Armchair Fitness

So last night in class a woman sat at our table who usually doesn't sit with us. (On an aside: She sat with us because she was sick, and there was a pregnant woman at her table who she didn't want to infect. Very nice for the pregnant woman, but what about the rest of us?? In any case..)

Another woman at the table asked me what I was doing to lose weight, and this new woman perked up. Turns out she personal trains people in her spare time, and has had great success with her friends as well.

Now, I'm always a bit on the skeptical side when people tell me how to take care of myself. Everyone is an expert on fitness and nutrition, yet America is bursting at the seams with people who are overweight. Even dear Dr. Atkins, who was so beloved that he got thousands of people to consider pork rinds diet food, turned out to be wrong.

She swore, however, that in 3 months, this routine would transform my body and the weight would start falling off. It really was pretty traditional advice, so I started the routine today. I also started doing my walking tapes again, which I haven't done since the third trimester of my last pregnancy, when my littlest one was sitting like a sweet little (heavy) pumpkin on my cervix and bladder. Let me tell you, it was a lot easier to do today than it was then!

So, I think the exercise will help, and if what this girl says is true, I'll be Jennifer Aniston in three months! HA!

So, I'm going to put her advice here, for all who are interested. Here's to the next 5 pounds!

The 100's

Each day do 100 reps of each of these:

Squats
Lunges
Push-ups
Calf raises
Bicep curls
Tricep extensions
Back flies

To begin: Do as many as possible every other day or every two days. When that number of reps no longer make you sore the next day, increase the reps until you get to 100. Then, start doing the exercises each day.

Squats and lunges can be combined in the beginning (50 of each.) I am going to leave out the calf raises, as my calves are strong already, and add in stomach crunches to try and control the pouch I'm carrying around.

Her nutrional advice:

No white flour, no white sugar. Avoid anything with high fructose corn syrup and trans fats. (Like I said, pretty traditional).

She balked at my 1200 calorie a day rule, but I plan to keep it. She said to not count calories at all. Instead, she said that fruit and veggies are "free" (eat as many as you like). And she said to eat more protein than carbs and fat. Your body burns twice as many calories to get nutrients from protein than it does to get nutrients from carbs or fat.

She also said that when you do eat protein, to make sure it is organic. She said that the hormones that they give the cows to make them gain weight actually get into our systems and make it harder for us to lose weight. Interesting, and I'd love to find out if that's true.

Again, my disclaimer..I don't know this woman, just passing on her advice. I'm going to do the exercises and otherwise do what I've already been doing, but she was interesting to talk to.

I want to thank everyone for their words of encouragement. I have been really frustrated the last 10 days, and it's been hard to not give up. I am, in a very weird way, a little thankful for my gallbladder issue, because had I been able to eat rich and fatty foods, I would have! (Though surgery, I could do without!) But I'm back and ready to tell this fat to hit the road.

My easy fat is gone, now it's time to work on the stuff that thought it had settled in for the long haul. Like a non-paying tenant, it believes possession is 9/10s of the law, but I'm here to tell it that this is my body and there ain't room here for the both of us!