week 26 Review

"Weight-Loss HotPants" ... who knew that weight
loss only required the correct apparel?
Another week bites the dust.  Since the new year, things have been rolling along pretty well here in my little corner of the earth... and progress oftentimes begets more progress. I've been finding that my mindset has been fairly positive -- and on the days when it's not, or when I find myself wanting to chuck the whole damn program, I've been able to allow myself to acknowledge the feeling and understand that it'll most likely pass with a good night's sleep when I'm not so cranky.

Really, it's the living day-to-day that I'm trying to learn.  I know I sound like a broken record, but by the time I'm done with my Lean Eating year, I don't want to have a program that I can use, I want to have built a lifestyle that I can easily live for the rest of my life.

And now, I'll stop waxing poetic and run the numbers:

Measurements:
Only good news here, once again.  The addition of the Withings wi-fi scale to the mix has helped kick things back into gear again for me.  See, for a very long time, I've always done my personal weigh-in's on Friday.  So, I want to have a good number then.  Lean Eating has me weighing in on Saturdays -- so, no cheating Friday night.  And the Withings website goes by a calendar week that ends on Sunday -- so if I want to hit my weekly goal, I can't go crazy on Saturday, either.  And so now the weekends, when I used to gain back most of the weight that I lost over the week, are now just like every other day.  

Workouts
A decent week for me.  Things got off track immediately with the migraine on Monday, but I rallied back as the week went on, and I ended this week with two days of awesome training.  Feels good.

Habits
A little more, a little better is the phrase for this two week period and I've been trying to take it to heart.  I'm working on habits that, if I can successfully master them, will be the foundation of the rest of my life (not much hyperbole here, eh?).  Top of the list has been eating slowly, and while this one still proves to be difficult for me, being mindful of it has been helpful.

Intermittent Fasting
Yup, still doing it.  I'm telling you, this has been the change that's made the most impact for me.  Simply by limiting the hours that I'm eating to 8-10 hours a day, it's been easier to stay away from the crap food and drop some of the weight.

Habit Log
Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic
Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly
Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full
Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal
Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day
Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices
Weeks 13-14: Plan Meals
Weeks 15-16: Log all food
Weeks 17-18: Create a sleep ritual
Weeks 19-20: Drink only zero calorie beverages
Weeks 21-22: Use targeted recovery strategies
Weeks 23-24: Eat only whole foods
Week 25: No new habits (work on the previous ones)
Week 26:  A little more, a little better

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

My new toy

Yea, I got a new toy to play with ... it's a scale!  WOOT! 

(no one has ever accused me of being normal)

Okay, it's more than just a scale -- it's the Withings Smart Body Analyzer scale and it's really cool.  It's all sleek and modern looking and it talks to my computer (well, technically, it talks to my network, but I won't bore you with details) and reports my weight, heart rate and other fun stuff every time I step on it.

And then I can see my stats in beautiful graphs online (and on the Android app, of course). And seriously, folks -- the website that Withings has is pretty dang good.  I'm a fan.

I didn't buy a wi-fi enabled scale for a long time because it seemed to be overkill -- I mean, it's not like I lack the brain cells to weigh myself in the morning and then remember that number until I get in front of a computer.  But, what I found was that on days when I weighed myself and I didn't like the number it spat back at me?  I wouldn't record it. I'd only record the weights where it was lower than the last time I recorded it.

This scale keeps me honest.  It's virtual accountability because somehow it makes a difference to me when I see the graph of my weight every day. And when the graph goes up, it makes me want to make choices to cause that number to go down.  I'm not getting fixated on what the scale tells me (there are better ways to measure progress), but knowing that the feedback is out there really does prod me into making better choices.

I've had it for about two weeks now and the novelty hasn't worn off yet -- it still might -- but the Withings web site keeps me coming back.  It breaks down all the stats and keeps track of your main goal and then breaks it out into weekly goals. It's one thing to say "I'm going to lose 10 pounds by summer" and another thing for an app/website to remind you each week what you're trying to accomplish, telling you how far you have to go, congratulate you when you hit your goal and even moving your end date around, depending on your progress.

