Well, that’s going to leave a mark!The Gym Buddies, 30 (ish) of you readers and I are halfway done with January’s Great Fitness Experiment. And what do I have to show for it? Sore muscles every single day, a ton of sweaty gym laundry and a bruise the size of a softball on my thigh. (Okay so technically the last one isn’t Lindsey’s fault – I tripped over that weight plate and banged into the weight stand and bit my lip so hard trying not to cry on the weight floor that I had blood-flavored lunch, all by myself. Technically.) All in all, all the makings of a great workout!
Lindsey Mathews of Lean Bodies coaching has the Gym Buddies and I doing a 5-day workout with two days of high-intensity interval cardio (that make me want to barf), one day of interval circuits (that make me want to barf), one day of Tabata intervals (that made me barf a little in my mouth) and one day of weight lifting (in which there was no barfing at all but as I explained, much bruising). And of course we kept TurboKick! I’m not sure what she has the rest of you doing but judging from some of the e-mails I’ve gotten it’s been as puke-tastic as our workout.
True story: Gym Buddy Megan has taken to reliving her days as a cheerleader by chanting across the weight floor, “You can do it if you try! V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!!” To which I yelled back, “What are you spelling?!?” I was so fatigued from sprinting on the treadmill and then going straight to V pushups that I had lost all ability to spell. You know it’s a tough workout when you can no longer decipher your native language.
I’m not complaining though – I asked for her butt-kickingest workout. I haven’t had a really good, really intense workout since the early part of my pregnancy. And, oh wait – remember that thing I did two months ago? That’s right, I HAD A BABY. See, I need to keep reminding myself of that fact because while I like to think that I’m back in black, the last two weeks have shown me how weak I really am. It’s a little depressing to realize how much strength I actually lost. But thankfully it does seem to be coming back, courtesy of the 10,000 lunges we’ve been doing.
Which leads me to the progress portion of tonight’s program: I’ve definitely gained some muscle. It’s hard to quantify without a body fat test but my pants are a little looser. In addition, I’ve lost two pounds. Ish. My weight goes up and down so much that yo-yos are jealous (today I learned that breast feeding makes me lose a half pound instantly! Apparently the Jelly Bean drinks about 8 ounces.) so it’s hard to say for sure. I also re-remembered that I can exercise until the cows come home but I won’t lose weight until I get my eating under control. Which is why I’ve gone back to logging my calories on FitDay.
I’ll wait for the collective gasp from the audience.
I know, I don’t food journal. I HATE food journalling. My food-nazi-journal-spreadsheet-obsessive-nonsense was a big part of my eating disorder and I felt so liberated once I finally gave it up. Yet, here I am. My plan is to only journal until I lose the last of the baby weight and then I’ll chuck the sucker once I get to maintenance mode again. Highway to hell? I fully expect some of you to admonish me in the comments. I probably deserve it. The good news is that this time I’m limiting myself to the incredibly UNuser-friendly FitDay site rather than my own overly involved Excel spreadsheets. So the sheer frustration of that site should help keep me in check.
Lay it on me: How have your workouts been going this month? What workouts make you want to barf? Do I have no business being a nursing mother and counting calories?
my hill portion of my interval workouts make me want to vomit hardcore. but i don't so i love it haha.
i guess because i'm not a nursing mother i'm not really qualified to answer your other question but i'd say don't count calories. you're using your body to feed and nourish another person! that's incredible and i think that there's plenty of time to cut calories once youre done nursing. but again, i am not a mother let alone a nursing one…
The workouts are intense, but like you, I have discovered that tracking my calories is giving me the biggest insight into my 10 pound weight gain. I hate it, but it's working! I'm down 4 pounds, yippee! Add in more consistentcy to my workouts and I might be on a roll.
As I've learned through this (with your help) what is most important is figuring out a healthy calorie goal. Tracking your calories makes sure you and the Bean are getting enough to keep you both healthy. That's a good thing!
When I first started lifting weights it made me feel like barfing. Now when I go up a level I get the same thing. I figure that it's a good sign !
I don't know about the nursing/counting calories issue though so can't really comment. I'd worry less about the calories and more about making sure what you do eat is great for you and bub. Being a bit obsessive myself I know once I kick a compulsive habit I can't go and do it again – just for a while. I'm either all in compulsively or all out, there's no in-between.
Good luck with it.
