A gymbunny, I will be » Ruminations

Moving on from my comfort zone.

thegymbunny — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:17:57 +0000

Since starting my weight loss journey in March 2009, I have lost 14-16kg (without/with carb water retention). Working out with EJ brought me great success, E was genuinely concerned with my meal plan and weight loss progress, it felt real, his motivation each time a kg was lost kept me going. The programme was fun, the people (K, A, the two Js, the three Cs) all kept me motivated and raring to go. There was an anticipation each time I went for to the gym, people gave a damn. Somewhere along the way, I lost my footing and was sidelined by bad eating habits, not enough consistence with my workout routine which well, became routine. E left and was replaced by C and to be honest, it just is not the same. The sense of camaraderie is lost by no fault of C and coupled by my general boredom with the programme, things have not changed. No one is interested anymore with what or how I do which loses an accountability and mostly, I no longer am motivated by my work out routine. Also, I am more interested in things that I could not do before – hiking, climbing, cycling, running etc. Yes, all steady state cardio which conflicts what I do in my regular workout but, serves as a good distraction.

Made a difficult call to E to ask him for his valued opinion because I fear leaving a routine that has brought me so much success. I related my concerns to him because I truly care what he feels and feels as he was instrumental in my weight loss. Even now, he was so helpful and addressed the concerns that I had. Now, I will look to sit or attend another session at the potential new place and make my choice before the month is out.

Image courtesy of Google Images and remains right of image owner.

OSIM 2010 Triathlon Post Event

thegymbunny — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 14:00:09 +0000

I FINISHED ! ! !

Not my bike but, two neighbours down. Made my morning WAY better.

The day begun with a rough start, it is the little things – I was horned at by an impatient driver while attempting a turn from the side street, within ten minutes of arriving I met two people that I did not care to meet at all again in my life, I felt lonely because I didn't have someone to help guide me along, blah blah blah.

Attempted to block it all out and made friends with my transition neighbour, Mich who was doing her first mini as well. Talking to her distracted me from all the bad stuff and I prepared myself to race.

Swim I arrived late and completely forgot what everyone had advised – to start from the left side of the rope, swim further out so you escape the melee. The stragglers were holding on to the ropes and I used all my energy to swim past them unsuccessfully. Each time i tried, the waves would push further into them and the ropes. Still rather sore about that, if it's the first leg of the race and you are holding on for dear life, perhaps you should reconsider racing to begin with. I wasted alot of time there.

Cycling – I half ran into the transition area, grabbed my bike and walked it to begin my cycle and just went balls to the wall. I caught up with a couple people there but the 10K seemed endless. Truly endless, I was sore even before I got to halfway point. The way back had wicked crosswinds, I felt like I was strolling but my thighs gave it all I got.

Running- I walked into the transition area to return my bike, walked out the transition area accidentally and then had to walk back in to get out of the running route. Walked half the run because my legs were just jelly. At the halfway mark, I decided to do intervals which is what I was used to training for. Ran with full force towards the finish line, I just had to.

Like J says, your goal is to complete it. Period. It is your first race, that should be your goal and I definitely completed it. Gymbunnies K and J were super sweet to sacrifice their regular Sat workout to support me. Thank you AGAIN! :)

Expectedly, I loved it. If I knew what it was going to be like, I would totally run intervals all the way, get a watch and monitor my breaks instead of walking half of it because my legs were jelly. The race was crucial in teaching me to push my limits. I have to get stronger mentally because I know that I am physically capable of so much more.

There's a 40K cycle race coming up and I am considering signing up. It would be so much easier to train for, so many things to learn. Back to my running programme on Tuesday and working out with CJ on Monday.

OSIM 2010 Triathlon Pre-Race

thegymbunny — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 15:23:41 +0000

Well hello. The deal is sealed. For real. Once you pick up your race pack, you are competing. OSIM 2010 is a fine tuned machine, lots of years of experience, everything down to a T.

Step 1: You sign up, pay and receive an email confirmation as well as notice information on when to expect to pick up your race pack

Step 2: You receive an email which gives you two days from 11am till 9pm to pick up your race pack

Step 3: You arrive, you are immediately greeted at the door and directed to the right queue.

Step 4: You collect your race pack, everything packed neatly and you can change the size of the dri-fit even.

A lot of volunteers to pick up on so much as a doubtful glance. Very encouraging to not feel lost. I'll review the race and post-race after this weekend.