And another upside to it -- it also integrates with a number of other websites, like Fitbit.com and MyFitnessPal.com.  And that integration is another form of accountability -- with it also posting results to MFP, I know that my pals over there are going to see it! Pressure!  

And I like all that. I think it's been a good investment so far and if it keeps pushing me to do better (like the new habit this week:  a little more, a little better), then it's worth the money.

So...

Pros:  automatically updates via wi-fi after weigh-in, Withings website is impressive at presenting data and managing goals (especially since I also have the Pulse to feed data into it), virtual accountability via updates to other affiliated websites, is at least as accurate as my last scale (for a week, they were always within .5 pounds of each other)

Cons:  surface could possibly become marred if harsh cleaning chemicals are used on it, when I tried to use it on carpet (using the add-on feet made for that purpose), the scale calculated my weight as 30 pounds lighter (which, sure, is awesome, but unfortunately not correct)


Tuesday, January 14, 2014

New Habit Monday: A Little More, A Little Better (and a day late)

I'm only a day late (but not a dollar short).  Yesterday was completely swallowed up by a pretty fierce migraine headache -- for the first time in awhile, meds didn't help and it was quite a ride before it was over.  Today I've got the after-headache headache (which is like the after-party party except without the fun ... it's actually more like the after-party party hangover), but I'm mostly recovered.

Onto the matter at hand -- the new habit!  In the spirit of Lean Eating trying to launch us from the nest and get us thinking on our own, we are supposed to concentrate on picking a habit and then doing "A little more, a little better".  So, if I usually eat 3 servings of vegetables a day, I might focus on getting the full 5 servings.  Or if I don't get enough sleep, I could choose to make sure to get to bed earlier.  And I can pick a different habit every day or pick just one and stick with it. It's all in the effort to more consistently follow the guidelines that will lead me to a healthy lifestyle.

I like this one.  Like last week, which was "do anything you want" week, it plays into getting me to think more about real life. I need to figure out how these Lean Eating tenets will form a solid foundation that will allow me to live and eat and play without even thinking about it.  Work on the habits until they become (duh) habitual.

There are a few I'm going to concentrate on.  First -- eating slowly.  I only sporadically pay attention to this one, and it's all too easy to sit down with a full plate of food and then POOF! it's gone. How'd that happen? Just taking my time and, you know, tasting my food helps me make better decisions about my hunger level.

Second, I'm going to go back and do the food recording.  That habit happened during the week where my grandma's health failed and she passed away, so I didn't really do it the right way.  I'm not worrying about calories at all, but just keep track of everything that goes in my mouth so I can get a true picture of what could be improved.

Third -- and this is the habit/practice that is possibly the most critical -- simply be mindful.  Don't shut my brain off when I'm shopping and I want cookies.  Just think about it. Do I really want the cookies?  Or, more to the point, do I really want the setback that those cookies represent (because you know I'm not just having a few, I'm eating the whole box)?  MINDFUL.  That's the key to everything.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Sunday Funday: Week 25 Review

Before the snow and cold got too bad,
Belle got to play a little fetch (her favorite thing!)
What an absolutely crazy weather week.  Last Sunday dumped a (metaphorical) ton of snow on us.  The high temperature on Monday and Tuesday was well below zero (with windchills around -40*F), and then by Thursday it's raining.  While rain isn't my favorite, I'll say that I definitely like it more than the 18" of snow plus dangerous cold. Both Belle and Clarke totally agree with me.

It's been a good, positive week around these parts for me.  I'm starting to feel like this is all starting to click into place.  As much as I hate to admit it, I think the lesson about the photo shoot pushed me to really consider what I was doing and why and how I needed to finish this out.

Another geek-like purchase:  I got a wifi-enabled scale.  Right now I weigh myself close to every day, but only record it when it's good.  This way, every time I'm on the scale, it gets sent online for me to look at.  I think this is going to keep me more accountable on the weekends, which is when I tend to "cheat" because my weekly measurements are out of the way and I've got 7 days before I have to do it again.  Perhaps I'll review it here later this week.

And anyway, enough chit chat...