Charlotte, sounds like you are doing awesome! Working yourself & not making excuses! Good for you!
I do my version of intervals & HIIT & although I don't want to barf, I am trying to figure out how to breath! 🙂 Weights, I love so don't care what I do to myself there!
As for the pounds, my weight varies so much in a day that I can end up 3-4 pounds heavier at the end of a day just by eating & then back to normal the next morn. I put on 1.5 pounds just drinking a cup of coffee! And the hormones decide to take control at the drop of a hat. One day all is fine & the next day all hell breaks loose & that can go on for months!
Our bodies, craziness, BUT I think for a lady that just had a baby, man you are amazing!
sigh.
that's it. just a big sigh.
I haven't had a kick butt awesome workout in I don't know…months. And even then it was sporadic.
Sick family, mulptile kids up all hours of the night for weeks on end…I want nothing more than to pound the pavement or hit a bag. But the only workout that's got me barfing these days is – haha – BARFING. 🙁
I'll just have to wait.
I'm jealous.
Lol, yes you did ask for it, girlfriend! But behind those words I can tell that you secretly LOVE it! 🙂
I curse Lindsey on a daily basis. Those interval workouts are insane. I hate her and yet I've lost 2.5lbs and gained muscle and feel stronger so it balances out. I've also been starting C25k and I'm loving that.
The first week I felt like an old woman, unable to move at all. I'm slowly getting used to the workouts so I expect to hurt and I do but I'm not at old-woman stage anymore.
I don't count calories because it brings out that crazy in me. I track for a couple of days and that's it before I go crazy. So I keep healthy food in the house and stay on track as much as possible.
my workouts have been amaaaaazing this month, since recovering from an injury and takin it slow i've run my first ever 10k and i am LOVING IT!
Circuits with my trainer make me want to throw up, and acttually HAVE made me throw up, so that's nice! It's harder to 'half do' something when it's just me and him! intense workout but amazing!
Totally have no opinion on the counting claories/breast feeding thing! I'm not a mummy! However, i think you know yourself well enough to safeguard against any recurrent 'nonsense'! Plus you have a whole heap of accoutnability partners on here!!!!
you are great. x
As long as you are giving your baby the milk she needs than counting the calories is fine if its going to make you feel more like yourself, which is something you definitely do not feel when you have a little person using you as a personal snack bar every 2-3 hours.
Also, I am sure that you are filling your body with lots of nutritious food and beverages and not eating a box of Entanmann's chocolate chip cookies like I did one day when trying to use sugar to keep me awake, I would not worry.
I haven't had a hard, barf-inducing workout in a long time. I'm nursing an injury, which seems to require less exertion than if I were to nurse a child. Good to know.
HIIT makes me want to barf…so cortisol producing too! I'm going to try my hand at Bikram this month to survive the cold Idaho winter.
While I am not following the same Lindsey workouts that you are, Charolotte, the ones that she has created for me have left me feeling quite fatigured…but thankfully not to the point of barfing. An 8.5 pregnant woman barfing at the gym would not be a pretty sight.
As a fellow disordered eater, I can understand the slippery slope that you feel you may be climbing by starting to journal your food again. However, if you are not obessing and you are setting healthy and realistic goals, then I think it is fine — just remember once you get to maintenance you should chunk the Fitday account.
I am dying over here after a solo cross fit workout Saturday followed by an 8 mile run Sunday. This morning's tennis lesson will be interesting…
I'm not doing Lindsey's training program, but I'm finally getting back to doing intervals now that I'm in my second trimester of pregnancy and feeling much better. I love the feeling after the intense intervals (not so much during…and they're not too intense due to my pregnancy) but I only do them twice a week.
As for counting calories while nursing…as long as you don't go overboard, it's okay to count calories but I'm sure you know you don't want a huge deficit. Also, when you nursed your other babies, did all the weight just come off? I always hold onto the last few pounds (about 5) until I've completely weaned my baby. So don't get too obsessive about it, and good luck. With all your exercise and healthy eating habits, it will come off soon enough.
Heh…workouts on the ball where I rest on my stomach…never good. Especially if I've had something to drink first. I've learned that's a nono. As a rule I stop before I want to barf. I dont' want to associate that feeling with working out. It's not even remotely an incentive for me…:)
I think you'd be better off just planning out your meals for the day ahead and then eating it as opposed to tracking everythign taht went into your mouth. I've never been a fan of tracking every calorie. I think planning out your meals and days is more practical and less crazytown inducing… I know initially it can be good to see where you eat the wrong things and where all the calories sneak into your day, but in the end if you're planning on eating well it's the planning that will help tge most.
