I Wanna Watch You Bleed...
Okay! So, had my session with the personal trainer on Thursday morning (I would say "bright and early", but it was pitch black outside) and she got me up on the body composition analyzer. The results weren't nearly as bad as I thought they'd be. In fact, they were amazing. I figured I'd have a fat percentage of about 30 - 40% (I think I feel doughy). Nope. The total came to be...*drum roll* 18.4%! That translates to just 20 lbs of fat on this bod and my lean muscle mass (which includes bones, organs, that sorta stuff) is 88 lbs. Woo! To put in perspective what the fat percentage means: The analyzer's "Excellent" category is 18.7% body fat. Considering I have just slightly less body fat than that, I think it's safe to say I'm better than "excellent" (but I'm sure we already knew that ;)).
So, yes, I was very excited and eager to push myself harder in training. And push my trainer did, haha! We did legs again and increased some of the weight (though when I workout on my own, I try to use more weight than my trainer gives me) and we moved on to working arms/shoulders/back/chest and then...the dreaded ab machine, haha. I had tried using it on Tuesday morning at about 10 lbs and, yeah, my abs were still aching by Thursday so imagine my surprise when she put it at 30 lbs, haha! She decided to be gentle and lowered it to 20 - 25 lbs. Seriously, I think I ruptured an ovary getting through that set, haha.
We discussed the group classes (I hadn't gone to any during the week) and my confusion as to if I should be getting that much cardio into my routine (the classes I was going to are 1 solid hour of intense cardio). She put my mind at ease and said no, I don't need that much cardio. In fact, she said for the state my body is in right now, that would be "cardio overkill" and it would be better if, for now, I avoid the classes (except something like Body Flow) and focus on doing about 10 - 15 mins of cardio before moving to weights. She asked if I found I was hungry more often now and I said yes, I had noticed that but tried to ignore it. She said I need to stop ignoring it and get into a routine of eating every 3 hours and get in 1 gram of protein per pound everyday. O_O So, I basically need to be grazing all day long, haha. Getting that much protein isn't a problem for all y'all meat-o-sauruses since you can have a slab of meat that's low in calories; however, for a vegan, it can be slightly more challenging if you're concerned about the amount of calories you're also ingesting. Plus, just eating that much food is something I'm going to have to adjust to. My trainer has forewarned me not to be surprised that I will "puff up" and "fill out" because of all the eating, but that will melt away to muscles. She said if I find I "puff up" and don't deflate after, say, 6 months, then I should be worried and start going to the group classes, haha. I'm doing my research on vegan food so I can get a balance of low calories + high protein and just high protein + who-cares-about-the-calories to mix in each day. Wish me luck!
I was a bit...I don't know, maybe miffed at one of the group instructors who I'm friendly with. She asked me if I tried new classes and I said no, I had only done her Body Flow class this week and I told her what my trainer said about classes. She kind of scrunched up her face in a "that doesn't sound right" way and said one of the instructors has a lower body fat percentage but still does the classes (well, she's an instructor so she should be doing the classes...). Sorry, I'm going to trust my trainer because she knows what state my body is in and what I need to do to achieve the goal I want (put on more muscle) and what my trainer said sounds right (i.e. I need to fill up before I can get ripped so why do excessive cardio and potentially kill that balance?). Plus, you know, she is a personal trainer (more qualifications) as opposed to a class instructor (less qualifications unless they're also a personal trainer) who has been training people for over 10 years. Don't get me wrong, I think the group classes are great if you really don't know what you're doing but still want to get your sweat on. However, do I think they're super beneficial to someone like me who's not overweight? Not really other than something like Body Pump (weights) and Body Flow (tai chi-pilates-yoga mix) which are the 2 classes I'll still make an attempt to go to. I also mentioned to the instructor that I'm at the gym at 7 a.m. everyday so I'm not particularly in the mood to go back again after work to be panting my ass off with a bunch of people, haha.
Enough about my fitness. :) I'm just really excited about this path I'm on.