Measurements
Only good news here.  My weight is down far enough that I've officially lost 10+ pounds since I started.  WaHOOOOOO! The number on the scale isn't the only metric I care about, but it's where I'll see the most immediate progress.  Measurements were about the same as last week.

Workouts
This was a "do whatever you like" week.  Work out hard, do the same workouts, relax and do nothing at all ... up to me.  I trained every day except Friday (and I doubled up on Saturday to make up for the skipped Friday).  I strength-trained three times and did cardio the other days -- felt good.

Intermittent Fasting
This is back on track and feeling good.  Because of my schedule and a marathon dog training session last night that lasted until my bedtime, I didn't have dinner and ended up fasting for 21 hours (and doing my morning workout in a fasted state).  And you know what? It wasn't so bad. There were times when I felt a pang of hunger, but it passed and then everything was fine.  Remember:  hunger is not an emergency.

Habits
This weeks habit was no new habits! The official line was to take a look back at the previous habits and perhaps work on some of the ones that were more troublesome for us. I opted to just eat healthy, work out every day and basically treat this week as if it were the rest of my life.  And things were good.

Habit Log
Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic
Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly
Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full
Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal
Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day
Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices
Weeks 13-14: Plan Meals
Weeks 15-16: Log all food
Weeks 17-18: Create a sleep ritual
Weeks 19-20: Drink only zero calorie beverages
Weeks 21-22: Use targeted recovery strategies
Weeks 23-24: Eat only whole foods
Week 25:  No new habits (work on the previous ones)

Saturday, January 11, 2014

I did what??

I spatchcocked a chicken today!  I bet not many people can claim the same thing...

And it was very tasty! Recently I've started to eat meat obtained only from animals that were humanely treated and not fed hormones and antibiotics.  I initially made the switch mostly for ethical reasons (I read an article that I probably shouldn't have read ... but that's not something I'm going to get on a soapbox about here) but was completely surprised to find that the taste and quality were much better than what I was used to getting from my local Target or Jewel.

I've been getting my meat from two different sources:  Whole Foods (because they rate their meat based on how the animals were treated) and from Wallace Farms (thanks for the recommendation, Janet!), which is a family farm located in Iowa that has a distribution centers here in Illinois.  And yes, it kind of sucks having to make specials trips just to do my meat shopping, but we all have our #firstworldproblem burdens to bear.

Honestly, I never thought I'd taste a difference -- my palate isn't all that discriminating and I'm not drawn to high-brow food or anything like that. I gotta figure that if I consider Kraft American singles to be pretty tasty cheese, then it's not like I can claim to only want the finer foods in life.  But - surprisingly - there is quite a difference.  I suspect that if you catch your local supermarket just at the right time with the right cut of meat, it could be as good, but I haven't had anything from Whole Foods or Wallace Farms that I even thought was just average, much less subpar. And that's certainly happened more than once with supermarket meat.

Is it worth all the extra money?  Maybe.  Maybe not?  I suppose it depends on your budget and beliefs and the availability of choice in your neighborhood and even whether it's something that you think tastes better than the supermarket alternative.  For me, I'm convinced that this is something I want to add into my lifestyle.  It means that I don't buy as much meat, but what I do have, I thoroughly enjoy.  And one bonus for me -- because of the cost, I will *never* let it go bad and not use it.  I'm notorious for buying food and letting it go bad sitting in the fridge, sadly waiting for me to do something with it, but when I'm paying sometimes as much as double the cost for a cut of meat, you can bet that I'll be going all Julia Childs on it. 

So, what started out as me getting on a moral high horse, ended with me simply opting to pay more for something that I think tastes better, morals be damned.  It's a happy coincidence that both my morals and my taste buds like the same thing. 


Thursday, January 9, 2014

Strike a pose/Vogue

The other day my lesson for the day brought up the idea of scheduling a professional photo shoot at the end of May for my final photo submission.

Um, yea.  Let that sink in for a moment.  Professional photo shoot.

My first reaction was "la la la la I can't hear you LA LA LA LA" ... as I ran away from the computer.

My second reaction was pretty much a repeat of my first.  As was the third and fourth reaction.

By the fifth reaction, I was able to at least read the entire article -- progress. 