Just my 2 cents.
This is just a process, Charlotte! What you were yesterday, what you are today, you will not be tomorrow. That could be a good thing 🙂
I'm doing Lindsey's workouts and following her nutrition guidlines and am KICKING ASS!!! Seriously, while I know that I can credit a lot of my insane weight loss to my insane weight gain over the holidays (I hold water like a camel), I am thrilled by the results so far.
And while the intense workouts are doing their share, I know that a lot of my success is due to clean eating and tracking (the Daily Plate is my drug of choice). I had eye surgery a week and half ago so missed a bunch of workouts but am still losing weight (and more importantly inches).
Workouts are going well – though after the first week I found I had to back off a bit on the Cardio Intervals sessions, as it seems I may have overdone it a bit the first week and I would like to keep the use of my legs. I do find that it's taking more time – I'd got used to the nice, short, Fit Chick Express workouts – but it sorta seems like I might actually have lost a couple of pounds (I'm afraid to type that out loud because I expect them to bounce right back, but so far so good) which would make the extra time worth it.
As for the calorie counting…as long as you are taking the nursing thing into consideration when it comes to your calorie target? I don't know. I do know that I track off and on – it seems to help. But I've never had an eating disorder. Just be sensible is what I'm trying to say. 🙂
I've been going to Zumba for almost 6 months now, and I can tell you the only time I've ever reach the point of wanting to barf was after these intense classes led by a Colombian instructor, Patti. It was physically impossible for me to eat anything after I attended her class for the first time. Ay, ay, ay!
I have wanted to pass out on several occasions but working out has NEVER made me feel like puking.
I'm going with "it's my constitution…" Because passing out is bad enough.
All those killer workouts. I'd be praying for the lifting day. Which means I really need to work harder on the other stuff.
I would never faulting you for trying something you feel you need to do for right now. As you know I get that Crazy Calorie Rain Man mentality and while keeping it out of my life is probably helping to keep those extra EL Bees on my Boo-Tay, at least I'm not going nuts. I am sloooowwly peeling off the holiday/post vacay damage from the latter part of last yr but I would rather do that than go back to being obsessive. You will decide if it works for you. And the fact that you aren't using your excel spreadsheet should make matters easier!
Just a question. Are the workouts from Lindsey supposed to be done as a circuit (each one once and then start from the beginning 2 to 3 times) or just do each one 2 to 3 times before moving on to the next. I was looking at her blog and it just wasn't clear. Thanks
I'd say that since you are nursing, you should count calories to make sure you're getting ENOUGH. For both you and the Jellybean.
I just added "Insanity" to my workout rotation, which is definitely puketastic, as well as kinda scary; my heartrate goes through the roof!
I've also been tracking my calories. But this time, rather than obsessing over every morsel, it is helping me to become more aware of what, when, how I eat, and my hunger/satiety signals. I also have more energy, 'cause I'm eating better food.
I've never barfed during a workout. I have gotten so overheated that I almost passed out a couple of times (and had the accompanying headache for several hours afterward), but never barfed.
I don't think puking is something I'm going to aspire to, though. 😉
Charlotte, we are on opposite sides of the teeter-totter. I just STOPPED counting for the first time in a long time. I guess, as others have said, as long as you're eating enough, do what works. And keep a weather eye out for any sign of the Crazy Storm. 😉
again, I wish I lived near you.
I need someone to kick my ass into gear.
and yes.
I DID INDEED GASP.
entirely.
Running is the only thing that has ever made me vomit. I was a sprinter in high school, and a couple times I just ran too hard. I've been close to vomitting at the end of a couple of races as an adult but have managed to hold myself together.
I paid Lindsey for a month of training in the hopes that it would motivate me to work out. I've done a grand total of one (yup, that's right, one) workout. I'm beginning to think motivation has nothing to do with it. I just can't figure out how to fit it in to my day – 50 min. commute each way, 3 small children (including a 6 mo old that I'm nursing), and two grad classes means my time is pretty filled. But maybe it's about organization and prioritizing.
