What's being a Woman got to do with working out???

As you know, I have had to battle with Hormones and being super sensitive to them, as well as water retention. I decided to some research about it maybe having to do with “Being a Woman”, and how that maybe affects the way we need to work out. I found this great site that seemed to explain things in a way that makes sense.

It divides the month into two sections Day 1- Day 14 and Day 15- Day 28. With each section (they are called Follicular and Luteal, in that order) there need to be different eating habits and work out routines.  Day 1 is the start of the Follicular Phase, or “Time of the month” and thus your body does better with muscle building and fat burning. The Second Section, which is Day 15- 28^th and the Luteal stage, Start when you “ovulate” until, well, Day 1 and is more of a “sugar burning” stage due to Progesterone being more present.  Read the Two articles HERE and HERE, but I did take the snap shot of the “main” bullet points for you underneath this. The first part is a diet and training schedule and the second is a more informed Training schedule. I added a picture of what my September Calendar looks like so far ;)

So the training and diet schedule may look something like this:

Follicular phase:

·         3 Times weekly full body weight training.

·         3 Times weekly long-duration moderate intensity training.

·         Normal calorie and carbohydrate intake at most meals with most timed after exercise to enhance training adaptations and muscle growth.

Luteal Phase:

·         3-5 times weekly short duration high intensity metabolic conditioning, HIIT, and sprint training.

·         Normal calorie intake with carbohydrate kept low, using exercise to create the correct hormonal environment and caloric deficit to burn fat and minimize any muscle loss.

·         Plenty of relaxing restorative exercise like leisure walking, sauna, tai chi, etc.

Protocol Overview

So the female phase training protocol looks like this:

·                     Follicular phase (Days 1-14): 30:40:30 macronutrient intake (carbs:protein:fat). 3 times weekly full body traditional weight training (squat, bench press, back row, shoulder press), 4 sets of 10 using a 8-12 rep max. 5 days per week steady state moderate intensity cardio (40-60 minutes).

·                     Luteal phase (Days 14-28): 20:40:40 or 10:45:45 macronutrient intake (carbs:protein:fat). 4-5 days per week metabolic conditioning (mixed weight & cardio interval training). Daily leisure walking (as much as able)

·                     Repeat next month

• The follicular phase is shown to be a more anabolic time overall allowing women to engage in more cardio based exercise with less chance of losing muscle as well as derive enhanced lean tissue gains from weight training.
• The luteal phase is more of a catabolic time for muscle tissue making long-duration cardio less beneficial and higher protein diets more prudent. There is some evidence the luteal phase has a greater EPOC and afterburn effect associated with it.

I am going to try it for a month and see if it makes a difference, and if it helps with my weight loss. I mean the concept makes sense, so why not? I have to work out anyway lol!

OH! On a side-note!!! I have a metabolic problem that we have been trying to figure out, and I was NEVER able to get my average heart rate up above 130, even when running! WELL yesterday  was able to!!! OMG my average was 141!!! I felt so good, so that means my thyroid meds must be doing the trick! 

Positivity all the Way around!

493 Days Left!

Sorry that I have been silent the last couple of days. Literally since I posted the “I give myself 500 days” comment, that same day Rob got some awesome news and I got some two days later. We (well I can’t) can’t really talk about it, because of certain reasons but, hopefully if I keep my fingers crossed there will be some major changes next month!

Another positive that happened today was that my old manager told me she could tell I was losing weight. I was super happy because I am super bloated and de not feel well. Trying to see the positives can be a hard thing to do, especially when you don’t always feel good about yourself. I did do a little self tanning for the first time in YEARS with tanning lotion (melanoma approved lol). So that makes me feel good. I like looking a little tan!

I am super tired, because Lena has decided that she is going to continue this phase of waking up in the middle of the night (waaayyyy less now since we got her the twin bed) and want us to cuddle with her. She is going to really hate me this weekend since I have 4 days off and we are doing the following: 1.Potty Training and 2. Sleeping in our own bed no matter what!