I haven't been swayed, but I'm willing to keep the book open on the suggestion and give myself a little more time to mull it over.

See, if in 5 months I've hit all my goals, then a photo shoot could be pretty awesome. But it goes without saying that if I don't make the progress that I'm happy with, a photo shoot could be emotionally difficult to deal with.

The problem is that I should be confident that I'll look the way I want by May 31st.  I'm doing the right things, I'm making the healthy decisions, the outcomes should follow.  But there's still that voice in my head that doesn't believe that I can do this.  THAT'S what I need to work on -- that voice.  Ironically, the voice that says I can't do this is the one thing that could actually keep me from being successful.

I understand the importance of living the dream -- that you become the reality that you envision.  And I completely get how negative thinking can derail progress.  That any seed of doubt can be my undoing.  But that doesn't stop the voice and the pit-of-my-stomach feeling that I'm going to fail.  The "why bother?" voice that tells me that I shouldn't get my expectations up.

So, the photo shoot?  That's one thing.  What I really need to work on is the fact that there's a part of me that doesn't think I'll ever be ready for a photo shoot.



Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Is it Friday yet?

Long day.  Commute into work was longer on both sides of the day due to leftover weather considerations from the Polar Vortex that swept through.  Not a bad day, though -- just long.  I'm just sitting down now (it's 7:39pm) and it's almost my bedtime.  I'm working on tiring out the dogs -- Belle playing fetch and Clarke with a bone -- so that they won't harbor any ideas about keeping me up tonight.

Coming up soon here -- a comparison of the Fitbit One vs. Withings Pulse.  Also a note on the lesson that popped up for today.  All things to look forward to!

And with that, good-night.  Sleep well and wake up excited for another day.

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Small change with big meaning

At the halfway mark, Lean Eating pulled a very subtle switcheroo on us -- in the section where we get our green "You did good!" checkmarks, it went from being entitled "My Compliance" to "My Consistency".

My very first screen shot of my checkmarks
I have to admit -- had my coach not pointed that out in her weekly video message, I wouldn't have noticed.  It goes along with the unsupervised week and the mindset shift that I should be experiencing, going from simply obeying whatever they tell me, to knowing how to live a healthy life and doing my best to practice those habits consistently. Because consistency is really the key to success, right? It's not that you exercise once, it's that you do a little every day.  It's not that you pass up the cheesecake one night at dinner but eat like crap the rest of the time, it's that each day you consistently make choices that support your goals and lifestyle (though sometimes that includes a slice of cheesecake!).
Up to date checkmarks!

Tricky, tricky Precision Nutrition! I kind of scoffed at the change initially, but it's really growing on me. I really like the idea of switching from following all the rules to figuring out how the rules fit into real life.  This isn't a year-long program, it's the rest of my life, ya know?  And learning the habits and doing the mental work has made big changes, but it's still a matter of implementing in a way that will allow me to continue being consistent for years into the future.

(On another note -- look at all those green checkmarks! Go, me!)

So, here's to having all the puzzle pieces ... now it's time to put them all together.

Monday, January 6, 2014

New Habit Monday: There are no new habits!

Surprise! It's like a midterm exam:  LE is letting us completely loose for the week!  No assigned workouts, no new habit, no nutritional guidelines.  As they say, you don't have to have a program to be active, a diet to eat healthy or big brother to keep you accountable -- real life isn't going to be like that, so why not practice real life for awhile, right?

I'm curious to see how this goes.  As far as the workouts go, I'm going to nail it. I'll keep to the same basic structure -- 3 strength training sessions, 2 HIIT workouts, 1 longer cardio workout -- but only do stuff that I like doing.  In other words, side planks?  Not on my agenda. Shoulder press?  Not for me!  Lots of whole-body compound movements:  squats, deadlifts, benchpress, split squats, pushups and perhaps a regular plank or two.

Nutrition will be "easy" -- mostly what I've already been doing.  Most meals are pretty clean, some meals aren't, but the most important thing will be to go back to the foundations and eat slowly and don't eat too much.  If I can do those two things, life will be good. The proof will be in the measurements on Saturday, or as we like to say here in the Lean Eating world, the proof is in the pudding you don't eat.