Oh, and speaking of the nursing and calorie counting. I just downloaded an app on my blackberry to help with calorie counting. I've never done it before, but my current eating is pretty much out of control. I may be nursing, but I just can't justify the amount of food I'm eating. As long as you use it to keep yourself in check (not trying to limit yourself to something ridiculous like 12-1500 calories or something), I think you will be fine.
I have learned to never ask a trainer for a butt-kickingest workout! Ever!
Glad you survived.
cammi99
If I were a nursing mother, I'd be counting my calories. All 7000 of them per day. And I would not ask another person if they thought it was okay or not because then they'd find out I was eating all those calories and I'd get a different kind of lecture.
Oh my gosh, the mountain climbers killed me last week. My poor calves. I loved it. 🙂
No judgement here when it comes to food journaling. I've been logging into my favorite online counter quite often lately.
Congrats on your muscle gains. EXCITING!
The following is harsh. I'm leaving it anonymously. I have no balls, so who am I to reprimand, and yet:
In your heart of hearts, how do you want your readers to respond to your foodjournaling news? Do you want a backlash for permission to stop? Approval so that you can sneak back into damaging, yet comfortable ways? You know that it is a danger-zone for you. I'm a long time Charlotte/GFE fan and I do not condone, I condemn.
I lost great the 1st week because I cut out all non-veggie/fruit carbs. When I add them back in my weight jumps back up and the cravings come back big-time. I hope to get them under control in a few weeks.
I am loving Lindsey's workouts but have had to cut out the HIIT due to a hamstring and back injury.
While doing Pulse Pyramid I learned that:
– I should not do burpees within hours of eating dinner
– the 30 second rest in RT
1) feels very long until you add in burpees
2) is just long enough to redo your ponytail that jumping jacks will pull out every time
3) not quite long enough to run to the bathroom which you will need to do after your first set of jumping jacks (if you are over 40 and/or have had kids)
wow- sound like you are doing incredible stuff. I wrote down the workouts so maybe i can try some. I need motivation to get up early and go to a gym. All i like doing anymore is early morning snuggles with the boys… if only there were more time in the day.
Anonymous – 1)It's not that you have no balls but rather that you care. And that's what I love about this site so thank you for your honest comment:) 2) You pose an interesting question as to why I posted about my return to food journalling. I am not seeking either condemnation nor approval. It's my way of trying to stay accountable. Transparent. I'm not entirely comfortable with it and think perhaps it may not be the best decision. And yet…
3) Thanks for being a longtime reader – that means so very much to me!
Hmm. Today's burpee pullups on the crossfit main site WOD were pretty puketastic.
I'm a journaller myself. Wish I wasn't — it's a pain, even with a nutrition app on my iphone. (You, too, can be OCD in public!) I didn't journal when I was nursing, but at that sleep-deprived point in my life I was lucky if I had it together enough to put my sweats on the right way around.
I'm getting ready to head to the gym to run a 6 mile tempo at a pretty pukeworthy pace. And I almost passed out in the shower after last week's 11 mile run (I am an idiot and was at about a 1500+ calorie deficit for the day by the time I got back and decided to stretch and shower before eating. NO BUENO!
I'm back counting calories until the scale is firmly in maintenance range. I did set my calories a LOT higher than normal (1500 most days, 2000 running days, 2500 long run day) and I'm having trouble getting up past 1800 without eating junk. It's really eye opening how much good food it takes to fuel me when I'm this active.
Honestly, you've raised a bunch of wonderful healthy children and I'm sure you'd put their health and well being before that last 10 lbs. So no reprimanding here ('specially since I'm back to it myself for a few).
lady.
i say this with love and appreciation for your spirit, and how far you've come with your eating disorder:
kill the calorie count.
you just had a baby,
you are still nursing miss jellybean.
i just don't think this is a good plan for you, at all. i know i can't do calorie counting in a healthy manner, nor can i keep a scale in the house without slipping right back into crazy ED mode.
however, *i* am not *you*.
you are a smart and lovely woman,
and i know you want what's best for your body…but please, kill the calorie counting…
I wish I was on your personal plan, but I'm not. My 1/2 Marathon plan is progressing, with a few minor hiccups. One of the GFs is wanting to workout more, which makes up for the one that is now preggers and refusing to get off the couch.
I have an 8K on the schedule tomorrow that I plan to turn into a 10K 🙂