Hopefully it will go well! 

My Little Lena! 

500 Days - and an Update!

500 Days- that how many days I give myself to reach my Goal! It seemed like a good round number and about a year and a half. Which is kind of when we wanted to get pregnant again, or try. I might not blog everyday, but I will try and work on it everyday that’s for sure!

I know I have not blogged lately, and I do feel bad that I have not been writing lately. A lot has been going on in my life that I didn’t know if I wanted to share ore not. I walked a 5K with my friend Liz this weekend, and was telling her everything that was going on, and she suggested I share as a therapeutic situation as well as something to read and maybe learn from. So here it goes… again.

The last 4 months or so I have not been feeling well and in a real funk, have been working out regularly and eating very well. I was retaining 6-7 pounds of water weight on any given day, which was so uncomfortable and I could tell it was happening. My lips were swollen and I started having anxiety attacks with heart pain. It felt like a 5 year old was sitting on my chest and all I wanted to do was rip my clothes off. I would cry, yell (imagine your husband and daughter having to watch), I would have to leave places or rooms or anywhere I was and go somewhere I felt ok. I went to the doctor and he said I should take the anxiety meds, which ended up making me tired and not making the pain or swelling go away.  I went back, he then ordered a kidney check, or was it my neurologist that did….eh I cant remember, my Kidneys are great. (that’s a plus right?) Well mister Kidney Doctor said that he thinks it is my heart. Excuse me? yes. My heart, doesn't know what, but could be heart.  He thinks that because my heart rate is super low and normal blood pressure is 80/45 (they triple checked since I am over weight and joked they thought my heart and arm fell asleep), that I am retaining water , which is probably also around my heart and thus causing part of the attacks. Sweet! So then my doctor made a call to the cardiologist, who pretty much said the same things and scheduled another appointment for  a stress test and Echo-cardiogram and some other crap.  Ironically they said it is not my weight or eating habits, because I showed her my log and she saw my weight fluctuations, and was not happy. She said otherwise I am super healthy and hopefully it will just be a metabolic issue, and maybe upping my diuretic dosage I am already taking.  Fingers crossed x (those are two fingers)

People who really know me know I tend to over exaggerate or under exaggerate to deflect issues or what is really going on, but I can assure you I have been in pain. Just not saying anything, Rob has known, some people have been supportive some people have rolled their eyes, whatever. All I know is that I am 29 years old and I am scared and have a little girl to be around for. So I will try and use this as an outlet.

I am glad Liz talked me into it, especially after what happened. The 5k I mentioned…. Well we started running and .25 into it I started getting pain and burning in my heart and lungs and started having blood come up ¾ of the whole 5k. She is awesome because she walked it with me. It was amazing having her there as support and not feeling awkward and someone to talk to. I just kept spitting up or swallowing that crap, it was an amazing taste as you can imagine. It still hurts and I still don’t feel well, so I am glad I am going next week.

Sleepy Sleep

Man do I need it! I have not been sleeping at all lately and when I do, I have to get back up at 4 to work out, soooooooo I am so tired! You would think working out would make you more tired, but it does not!

I have a lot of stuff going on right now and have more stress on my plate than ever before and my mind races at night. I have been also super uncomfortable.  I don’t know if it is really watching what I am eating, work, finances or some health stuff, but it seems to be all triggering it. A friend gave me some Ambien, and I was super worried that I would eat the entire contents of the fridge, so I tried to dream about working out, because maybe I would sleep walk on the treadmill. Lol well it did not happen. Dang it.

The reason I like this ARTICLE, is because I might try some of these homeopathic options, minus the Chinese food, clearly. I am pretty sure eating Chinese food is the same as eating the entire fridge on Ambien, at least then I would not remember! Also, I am positive that Chinese food it the reason, or one of them, that i am in this situation in the first place. Check it out and let me know if you have tried any of these, because advice is def appreciated.