We'll see what else LE springs on us this week -- I can't imagine that they'll just leave us entirely alone for a full 7 days, but who knows?  Maybe they trust us now?

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Sunday Funday: Week 24 Review

All of my lovely green checkmarks
It's a big week in the LE world:  this is their metaphorical halfway mark. "Metaphorical" since it makes their "year" of coaching only 48 weeks (which isn't quite the 52 weeks that make up an actual year) (so close, though!). The coaching does last a full year, but measurements are done on an abbreviated schedule to allow for final photos to be submitted and winners to be picked before the program ends.

Nice to know about this, though -- I only have until May 31st to get myself in prize-winning shape!

Measurements
To celebrate being halfway through a Lean Eating year, I had get on the scale, take measurements, snap photos and have someone pinch my fat to get my skinfold measurements. Since I wasn't really expecting to do this for another 2 weeks (since I usually operate on a standard year), this wasn't as big a change from last time as I would have liked (it doesn't seem fair to have this RIGHT after the holidays).  Still - everything moved in the right direction.  And for the first "6 months", here are my stats:

  • weight down 9.4 pounds
  • 14.7 inches lost, with my waist and hips seeing the biggest loss
  • skinfold measurements dropped 40.4mm
  • body fat is down 5.32%
  • 11 pounds of fat mass are gone
Workouts
My resolution to focus and get these done is working so far.  I'm feeling all empowered and proud of myself for making the time for these.  I've gotten back to running (a little) and even got back on my bike and spun away on the trainer for awhile.  Feels good.

Habits
Eating only whole foods is the current habit, and I admit that I haven't been very committed to doing this.  Most of my meals are good, but without a lot of inconvenience I can't make that happen -- and frankly, I'm not into inconvenient things right now.

Intermittent Fasting
I got out of the habit for a few days and it was a touch difficult to get back in gear. Found myself pretty hungry -- but as I've learned before, hunger is not an emergency, at least not when I know lunch is waiting for me in another hour or so.  And this is still going a long way to curbing impulse eating.

Habit Log:
Weeks 1-2: Fish oil and probiotic
Weeks 3-4: Eating slowly
Weeks 5-6: Stop eating at 80% full
Weeks 7-8: Lean protein with every meal
Weeks 9-10: 5 servings of vegetables a day
Weeks 11-12: Make smart carb choices
Weeks 13-14: Plan Meals
Weeks 15-16: Log all food
Weeks 17-18: Create a sleep ritual
Weeks 19-20: Drink only zero calorie beverages
Weeks 21-22: Use targeted recovery strategies
Weeks 23-24: Eat only whole foods




Saturday, January 4, 2014

Oops

Boy, not even 2 days into my whole New Year's Resolution thing to post daily and I didn't get anything written for yesterday!  I wish it had at least taken a bit longer for this to happen, but what can I say -- my day got away from me.  Until I got home around 8:40pm, I hadn't done anything more than stop in twice, not sitting down long enough to do anything, much less post here.  I know -- excuses, excuses...

Other than the slip-up yesterday, I've been doing well on the resolutions.  I'm excited about them; instead of being wholesale changes to the way I do things, they're just extensions of what I've been doing since I started this LE thing and it's got me all amped up to have put them down in writing and start holding myself accountable.  I know it's still early in my resolutionist year, but I think I set things up right this time around.

One resolution that I thought would be easy that's proving challenging is keeping the TV off more often.  Take today for example:  I was up early, got my run in, showered, did all my LE measurements and photos, walked the dogs, went grocery shopping, started laundry, made bacon and eggs for breakfast, had my skinfold measurements done AND had a training session (whew!).  So now -- early afternoon -- when I sit down on the couch?  I feel like I deserve to watch some college basketball (which is what I would normally do).  I worked hard today!  Of course, I still had this blog post to write and I want to read a chunk of my book -- both things that would be ignored in favor of watching sports.  So this has been taking more conscious effort, but it's been good (though I think my dogs miss college basketball... perhaps I should turn it on for them...).

How are your resolutions coming along?  Did you make any this year?

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Should you do it?