Yesterday, before Body Flow, I headed to Polo Park to excitedly get some new stuff to try. First, I headed over to David's Tea with a list in hand. I got a tin of Coco Chai Rooibos (I love making lattes out of that...mmm!) and then bags or samples of Super Chocolate, Spicy Chocolate Rooibos, Chocolate Chili Chai (I didn't intend on getting this one as I wanted a sample of Pina Colada, but that flavour is out of season), and Dulce and Banana. Can you tell I like rooibos and chocolate? Haha! I figured since I'm generally too lazy to make vegan hot chocolate (time consuming) and tea is a much healthier option, I may as well try a few flavours to curb any possible cravings. I had Dulce and Banana last night and it's so good. Yum, yum, yum! I'm sipping on Chocolate Chili Chai and I'm very glad to find it's not super spicy like I thought it'd be. It has a near hot chocolate taste to it so that's nice. They gave me a sample cup of Winter Berry while they were getting my teas together and that is also very delicious. It would also be nice iced. I love David's Tea!
After that, I scurried over to Lush, again with a list in hand. I got Dream Cream as all the reviews said it was excellent for winter dry skin, including on the face (the problem I have). I asked one of the girls if any of the bubble bars were moisturizing and she recommended Bearded Lady. As you may or may not recall, several months ago I got Aromaco deodorant and I still have plenty left. However, I'm finding the patchouli scent to be a bit strong for my liking so I got a sample size of their Aromarant deodorant to try out as there's practically no detectable scent. Hopefully it works just as well as Aromaco. While I was waiting in line, one of the other Lush ladies started talking to me about their Charity Pot moisturizer and that they have them in smaller sizes for the holidays. I declined being as I wanted to stick to my list/budget. We started talking about moisturizers and she said Dream Cream wouldn't be good for my face (too heavy and can cause breakouts) and I should look at Shangri-La. At a staggering price of $46.95 for 45 grams, I declined, but she was nice enough to give me a free small sample of it to try out. She was very nice and sweet which is why I love going to Lush. A guy working there was sipping on a cup of David's Tea Winter Berry so I showed him my stash and we gushed about teas, hahaha!
We're taking the dogs to Centennial Animal Hospital tomorrow for pictures with Santa. We took Mia when we first got her, but she hated Santa and tried to get away from him which made for a hilariously-awesome photo. I didn't think it was fair that we never took Romeo so we'll see how it goes, haha. I'll make sure I'm cleaned up in case I have to get in the photo for them not to be afraid (Andrew had to get in one of the photos with Mia so she wouldn't be so scared).
Time to eat!
So, yes, I was very excited and eager to push myself harder in training. And push my trainer did, haha! We did legs again and increased some of the weight (though when I workout on my own, I try to use more weight than my trainer gives me) and we moved on to working arms/shoulders/back/chest and then...the dreaded ab machine, haha. I had tried using it on Tuesday morning at about 10 lbs and, yeah, my abs were still aching by Thursday so imagine my surprise when she put it at 30 lbs, haha! She decided to be gentle and lowered it to 20 - 25 lbs. Seriously, I think I ruptured an ovary getting through that set, haha.
We discussed the group classes (I hadn't gone to any during the week) and my confusion as to if I should be getting that much cardio into my routine (the classes I was going to are 1 solid hour of intense cardio). She put my mind at ease and said no, I don't need that much cardio. In fact, she said for the state my body is in right now, that would be "cardio overkill" and it would be better if, for now, I avoid the classes (except something like Body Flow) and focus on doing about 10 - 15 mins of cardio before moving to weights. She asked if I found I was hungry more often now and I said yes, I had noticed that but tried to ignore it. She said I need to stop ignoring it and get into a routine of eating every 3 hours and get in 1 gram of protein per pound everyday. O_O So, I basically need to be grazing all day long, haha. Getting that much protein isn't a problem for all y'all meat-o-sauruses since you can have a slab of meat that's low in calories; however, for a vegan, it can be slightly more challenging if you're concerned about the amount of calories you're also ingesting. Plus, just eating that much food is something I'm going to have to adjust to. My trainer has forewarned me not to be surprised that I will "puff up" and "fill out" because of all the eating, but that will melt away to muscles. She said if I find I "puff up" and don't deflate after, say, 6 months, then I should be worried and start going to the group classes, haha. I'm doing my research on vegan food so I can get a balance of low calories + high protein and just high protein + who-cares-about-the-calories to mix in each day. Wish me luck!