Aufwiedersehen!  

 

Bananas

A little sugar counters the effects of your orexin cells, says Dr. Winter. Try a banana before bed—it will give you just enough sugar to calm your orexin cells, plus magnesium and potassium to help to relax your muscles.

Passionfruit Tea

An Australian study found that when people drank a cup of either passionfruit or parsley tea, the passionfruit drinkers slept more soundly. Researchers believe chemicals called harman alkaloids—high levels of which are unique to the passionfruit flower—act on your nervous system to make you sleepy.

Hummus

While L-tryptophan—the amino acid that supposedly makes you crash after Thanksgiving dinner—does make you sleepy, there are better sources than turkey. Consider elk instead, says Christine J. Jones, sleep researcher at Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine. At 746 milligrams (mg) a portion, it far surpasses turkey (333 mg). Game meats not your thing? Sesame seeds (120 mg) and hummus (usually about 600 mg) are packed with L-tryptophan too.

Dates

L-tryprophan works best when combined with carbs. Carbs trigger your body to secrete insulin, which uses up other amino acids in your bloodstream first, leaving more L-tryptophan to sedate, says Dr. Winter. The best foods for the job? Carbs that raise your blood sugar levels fast, since slow-acting carbs don’t produce the same kind of insulin response. Go for a healthy handful of dates—they’re high in carbs and have a fair amount of L-tryptophan. Fruit and air-popped popcorn are other healthy fast-acting carbohydrates.

Chinese Food

GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in your body—in other words, it’s your brain’s brakes to calm the party down. It plays a role in regulating the excitability of neurons throughout your nervous system. The only problem: “It’s not found in food, so you can’t really eat GABA-rich products,” says Dr. Winter. Instead, you can eat foods high in glutamic acid—a precursor to GABA that turns into the neurotransmitter in your body. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the salt of glutamic acid, and it’s usually added to Chinese food.

While MSG sometimes gets a bad reputation because it makes food “addictively” good tasting, the FDA has declared it a safe food additive. MSG can be made simply enough by putting salt on a tomato, Dr. Winter says. Other natural options: raw seaweed/spirulina (6,648 mg glutamic acid), Chinese cabbage (6,232 mg), or low-fat cottage cheese (7,455 mg). Still, if you experience the symptoms often associated with MSG, you should avoid it.

Cherries

Recent research in the European Journal of Nutrition found that drinking an ounce of cherry juice twice a day—once in the morning and once at night—for a week helped people sleep an extra 25 minutes. Why? It’s laced with L-tryptophan, which can convert into serotonin, and eventually melatonin—the compound that influences your sleep cycle, says Jason Ellis, Ph.D., the director of the Northumbria Centre for Sleep Research. Increase the melatonin circulating in your body, and you’ll increase the chances of a good night’s sleep, too. Try an ounce of juice or a cup of cherries before bed. Since there are no foods high in melatonin, you want to look for foods that can produce it, says Dr. Winter. A few to keep in mind: milk, yogurt, oats, eggs, and peanuts.

Fuel the Hatred

Meh. Pretty much sums up today. I am so tired and just really out of if. I really could use a long vacation or a hot bath , by myself. It the little things in life you forget to appreciate in life before you have children. I wanted to take a bath last night and just relax, but a 22 month old does not understand “mama needs alone time”, no she proceeds to strip down and get in.  ugh… I just want a bath. Oh well.

So in my new Fitness Magazine, with Jillian Michaels on the cover, there was this great 45 min walker/fat burn workout. I could def do it, because the speeds are manageable, but the 45 min is not just right now. I can commit to 30 min max at night, so I calculated the difference in the minutes and broke it down, then multiplied the remaining minutes and calculated the average between them: ET VOILA! I broke it down to 30 min! NERD ALERT! God I felt like my brother for a second!  Anyway so here is the picture for all you fat burning fools! Wanna do it with me?

