The book that is starting to change my views on "Diet"

It makes perfect sense.

I always knew some carbs were the devil's food. Pure evil. Only indulge in rare circumstances.
Donuts, cakes, cookies, muffins, bread, pasta, candy, soda, cereal, sugar, etc.... You name, it's bad for you. But why? What do these foods and any other high carb foods (even the healthy ones like Oatmeal) do to your body?
It all comes down to INSULIN. I've been doing my research for a few weeks now on Insulin and weight gain. World renown scientists, doctors and professors all agree, insulin is the main culprit for Americans being the most unhealthiest, most overweight individuals in the entire world.
Sooooo, What the hell is insulin and why the bad rep?
Insulin is a hormone that regulates the absorption of sugar (Glucose) The more insulin you use to control your blood sugar level, the more it gets into your cells and the less glucose it's wasted in your urine. Basically, whatever glucose your cells don't use, it accumulates as fat in your body.
So, you eat a big Italian dinner of spaghetti, with soft garlic bread and a chocolate cake for dessert. You are stuffed, satisfied. Happy. What is your body doing right now? Well, that huge carb loaded meal you just ate quickly converts into glucose and as soon as that happens, a HUGE amount of glucose enters your bloodstream, causing  a "sugar spike" We have all heard that term before. After that "sugar spike", maybe 2-3 hours later, Your brain then tells you it's hungry and you need food fast. What sounds good? MORE CARBS!
The rapid rise and fall in blood glucose, caused by excess production of insulin, is the #1 cause of diabetes, obesity and other serious health problems.

I've been dieting practically all my life. I was 13 when I first tried going on a diet. Didn't work very well for me. I had no idea what foods to eat and how much to eat. Fast forward 5 years later. I am 18 and started the whole calorie counting business. And gave up regular soda for good (I was drinking 6 cans of coke a day) Well, I switched to Diet ;)
The diet worked. In 3 months I lost 25 lbs. I looked pretty good. The problem was maintaining the weight and the foods I was eating.

I use to be a vegetarian for 10 years. Started at age 14, ended at 24. In that time frame, I have been on many, many diets. The lack of protein in my diet, the over abundance of processed frozen vegetarian foods (Lean Cuisines and veggie burgers anyone?) and the freaking large amount of carbs I was eating, always made me feel hungrier, more lazy and just an overall feeling of blah. I can tell my body had no fuel.
Last July I began to eat certain meats to give my body proper protein for my weight loss journey (I also stopped calling it a "Diet". Diets are for people who are going to eventually go off them and return to their old habits. Not me) I began to eat chicken, turkey and tuna. I noticed the difference right away. I was fuller, I had more energy and I basically started to feel much healthier than when I was a vegetarian. But, I was still eating carbs(whole wheat bread, high fiber cereal and oatmeal, etc...), around 200 grams a day. I was also exercising pretty intensely so I knew I was burning them off. I lost 48 lbs in 6 months. Not too shabby.

A few months ago I started to tinker with the idea of going Primal, or giving my diet the Paleo treatment. What's that you ask? It is eating the exact same way our ancestors use to eat 10,000 of years ago. Our hunter, gatherer ancestors. Only meats, veggies, fruits, nuts, dairy and good oils. I am training for a marathon so I allow myself to have between 50-100 carbs a day to give my body the proper amount of energy for training. I have been doing it for 3 weeks now and the results are starting to show. My muscles are more prominent, I no longer have the same cravings for processed carbs. I have WAY MORE energy than ever before AND I can have all the juicy steak I want!!!!     Can't beat that.

It has been scientifically proven that the body burns carbs FIRST! Once the carbs are gone, the body then begins to burn fat. Yes, you burn carbs first, then fat. Soooooooooo the less carbs you have in your body, the faster your fat burning capabilities are. These are all facts. Don't believe me, google it.