I was a bit...I don't know, maybe miffed at one of the group instructors who I'm friendly with. She asked me if I tried new classes and I said no, I had only done her Body Flow class this week and I told her what my trainer said about classes. She kind of scrunched up her face in a "that doesn't sound right" way and said one of the instructors has a lower body fat percentage but still does the classes (well, she's an instructor so she should be doing the classes...). Sorry, I'm going to trust my trainer because she knows what state my body is in and what I need to do to achieve the goal I want (put on more muscle) and what my trainer said sounds right (i.e. I need to fill up before I can get ripped so why do excessive cardio and potentially kill that balance?). Plus, you know, she is a personal trainer (more qualifications) as opposed to a class instructor (less qualifications unless they're also a personal trainer) who has been training people for over 10 years. Don't get me wrong, I think the group classes are great if you really don't know what you're doing but still want to get your sweat on. However, do I think they're super beneficial to someone like me who's not overweight? Not really other than something like Body Pump (weights) and Body Flow (tai chi-pilates-yoga mix) which are the 2 classes I'll still make an attempt to go to. I also mentioned to the instructor that I'm at the gym at 7 a.m. everyday so I'm not particularly in the mood to go back again after work to be panting my ass off with a bunch of people, haha.
Enough about my fitness. :) I'm just really excited about this path I'm on.
Yesterday, before Body Flow, I headed to Polo Park to excitedly get some new stuff to try. First, I headed over to David's Tea with a list in hand. I got a tin of Coco Chai Rooibos (I love making lattes out of that...mmm!) and then bags or samples of Super Chocolate, Spicy Chocolate Rooibos, Chocolate Chili Chai (I didn't intend on getting this one as I wanted a sample of Pina Colada, but that flavour is out of season), and Dulce and Banana. Can you tell I like rooibos and chocolate? Haha! I figured since I'm generally too lazy to make vegan hot chocolate (time consuming) and tea is a much healthier option, I may as well try a few flavours to curb any possible cravings. I had Dulce and Banana last night and it's so good. Yum, yum, yum! I'm sipping on Chocolate Chili Chai and I'm very glad to find it's not super spicy like I thought it'd be. It has a near hot chocolate taste to it so that's nice. They gave me a sample cup of Winter Berry while they were getting my teas together and that is also very delicious. It would also be nice iced. I love David's Tea!
After that, I scurried over to Lush, again with a list in hand. I got Dream Cream as all the reviews said it was excellent for winter dry skin, including on the face (the problem I have). I asked one of the girls if any of the bubble bars were moisturizing and she recommended Bearded Lady. As you may or may not recall, several months ago I got Aromaco deodorant and I still have plenty left. However, I'm finding the patchouli scent to be a bit strong for my liking so I got a sample size of their Aromarant deodorant to try out as there's practically no detectable scent. Hopefully it works just as well as Aromaco. While I was waiting in line, one of the other Lush ladies started talking to me about their Charity Pot moisturizer and that they have them in smaller sizes for the holidays. I declined being as I wanted to stick to my list/budget. We started talking about moisturizers and she said Dream Cream wouldn't be good for my face (too heavy and can cause breakouts) and I should look at Shangri-La. At a staggering price of $46.95 for 45 grams, I declined, but she was nice enough to give me a free small sample of it to try out. She was very nice and sweet which is why I love going to Lush. A guy working there was sipping on a cup of David's Tea Winter Berry so I showed him my stash and we gushed about teas, hahaha!
We're taking the dogs to Centennial Animal Hospital tomorrow for pictures with Santa. We took Mia when we first got her, but she hated Santa and tried to get away from him which made for a hilariously-awesome photo. I didn't think it was fair that we never took Romeo so we'll see how it goes, haha. I'll make sure I'm cleaned up in case I have to get in the photo for them not to be afraid (Andrew had to get in one of the photos with Mia so she wouldn't be so scared).
Time to eat!