A food addict's travels on the road to recovery.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Learning Lots

I went to the gym this morning and walked just over 2 miles. My knee still isn't back to normal yet, but it's a lot better than it was. Billie and I went back to the gym tonight at 7pm and learned all kinds of stuff from a personal trainer named Dell. This man is 59 years old, has 27 years of experience in body building, personal training and nutrtion. He's been Mr. Universe and won numerous other competitions around the word...Italy, Germany, Spain, etc.

I hate to say this, lol, but a lot of the stuff he told us is stuff my mother has been telling me every day....oh how it pains me to say that. I know you're reading this Mom...I hope you're basking in the glow. You deserve it. I don't give you enough credit. :)

Let's see....there's a lot of stuff we already knew....stuff like:

-It takes 3500 calories burned to lose 1 lb. of fat.
-Eat 5-6x a day.
-Protein, protein, protein.
-Water, water, water....at least (3-4) 32 oz. glasses a day.
-Toning requires less weight and more reps.
-Look for a 1-2 lb. loss weekly.
-Do the weight training/toning every other day.
-Do the cardio 5-6 days a week with one rest day.

Here's what I didn't know:

-Yellow squash (my fave) is a bad carb; zucchini is a good carb
-Always do your cardio (treadmill) BEFORE you eat ANYTHING.
-Cottage cheese is the absolute best protein you can eat.
-If you eat a snack after dinner, make it cottage cheese.
-Jogging is BAD...too hard on the joints, and it wastes energy...you get more of a workout from walking. That was a hard one to swallow.
-Change your daily calorie limit EVERY 2 WEEKS to keep the body guessing.
-Change your exercise routine EVERY 2 WEEKS to keep the body from stalling.
-If you're going to count calories, keep it between 1500-1800 to lose weight.
-He listed about 6 supplements you should take, but the only 3 I remember is 5HTP, flaxseed capsules, and green tea EXTRACT in capsule form.
-Have a cheat day ONCE A WEEK. I knew cheat days were okay once in a while to change things up and jolt the body, but I did not know they were okay once a week.
-Walk backwards on the treadmill to strengthen my screwed up knee. I saw a girl doing this yesterday, but thought she was just a weirdo, lol.

Half the time I was shaking my head "yes" at stuff I'd heard before....and the other half I was picking my jaw up off the floor...especially the thing about the yellow squash, lol. I can't believe I made it this far in life not knowing it was a "bad" carb. Which doesn't mean not eat it....just don't eat it as plentifully as you would eat zucchini. I always thought the 2 main veggies that fell under the "bad" carb list were corn and potatoes.

He is in such perfect shape that I just had to ask him if he ever eats fast food. He said yes, and that he eats at Waffle House all the time...today, in fact. My eyebrows raised, my jaw dropped, and I think I blurted out something like, "Are you effing kidding me??? The Awful Waffle???". He laughed and said it's all in the ordering. Today he had steamed hashbrowns and a couple of eggs cooked in cooking spray, not the regular oil of butter. First off, I had no idea they had cooking spray. And secondly, I had no idea you could request "steamed" hashbrowns. I seriously thought they fried everything. Tonight was a total learning experience for me and it was awesome.

We worked out on the machines when we were there last night, but tonight he showed us how to do them "correctly". I feel a big difference in the soreness tonight from the soreness last night. Last night, I had to much movement in my exercises on the machines...I was wasting energy, or something like that. Tonight the movements were much more compact, efficient, intense, with higher weight than I used last night. Last night I used 10 lbs of weight for everything...tonight he put us on 30, 40 and 50 lb weight for everything. Big difference, lol. HUGE. But it feels good. I'm glad I know how to do it right now.

I'm going to weigh in tmrw morning, and then Billie will be here at 8:30. She's working from home this week, so she's able to go with me in the morning BEFORE BREAKFAST. That will be a change. I've been told for so long to eat 30 minutes after I get up to kick in the metabolism. He said that is correct, if you're not going to do any cardio that day, or if you're able to do the cardio in the morning and not after work. We all know I have no job right now, so I'm supposed to get to the gym and get the treadmill in before I eat anything. He said the purpose of this is if you eat breakfast, the body will burn that first. If you don't, it goes right into burning the stored fat. Makes perfect sense to me.

I doubt I'll have time to do a post before I go to the gym, so I'll do it when I get back in, sometime between my household chores and my errands. The goal this week was to lose 1 lb so that I could show a loss 2 weeks in a row and start gaining some consistency, so that is what I'm hoping for. :)

Quote For the Day:

"Your goals, minus your doubts, equals your reality." -Ralph Marston

15 comments:

  1. Oh, the pain of having someone confirm that Mother knows best! I knew you'd figure it out one way or another. I've got a vendor with the best prices on the 5htp and green tea extract. Here goes another Mother knows best advice. Don't think I'd take a cap in flax seed oil. I have fresh, refrigerated that I'll share. Mix it with your cottage cheese!
    Love, Mom O.

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  2. Sounds like he was full of wisdom...that is great to have a resource like that! For me, I would have to disagree about the running v walking...I feel SO much better as a runner than I did as a walker and my health has improved as a result. But...I also believe that everyone is different. I am blood type O....which means intense aerobic activity is best for me (yeah....just my luck, huh?)...it also means no dairy (fought that for a while but I really do better without...sigh), no gluten (ditto), limited grains, and lots of meat. In the past 7 months my cholesterol went from 155 to 130 (HDL is 60 now....LDL and Tri both went down by 50%) and I have been eating red meat, eggs, ghee, coconut oil....someone with a different blood type might not do so well with this stuff but it suits me well. It is all fascinating to me. Dr. D'Adamo is definitely on to something and following his suggestions has really helped me feel better. I also just read three articles tonight about gluten and thyroid (hashimotos..which is what I have)...and how eating gluten can make thyroid conditions much worse. I think I have finally gotten it through my head to bid a final adieu to gluten...sniff sniff...it has been a long farewell.....