This book is about reprogramming your genes to the ones of our ancestors 10,000 years ago. They were strong, lean and in amazing shape. Why? Because of the foods they ate. They didn't have McDonalds in ever corner like we do now. They had to work extra hard to get their food.
And most importantly......................They ate to live, not lived to eat. Which is what the majority of people do now.

The 2 hour madness.

Over 1400 calories burned. I don't mess around ;)

It's a rare day today. First of all, I am baby and boyfriend free until 7pm tonight. The possibilities are endless.........
Only one thing came into mind, SWEAT BABY!
I came home from work, cleaned the house for a bit, washed the bottles then did around 45 minutes of Turbo Fire (The best shiz ever)
Then I hit up my girl, Marylou. We got ready and before I knew it, I was on my way to the gym. Where I remained for another hour and so minutes. I was on the treadmill the whole time. I think I did almost 6 miles in one hour. So yeah, I was going pretty fast.
I can almost hear my heart rate monitor telling me "slow down bitch!"
My heart rate was pretty elevated the whole time. Which is what you want if you truly want to get the full benefits of fat burning. Your heart rate MUST be at 60-70% of your maximum heart rate zone. Google Max Heart rate zone to calculate yours.
So it says 1400 calories burned but I am pretty sure it's overestimating the number. We will see what the Bodybugg says once I sync it.......
I have the "runner's high" right now. I feel so relaxed and in a wonderful state of nirvana. I don't know why people don't exercise more. It feels wonderful!

If I could, I would workout for 2 hours (or more) every single day. 7 days a week. 365 days of the year. But alas! I can't.
Lily. Work. House and Andrew also fill up my life. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Exercise simply spices up my life even more. Besides, how else am I going to get ready to be a certified personal trainer. Not by sitting my ass on the couch! :D

Crunches Are Worthless People!

One person from work came up me a few days ago and happily told me "I did 50 crunches last night! I'm so happy! I want to get rid of this pooch so badly" I just smiled and told her good job. I really did not have the heart to tell her crunches will do absolutely nothing to get rid of the pooch. Nada. Silch.

If you already have a flat belly and are looking to tone up and strengthen it, then a proper crunch and/or sit-up will do the trick. And I mean PROPER. That means when you go up on your crunch, you need to be sure to stay elevated for at least 20-25 seconds, then slowly come back down. Your core also NEEDS to be tight at the center, belly button pushed all the way in and focusing on the breathing is key.

I had a baby 11 months ago. I gained 50 lbs during my pregnancy. Did not exercise one bit during those 9 months. I ate and I ate and I ate. I had a tough labor. My body was not prepared for it at all. A few weeks post partum, my body was in the absolute worst shape it has ever been. It was pretty depressing.
Flash-forward to now, I have a 6 pack. I am not trying to be an AW(Attention Whore) I just want to get it out there that it is possible to have the body you always dreamed of. It just takes a lot of work, a lot of determination and more sweat than you can ever imagine. But hey, the hard works does pay off.

So, how do you transform your flabby belly into a rock hard set of abs?
INTENSE CARDIO. Which equals to fast fat loss, which results in the reduction of fat in your belly, thus exposing the underlying abdominal muscles (6 pack!)
Sorry, but walking your dog for 20-30 minutes is not going to do squat. You need to be out of breath, sweating buckets and in the verge of hurling if you want to see some incredible results.
The No Pain No Gain should be your mantra.

It Took 3 Weeks But It Finally Happened.

The scale moved today. 123!!!!!!!!!!