Oh. The purpose of this post:

My take on it is this. Imagine running at 9.30 in the blooming morning, insanely hungry and you run behind this girl with "cupcake" as her tag. You would totally be lusting after a cupcake, get distracted and perhaps even DNF (did not finish) just so you can satisfy that craving. Don't underestimate the power of suggestion. That, and I really love cupcakes and didn't have the chutzpah to put down "gymbunny"

The failure – V Diet

thegymbunny — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 09:49:11 +0000

I am part of the statistics. At 2.20pm this afternoon, a leg of roasted chicken was my downfall. Sitting down in a balmy food centre, I felt a twinge of guilt for all of a second and it was followed by balance in the world. In defence of the diet, I failed because, I had a nagging headache which did not go away inspite of medicating twice a day. Coupled with an pre-existing condition, I didn't want to risk downing painkillers and have bad gastric reflux issues. Day 3, I was ready to throw in the towel. I can feel lyposis happening because, I'm going through water bottles like a marathon runner and my tummy feels considerably flatter.

With the end of this short attempt, I am grateful because, I am now back on track for my old diet – high protein, x 5 meals, no sugared drinks at all (black coffee/green tea), at least 2litres of water and more attention to how much I am sleeping.

V for VERY insane Velocity Diet

thegymbunny — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 12:39:24 +0000

Resolutely sick with my plateau which is a result of not working out at full intensity and not being 100%. Deeper down, it is a loss of focus. E was such a great trainer in that he knew exactly how to motivate. We started bets, he checked on me regularly, he gave me reasons to be better, to want more.

Unfortunately, his departure coincides with a failure in getting back to my workout routine. In this bid for fitness, I have earned the desire to learn new things – I started a running programme, signed up for a 5K, a mini triathlon, went climbing and completed it!, woken up more mornings in 2009 than I have ever had all my life, I work out without fail at least x 1 a week (not sufficient for weight loss/fitness) which is not what I can say about most people.

MB started a biggest loser-esque bet with me and right now, he is at -7kg and I'm at -2kg (even this is doubtful because, I've started eating carbs so my water weight retention averages 2-3kg). Aside the need to win this, I also have to break out of this and here comes in the crazy part. After hearing it from K, I've done some research and decided to give this a whirl. 28 days and my commitment. The hardest part of this, should be in the social aspect of this. I have 1 healthy meal a week to eat.

What is it?

The Velocity Diet is for all intents and purposes, a liquid diet based on supplements to provide the nutrients that the body needs. The diet is four weeks of protein shakes x 5 times a day with one healthy solid meal (HSM) a week. Uh huh, not a day. A week. The purpose of this diet is to lose as much fat as possible without losing muscle.

Pros of the Velocity Diet

1. If done right, it breaks bad eating behaviour and changes your taste preferences

I recall going off Coke Cola when I first started working out with E and, when I finally started drinking soft drinks again, they all tasted like simple syrup. Yuck.

2. It is not a starvation diet.

Low calorie diets are < 800 calories and below. My recommended caloric intake while on the V diet is 1,400 on non work out days and 1,800 on work out days. That is about the same as my usual low carb, high protein meal plan which worked wonders for me except socialising took up a bigger chunk of my life. Plus, you are literally eating every 3hours of so (oh help me!)

3. More of everything

It is filled with more protein per pound of lean body weight, high in healthy fats – lots of Omega 3, lots of fiber (Mmm)

4. Weight Loss

Need I say more? I have to do this, and I'm a naturally obssessive person (ignore this paragraph if you are a guy is interested in or currently dating me..need to know basis, buddy!) so I need a distraction from my social life right now. I could do with less social and more grunting if it means I am going to do be stronger and fitter in 28 days.

Cons of the Velocity Diet

1. Social Outcast

Say goodbye to one's social life, at least for 28 days. I mean, how would you go for a family dinner and dish out your protein shaker and, mmm with the best of them? Not very likely. Possibly but not likely, I am not as hardcore as Coach J. Not yet.

2. High barrier to success

You have to ignore one of the most natural instincts in the world – the instinct to EAT…to gnaw on a leg of roasted chicken. Not sure if anyone did a study of people who endevour on this diet but after reading all the reviews and accounts online, it is safe to say that at least 90% of the people give up in the first week. Making Week 1 is key!

3. Dodgy bowel-esque action

With the absence of food, there is only so much a fiber supplement can um, well supplement.

4. High Start Up Costs

You fork out $ for protein powders, BCAA, fish oil capsules etc. It is not a cheap outlay but it is likely cheaper than eating real food.

Interested in my progress? I am too. Stick around and find out. I'll be starting a weekly measurements, weight loss log basically charting how I feel on the diet. Now, onto the last supper.