I've had a few friends ask me, "So, should I sign up for Lean Eating?  Is it worth the money? How much of a kickback are you getting for recommending them?"

Okay, okay... so the last question hasn't come up, but the other two certainly have (and to be clear:  no, I get no money from them if I sign people up ... I have a give, give, give relationship with Precision Nutrition). And whenever I'm asked, I kind of chase myself around in verbal circles attempting to articulate my opinions.

After some time thinking it through, my rock solid answer is:  MAYBE.

(you thought this would be easy?  do I ever make things easy?)

The program in and of itself is nothing too revolutionary.  You get a new habit every two weeks.  You work out 5-6 days a week.  You eat healthy food.  Hard to believe, but if you follow healthy habits, sweat a little and eat good-for-you food, you become a more fit individual!  Amazing!  

For some, the habits and structure of the program are worth it.  If you haven't much introduction to the gym or to how to pick foods that are nourishing and not junk, this is an awesome program.  Tons of support and everything pretty much laid out for you.  Their whole motto is that as a client you shouldn't be "worrying and wondering", you should just be doing your best to be consistent with what they tell you to do.

But, if you have been an athlete and have been taught how to put together a healthy meal, the recommendation becomes much more ambiguous.  You're not doing it expressly for the knowledge -- while good, it wouldn't be impossible to put together on your own -- but more for the support system they set up around the structure.

Let me lay out why I think this was a good idea for me, perhaps that'll help explain:

Even though I'm pretty experienced in terms of training and nutrition, I like the structure. It's nice not having to think about things.  That doesn't mean that I always do what I'm supposed to do, but when I stray, it's always there to nudge me back on track. I can always go back to the foundation habits -- eat to 80%, eat slowly -- and the workout schedule is laid out so I can just go into the basement and get things done.

I really like that there's no calorie counting.  I've been successful in the short-term logging all my food, but find that I can't sustain the effort and when I stop, all hell breaks loose. I like the idea of learning a lifestyle that will keep me fit and active long after the program has ended.

I like the accountability.  Having a coach is good -- though as I talked about in my other post, I haven't taken advantage of that -- but more than that is the small Google+ group that I belong to.  We chitchat via our Google Community all the time, talking about ideas, asking questions, offering support and tossing out cries for help when necessary. We meet using Google+ Hangouts about once a week, and that just furthers the connection that I have with these women.  Having them there makes me want to make good decisions and get things done so that I'm not all "yea, I'm a slug" at every video call (peer pressure really works on me!).

The other ancillary support systems are valuable as well.  The forums are fairly well trafficked and coaches and mentors are always around to answer questions.  The mentors, who are assigned smaller groups than the coaches, are good at keeping in touch.  And the wider Precision Nutrition community has a wealth of information, too.  You won't have a question or a cry for support go unanswered as long as you voice it.

The mental work is really quite good, though there's not much to force you to do it.  I'm guilty of sometimes not putting in the energy when I should, but when I do make the effort, I get results in the form of a better understanding of myself. Sometimes the work is challenging, sometimes it's downright frightening, but I find that if I can push through the discomfort, then I reap the rewards.

So, what's my verdict?  I'm glad I'm doing it -- it keeps me honest and I'm learning a lot about myself. Could I have done it on my own?  Sure, except that I hadn't with any consistency and so "on my own" wasn't working for me. Is it for everyone?  Nope. I think there are plenty of people who could do this without the hand-holding. But, I think if you have mental/emotional issues in regards to food, then it could be valuable.  Also, if you lack motivation to do things on your own, Lean Eating can be the push you need to be successful, but - again - you have to do the work. It's awfully easy to kind of skate through the program without putting in much effort, but that doesn't usually translate into success.  The program isn't magical (which was disappointing!), so you have to want it and make it a priority.

I guess my bottom line is that just about any system that involves training more and eating better will work if you can sustain it and transform it into a lifestyle.  Lean Eating is just another system, but unique in the support system that it provides -- and I believe that success is well within reach as long as you're willing to do the work to get there.

Any questions?  

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

New year, resolution time!

2014 Resolutions:  Be me, be happy.  Simple.

I’m looking forward to the new year -- don’t I always? -- but instead of a lot of new things to do, most of what I’m planning are continuations from last year, working on myself and writing my own personal Owner’s Manual.