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  3. He had a lot to say!

    I exercise first and then eat when I'm hungry. I hate yellow squash, and now I can keep not liking it!! Aside from that I've heard a lot of what he said.

    The only thing that really jumped out at me was when he encouraged a Cheat Day. For me, the cheat day didn't work. See, in my mind, if I were having a cheat day, then there were foods that were off limits and I had to wait until I could have all of them in one day.

    I did much better learning to incorporate those "forbidden treats" into my diet in an appropriate way. Was I always perfect at this? NO!! But I did learn and get better over time.

    I'm so glad you got to use a personal trainer. How motivating!!

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  4. Huh. A lot of good information there. I totally didn't know that about the yellow squash either. Sad, 'cause I like that a lot, too. Oh well. And I think it sucks that cottage cheese is a perfect protein. I wish yogurt was. I've forced myself to like cottage cheese, but it's still definitely not my favorite.
    What he said about the running though sounds weird to me. I mean, obviously it's hard on your knees, so if they're already screwed up you shouldn't mess with that, but the part about wasting energy... Isn't that what you're trying to do when you exercise? Get rid of excess energy (aka calories)? I don't really see how walking is a better exercise for everyone either because for someone who's relatively fit, walking is not going to get their heart rate anywhere near where it needs to be for it to be effective exercise. Anywho, just my thoughts. I'm glad you're excited about your new membership and the information you learned.

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  5. On weight watchers yellow squash, ( I call butternut ) is free so I eat lots during the week and have managed to get to my goal weight.
    I run...and love it, found it has changed my body shape.
    He has good knowledge but think its his personal choices. I'm a trainer for over 30 years now and have my own way and belief - so stick to what he says for you as he's your trainer and one needs to have 100% trust in your trainer.
    I dont have cheat days...I fit them into my day...my points allowed if I feel the need.

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  6. Hi Tammy - Glad you're getting so much good info from Dell the trainer! I'm surprised about yellow squash, but it makes sense, given that any begetable that isn't green has a higher simple carb (simple sugar) content. I don't use it much, but will take it off the list. I'd like to know why cottage cheese is the best protein. I love it, but just curious. Anyway, I hope your knee continues to improve...mine is being a bugger, and I know the strength training move I did to screw it up. It's called the "ValGlide", after a California trainer who designed it, where you have have these slippery discs (oval shape and bigger than your feet) and you make skating moves with them. Anyway, I'm trying to be patient and not get too discourage when I can't do as much as I'm used to. I hope you have a wonderful weekend! Oh - we used to call the Waffle House the Awful House!

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  7. That sounds like good information. I think I will do my aerobics today before eating.

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  8. I agree with some of the things your trainer told you -- others, not so much.
    No such thing as "good" or "bad" carbs.
    Don't do cardio before you eat anything? Seriously? You MUST fuel your body before exercise. I eat a LUNA Bar / fiber / protein bar.
    I have a FREE (don't call it cheating as that's NOT what it is for me!) once every month or two. Once a week is asking for trouble, in my opinion.
    Best of luck to you! I'm you neighbour (sorta) just outside of Savannah.

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  9. I am so excited that you had a good trip at the gym. I did not know that squash was a bad carb either!!!

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  10. Thank you for explaining what he told you! When I asked my mom she said," He told us to buy his book and it has everything you ever wanted to know about anything"..... I was like it took you that long just for him to tell you that. Gee thanks mom for sharing so we can all do this. :raised eyebrow: Anywho, I'm glad you found out a lot of good info and thanks for sharing since some people aren't into sharing...*cough cough* LOL!

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  11. oh no, I didn't know that about yellow squash either!
    Well, I did my friday weigh-in today...all week I haven't been writing my foods down in a journal or planning them a day ahead thinking I am past that point now....
    I must go back to that! I gained 3 pounds this week. I'm so mad at myself that I can't post about it til Monday when I clear my head and get back on track.
    And this morning when I went for a mile jog then a mile walk, I came to the conclusion that I HATE running (why am I doing something I HATE?) so I'm going back to walking/playing tennis/stationary bike riding for cardio.
    I learned a lot from your post today :)
    Love it when I learn something new :)

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  12. Hi Tammy. What a great trainer you have! So wonderful to have someone to give you all that great advice. AND you have someone to train with. You are very lucky!

    Best wishes,
    Bearfriend xx

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  13. Hey, Tammy, thank you so much for taking the time to share all that info with us! I feel like I may need to help pay for the membership since we all get to benefit too! =)

    I agree w/Marcelle, his views are probably somewhat his opinion, and would vary depending on the trainer. Of course we can't wait to hear how his style works for YOU!

    What a lifestyle change, girl! I think you're gonna looove it..ChrissyS

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  14. Hey! I was able to open a few blogs. Yours was one of them! Some of them are still freezing, mine included. I see that you've lost over 40 lbs now! Amazing! You now weigh less than me! Oh, to lose 42 lbs! I wish I could get there. I will...it's just happening slowly.

    And hooray for no meds! To have a healthy result like better cholestorol and good sugar numbers is a great triumph, greater even than looking hot in a bathing suit.

    I agree with just about everything your trainer says except the jogging thing. Jogging in spurts gets the ol' heart going and if you know how to jog properly, can burn some good calories. But...not everyone agrees on the walk/jog/run issue. Who really knows?

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  15. I'm so proud of you for joining the gym!

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