I woke up at 3:30am to give Lily her bottle and I saw it on the floor leering at me. Taunting me. I can almost here it saying..."come play with me Pam, I'll be good to you this time" January 6th was when I reached my goal. 125. Sigh. I still can't believe I once was 175....
And since that day, I have stepped on the scale around 4 times. Once I was actually 124 but the next day I went to 126 (Damn you period!) And the last few times the scale stayed frozen at 125. Ugh! It is very frustrating. No matter how much I tell myself that I will not let scale dominate my mornings (Mornings are the only time of the day when YOU SHOULD weigh yourself) It usually does. But it doesn't ruin my day. I have learned to not stay disappointed because of it. I know I have worked hard. I know I have been busting my butt like an animal and I know the scale will be good to me. I just know it.
My weight loss right now is a very slow one. Tediously slow. I remember the 1st month. From July 16-August 16, I lost 15 pounds. Holy Shit! The second month another 15. 3rd month I believe 10 pounds. From then on, it began to slow down.

Nowadays, I have noticed I don't lose weight on a weekly basis anymore. I lose every 2-3 weeks. I just checked my chart, and it's been happening for 8 weeks now. I am happy about it though. I don't know why I am in such a hurry to lose more weight. I just want to get down to 115-120 and I will be super satisfied with that number. I do want to gain more muscle and that will always weigh more than fat. I gotta keep telling myself that. Muscle weighs more. Muscle weighs more.

I have made a promised to myself to only weigh myself twice a month. That should keep me in line :)

10 Days Without Rest....

The last rest day I had from exercise was Thursday, the 13th.
10 days ago.
Anyone who has ever seen me in action at the gym or at home, knows I don't play around. My sessions usually run between 1-2 hours. 1 1/2 hours being the average daily time frame. Intense, interval training is how I roll. If I am not sweating buckets or almost puking at the end of my workout, I am not satisfied. I want to be able to FEEL that I worked hard enough. The number of calories I burned has to exceed a certain amount before I can be satisfied.
Anyways, my body has been twitching for the past few days. My neck, legs, arms, chest, back, I mean EVERYTHING, is twitching like crazy! At night, I just lie in bed and wait for the twitching to begin, it doesn't hurt a bit. It's just a weird feeling. I googled it and one of the main reason is too much exercise. Long distance runners and athletes are more prone to this. I like to call myself an athlete :)
It also states it's not serious at all. Recovery days, water and eating plenty of potassium will help alleviate the twitching. I guess that means I need to start cutting back a bit.
Easier said than done! Exercise is my drug. It really is. People don't seem to understand it because they are not used to think of it as addicting. They think drugs, alcohol, even food are addictions. But never exercise. How can someone be addicted to exercise? That's insane. WRONG. The feeling I get after an intense workout is an amazing high. "Runner's High" as they call it. Google it, it's no joke. It truly exists and it feels amazing. I feel utterly relaxed and at peace when I step off the treadmill.
Even when I have one day off, I get so anxious for the next day to come around so I can do it all over again.
But I do need a rest today. Work was a long one. I've been up since 3am and I have to go in at 5am tomorrow morning. Today will be spent finishing planning Lily's party and maybe catching up on some reading. Exercise will be out of sight, and out of mind. Plus I don't have a sitter so I can't go to the gym and Lily already took a nap so she will be up until bed time ::sigh:: Good!

Although, Andrew does come home at 7pm and I'm sure he wouldn't mind watching her for a few hours.............

I Burned One Pound Yesterday.