Not a lot of rhetoric, just laying out some guidelines for the rest of the year (really:  the rest of my life).
  1. Focus on the last 6 months of Lean Eating.  I’m paying for it, I shouldn’t ignore it or skate by and not do the mental and physical work involved to make the program a success. It’s completely up to me -- the program gives me the tools, but I still have to do the heavy lifting.
  2. Start posting on my blog daily again.  I don’t always feel like I’ve got a lot to say (or what I’m saying is at all interesting), but making it a daily habit keeps me focused on where I’m headed and what I’m trying to accomplish.  It’s another form of being held accountable.
  3. Attend at least two Lean Eating Google Hangouts a month.  I always have a small amount of dread before the video calls with my Lean Eating pals -- I really don’t enjoy talking through that medium for so long -- but like training, I never regret having done it. Creating a connection between friends who are going through the same thing will be a big factor in my success.
  4. Schedule at least one call with Coach Veronica.  Because she’s got about 300 clients to work with, there’s not a lot of individual attention from her unless you ask for it.  I have a tendency to think, “I don’t have any big issues, I shouldn’t bother her…”, but, of course, I’m paying to be allowed to bother her.  And from everyone I’ve talked to, she’s an amazing person one-on-one and it’s a resource that I should definitely be taking advantage of.  This also falls under the heading of “Asking for help even when I don’t think I should be bothering someone”.
  5. Read 20 books.  This shouldn’t be difficult -- I really enjoy reading.  The only barrier to doing it is finding the time. And the time isn’t the issue as much as turning off the distractions.  I’m thinking of creating a reading nook in the house, where the TV and computer won’t be able to lure me in.
  6. Do more dog training.  I really want well-trained dogs who will always obey a recall and act cute on command (not that they aren’t always cute!).  Belle’s a bit of a bully, and that needs to be stopped in its tracks, and Clarke is just a weird dog with weird habits that need to be corralled as best as possible.  As much trouble as they can be, though, I wouldn’t give either of them up for the world. They’re both good dogs, just have some quirks that are going to drive me to drink.
  7. Journal, follow progress of goals and write just a little about each day.  I’ve been doing this since November and have found that it helps me to get things out of my brain before going to sleep.  The payback is more valuable than the few minutes a night I spend doing it. And looking at my goals every day will be good for me.  I don’t want to lose sight of what’s important to me.
  8. 5k steps on weekdays, 10k steps on weekend.  I have both a FitBit and Withings Pulse to keep my tech geek brain occupied for the next few months.  This isn’t “real” training, but being cognizant of how much I’ve moved over the course of the day seems to make me want to move more to hit specific goals. And - honestly - this will be a stretch goal for me during the winter.  In the summer I get out a lot with the pups, but when it’s bitter cold, windy and snowy, neither me or the dogs want to be out there.
  9. TV can go on no earlier than 6pm on weekdays.  There is nothing on before that time that needs to be watched.  Instead, read, listen to music or work on the computer (computer time must be reading or writing or working… not just browsing Facebook).  Frankly, cut down on TV time altogether as well.  There is very little on TV that’s going to change my life if I don’t watch it.
  10. Do a month of not falling asleep to the TV as an experiment.  I’ve always turned on the TV when going to bed, putting the timer on and letting it lull me to sleep. However, there is research out there that shows that even if you’re not watching the TV, the light emanating from it causes your sleep to be less restful. So - reading and music will become part of my bedtime ritual.  Can’t hurt to try.
  11. More music!  Because music is just the most awesome thing in the world. Just like I forget that working out makes me feel good, I forget that listening to music really lifts my mood. It really is amazing the effect it has on me:  I relax, can get lost in the beat and lyrics, let go of whatever was bothering me.  And singing along -- LOUDLY! -- is a great stress reliever (as much as it might cause stress for those who have to listen to me).
Really, this list is just another expression of “be me, be happy”.  Which, I think is going to be my motto for every year from now on.  I really can’t go wrong if that’s what I’m striving for, right?  Welcome, 2014. It's gonna be a good one.