Relevant Links:

Velocity Diet 3.0 (T-Nation)

Velocity Diet Review by Coach Dan John

Velocity Diet Training Log by Ratko

The icon of fashion

thegymbunny — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 03:41:54 +0000

That is what I shall be come April. Picked up a Trek Vapor WSD helmet in pink/white. Dante is a delicious shade of noir. Told Ms K that I should use my neon green Nike sports bra and other assorted BRIGHT colours for race day. At least I'll stand out.

Pedal Powerrrrrrrr.

thegymbunny — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:40:34 +0000

Well hello there. Meet Dante. Aptly named after popular poet – Dante Alighieri who penned Dante's Inferno, part of the epic poem "Divine Comedy" We all know what kind of crotch action I will have after riding Dante.

She's meant for a non shorty but, alas I have laid eyes on her so she'll have to endure my tip toes until April. Fixed the front wheel in a jiffy after dismantling her for the ride home, and took her for the maiden ride around the 'hood. Spotted Annabelle's eyes glazed over in envy as I rode by her gate. Little annabelle is my 6 year old neighbour, how green is my valley!

Cost wise, I had to make a choice. Fork out $10 for rental per hour, twice a week at ECP, fork out another $60 on race day, deal with the dramatics of having to collecting and returning the bike on race day. For $300, on a popular cycling forum, she was mine. Now I need to pick up a cyclometer to track distance, and a helmet to make sure my pretty little blonde head stays pretty.

Did a quick check on googlemaps, the distance from my place to Changi Village apparently is a convenient 4.6KM (don't stalk me now!) which means, to and from would make the approximate distance I need for my race. Should I attempt that tomorrow?

Choices, choices, choices.

The Spam.

thegymbunny — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:44:28 +0000

The spam that has to be deleted every week is insane. I HAD to install captcha to make sure that the spammers have a harder time. I hope it works. What the hell. No one loves spam, unless it's pan fried to the crisp, paired with toast and drizzled with a generous serving of mayonaise.

Run, yo. Run.

thegymbunny — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:22:25 +0000

Three years ago when I was at my wits end, I had signed up for a shiny new gym membership at popular downtown gym. As part of the rehauling package, I purchased the Nike+ as inspiration to begin running. Almost two years later, I have run less than five measly times before boredom took rein. The downtown gym membership is now used for its showering facilities and has about 5 out of the original 36 months left. I must say, it’s a pretty expensive shower option.

For the newbies, I started working out with EJ (who are two people if I may clarify, two very handsome guys) ten months and I have lost about 15kg (33lbs) in the first 8 months. The challenge started with weight loss and now, to keep going I find myself having to put other challenges in place – fitness goal to keep the momentum going. As of this year, I decided to sign up for a mini triathlon (more of that in another entry) and start a running programme (Couch to 5K) mainly because, I think it is a great indicator of how my fitness is progressing. Which is a marked difference from using it to increase my fitness. Case in point: After running for the first time after 9 months of working out with EJ, I ran an average of 2-3km/h faster which is partially attributed to the weight loss and increase in fitness level. I mean, that’s pretty darn impressive especially since I do zero steady state cardio in my regular work out. Yes, you read that right, ZERO.

While at the Apple shop, I chanced upon a gadget (fancy container really) to hold the transmitter during my run. FYI, I haven’t managed to get my Nike+ to track the distance and speed. For some reason, it refuses to work in the background while I run my iPhone app for Couch 2 5K. i love the looks and the functionality of this particular app, I really much rather not look for another but I’ll try again this week and, hopefully smooth out the technical issues.

*adjusts thick black glasses*

Otherwise known as the bloat.

thegymbunny — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 07:28:39 +0000

Tis the season, or that time of the month rather. Actually, it is the time before the time of the month. Still with me, here? Well, in months past I have not noticed a weight gain during the monthly woes, more often than not they registered as a non loss as opposed to a weight gain because, I was actively working out. A couple days ago, I realised that my tummy was sticking out further than I care for, and truthfully I wondered if I had started to re-gain the weight back.

NOT ACCEPTABLE!

After weighing myself today, I realised that I have put on 2.5kg. I had carbs over the weekend so a bulk of it has to be a carb weight gain and at the same time, it is almost time so, it registered as a bigger "gain" than usual. My heart broke into little pieces, literally. I cannot imagine gaining weight, I HAVE to find a way to cut the BS and just do it. I worked out on Monday last week and I forgot to stretch which TOTALLY messed with my recovery. My calves are still hurtin’ Imagine that. How do you spell "WUSS"?

Excuse me while I cry in the corner.