Not counting eating of course. Now that would be too extreme.
Remember friends, One whole pound equals 3500 calories. So in order to have a weight loss of let's say, 1 pound a week, you must create a deficit of 500 calories a day. 1000 calories if you are aiming at a 2 pound weekly loss. So my Bodybugg estimated 3550 calories burned yesterday through my activity level alone. A new record! Damn. I burned one whole pound yesterday. Just saying it gives me the chills.
Yesterday was an INSANE day. Hectic. Tiring. Nonstop. I loved it.
I was up at 2am. I worked 3-11:30am. My job is very physical and I am always doing something. And this day was no exception. I got home, sync my Bugg and it said I burned 2200 from midnight to noon. Not bad. I then workout for an hour. I did Turbo Fire. Sync my Bugg. It said I burned 700. Wow.
After that, Both of Lily's Grandmas came over and we were chatting about her party. Andrew took a nap around 4pm. I spent the rest of the evening playing with her, picking up toys, washing bottles, FBing and Blogging, playing, picking up toys, cleaning, giving her dinner. 8pm rolled by and I wanted to pass out. Andrew woke up, took the baby and I fell asleep until 7am the next morning. It was the single best sleep I've had in a very long time. I woke up with very sore arms though. They still feel as if they are going to fall off. I was doing push ups yesterday so I am pretty sure that was what did it. Oh! I can finally do a proper push up. I am so proud of myself :) It took me 6 months but I did it.
My last rest day was on the 13th. Almost 10 days ago. Yikes! Today is going to be a rest day for sure. Or maybe do something low impact....Like swimming! That sounds yummy right now. We have a nice pool here and a hot tub to die for. Remember folks, if your body is hurting, and you feel like you have no energy at all, take a break! Your body needs recovery days so it can repair itself and build new muscle. It is when you rest that your muscles breaks down and recovery. And never, ever work the same group of muscles day after day. Mix it up will confuse your body, therefore, burn more fat and calories. And EAT YOUR PROTEIN!
Feed the muscle, burn the fat.

The Evolution of Cardio

The coolest, hippest, brutally hard, and most FUNNEST program out there. IMO anyways. The Insanity program is probably the hardest workout I have ever done in my life. I actually had to pause it the first time I did it to go to the bathroom The need to puke was insane!-no pun intended.
But Turbo Fire is so awesome! Yes, it's hard. Yes, you will be mega sore in the morning. But the trainer. Chalene Johnson makes it so enjoyable that you will want to do it day after day after day. The workout uses the new innovating form of Cardio. High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT.
It is basically a type of cardio training in which you alternate short, very high intensity intervals with longer, slower intervals to recover. This type of training has been used by athletes to improve performance, but it's also been shown to benefit the average exerciser. HIIT training not only helps performance, it also improves the ability of the muscles to burn fat. It has been proven to burn 9 times more fat than exercising in a steady pace. You can't beat that. I highly recommend this program, but word of caution....It is not intended for a beginner. Work your way up to this program. You wont regret it :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRGTuvoEgdA&extcmp=72db66c941427ca&ef_id=H@RNC6e4BQAARCM:20110121003334:s

New Year. New Body. New Goals.

I am now passed my goal of 125. The last time I stepped on the scale (2 weeks ago) I was 124. Aunt Flo is paying her damn visit right now so I am waiting a week after it ends to weigh myself again. Hopefully the scale gives me a nice surprise ;)
I thought I would be satisfied when I reached my goal. I am not. Please don't get wrong. I am beyond thrilled, happy, joyful and all that gushy gushy crap that I have made it this far. I did this on my own and I proved to myself that if I set my mind on something, I can accomplish it. No matter what the obstacles. This journey has made me a stronger person. A MORE happier person. I have never had this much self esteem in my whole life. I feel like I can conquer anything.

With that said, I have new goals in mind. My first marathon is in March. Not a 5k, not even a half marathon but a full blown freaking 26 mile one! People are too scared to do it with me. I've been asking for 6 months now and zilch. Nada. That's ok. I can do it alone. I want to be that 80 year old grandmother telling her grandchildren she did a marathon during her life.
I want to get down to 115. Yup. 115. Now, I am pretty short. 5'3 to be exact, so I know I wont look emaciated if I lost 10 more lbs. I also want to gain more muscle. WAY more muscle. AND I want to get my certification in personal training by next year. Oh. I can do this. No. I will do this! :)

From flab to fab.

June 2010. 175 lbs. Eww.

                                                                                   

Everyone rejoice! Finally some before and after shots.

January 2011. 124 lbs. I like my little 6 pack :)

Beef! It's what's for dinner.

The whole vegetarianism thing was good while it lasted.
I still remember being 14 and watching a news clip on TV about the cruel sport of seal clubbing. I guess I can say it traumatized me. I figured, if people were doing this just for sport, what other awful things they were doing to other animals. And at that precise moment, I completely gave up meat of all kinds. Including eggs.
Dairy was an exception though. I did love my cheese.
10 years of no meat and I thought I was going to do it for life. Until I for pregnant in 2009. All hell broke loose. The insane cravings got the best of me and found myself polishing off an entire bucket of chicken from KFC. No joke. I ate the whole damn bucket. Man, it was hella good! I didn't have any more meat the rest of the pregnancy until after I gave birth. I only ate chicken though and only ate fried, or buffalo wings. You know, the fatty crap.
I went to the hospital to delivery Lily weighing in at 186. 4 months later, I was only down to 175. Something had to be done. And July 14th, was the day of enlightenment (as I like to call it) That was the day I decided to do something about my weight. That was the day I made a vow to never allow Lily to pick up my bad eating habits. I promised myself to work as hard as I can to get the body that I absolutely dreamed of having. It's been 6 months and I am now down to 124. I wear a size 3/4 jeans and small tops.
My daily protein intake is always between 80-110 grams. Yup. That is a lot of protein. Especially for women. But, the more active you are, the more protein you need. And I am as active as they come!
To sum up this long post, if it weren't for my mass consumption of protein, I can guarantee my weight loss would not have been as successful as it was.

Juicy Rib Eyes are tonight's dinner.

I am having an affair

And his name is Senor Bodybugg.
This thing never leaves my arm. I only take it off when I take a shower. For those that are not familiar with it, The Bodybugg is a calorie tracker. You put it on your arm and it tracks how many calories you are burning throughout the day. It is estimated to be over 90% accurate. C'mon, you can't beat that. AND it is the same device the contestants on the Biggest Loser wear.
Wearing this motivates me to be more active. Always a plus! When I sync it to my laptop and I notice I did not quite burn as many calories as I thought I did, I always make sure I am extra active during the remainder of the day or I try to squeeze in an extra workout before I go to bed.
My dear good friend, Alicia, actually surprised me with it. I couldn't be more grateful and I thank my lucky stars every day for having such an amazing person as a friend.

Sporting my Bodybugg

Oh, and I am her personal trainer/dietitian ;)  <------- I will save that for another blog post!

My first blog entry: Can we say obsessed much?

I can't believe I have a blog. I actually skipped my evening workout just so I can finish it. I rarely skip my workouts. I usually do 2 workouts a day. The first one is right after work. 45 minutes-1 hour and the 2nd round is in the evening after dinner. Around 1 hour also. I always aim for 2 hour workouts a day. But with work, baby and taking care of the household, time is not on my side. This is where my obsessiveness comes into play. If 3pm comes around and I still have not done my 1st round, I start to feel panicky. I am always home around 11am from work and Lily is usually taking her first nap around that time. So I quickly change into my workout clothes and make the best of the little time that I have to exercise. But sometimes things don't go according to plan and she wont take a nap. Andrew is usually in bed around this time (He works graveyard shifts) and it is just me and the baby so if she doesn't want to nap I just wait until she does so I can have my fix (ummm exercise that is)
Aside from feeling panicky, I notice I start to bite my nails really bad if I have not exercised. To the point where I draw blood. Andrew says I have a problem and I need to talk to a counselor. He says I have become too obsessed with losing weight.
But, I read somewhere that it takes obsession and determination to lose and maintain your ideal weight. Why do you think people are so overweight and obese? Because it is so easy to become that way. How easy is it to just sit on the couch with a box of Twinkies, watching your favorite show, absentmindedly popping one Twinkie after another. Ridiculously easy. The majority of people have no idea how much they snack throughout the day. Is it any wonder America is the fattest county in the world? IN THE WORLD! Now that is embarrassing.

So yes. I rather be obsessive about my calories and exercise than to be the person that I was before. Not obsessive about my health.