I am still going to do the Jillian Michaels’ Get Ripped in 30 (RIP30)… umm I am starting to see a trend….She is pretty hot. Anyway, I was looking through old pictures of me in college and I started getting sad! WHAT THE HELL DID I DO TO MYSELF?

I legitimately hate myself. And at this point it is a good thing! Because like Fat Amy from Pitch Perfect (Favorite Movie), I am going to keep something behind my ear to “fuel the hatred” . JK well I will keep a picture everywhere! Ugh I just want to be pretty again, and healthy. Even if I don’t get to that weight! I did some pretty dangerous stuff to get that thin and stay that thin. (like not eating at all, rice and just Gatorade just to name a few) I am going to motivate myself with the people around me like,  by big Sis (from Chio) Kell! She has always been fit and really has been pushing herself, and I want to be like that. I am trying so hard not to get discouraged, but sometimes it just sucks. 

Neon Anyone??

So I am pretty excited. I committed to run with an old sorority sister in the Neon Run on May 11^th at the Salt River Talking Stick Fields. This is exciting two fold because 1. This would be the first time running/slothing without Rob and 2. I haven’t seen her in like 10 years! So that’s super fun! I follow her two blogs (1. and 2.) and she is pretty awesome and has really changed her whole body and attitude, all while keeping it real!  She like me is married and also has a almost two year old, named Emma. (Lena and Emma are only a month apart) So I am pretty nervous! I hope she will have fun, and I plan on making a it a goal to run the whole thing.

I have a couple of health things going on, that I am putting at the back of my mind until I actually get results, but I hope it gets better. Soon! They have kind of really demotivated me from how I was doing, and even my co-works have noticed me “stress” eating, which I am apparently a huge fan of. Lisa said she will take sneaky pics everyday and show me weekly PowerPoint presentations to disgust me and tell me I suck.  The health issues suck as well as some work stuff that I really cannot take anymore, but have to power through.

I have decided to do two a day workouts. Yeah, that’s right TWO-A-DAY’s. I am going to do Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30 in the AM with Robbie Rob (yeah babe get ready) and then while he gives Lena a bath at night do a quick 25 min session with the Treadmill, or they can both watch, that way we can watch Whitney (that is why I said 25 min, because that’s Hulu time).

This day has really been dragging, and I am not the only one who thinks so. I need to go shopping tonight due to family coming over for dinner tomorrow.

OH and PS. My brother is now DIV 2National NCAA champion of the 1000m freestyle! Pretty kick to the ASS! So proud of that little shit! 

What a long week it's been!

I am not going to lie, I have been so freaking bummed! (There has been so much going on at work, but I don't want to jinx it) I have been working out so hard, and watching what I was eating and nothing moved on the scale! And I mean NOTHING! Actually I gained weight, and it was so depressing. I noticed that I felt swollen and felt puffy and it was getting worse and worse. I could not even bend my fingers, that's how swollen I was. So I was thinking that I must be retaining so much water (even though I have not eaten salty foods), I still have these pills that are for my head (which is a whole other story) which are strong diuretics. So I took a full days worth, and seriously I dropped 6 pounds of water in one day! 6 freaking pounds!!!! That is just ridiculous ! I know it was that because I have kept it off, and I know I have problems with water retention. It's so frustrating.
I am so lucky to have friends in my life that seem to really care about what I am doing and are keeping me motivated. They are telling me that I am inspiring them to work out and eat better. I had a great conversation with a mom last night about how I feed Lena and that I am pretty strict about her sugar habits, and it was so refreshing to have someone totally get it! She even gave me a great alternative with potty training "treats" that I can use instead of jelly beans! She said to use chocolate covered sunflower seeds, which is a great alternative! I am totally going to get those for Lena!
I have had this post about child obesity that I have been contemplating if I should post it or not, and I think I will. I mean I care about what kids are eating, and honestly to each their own, but the post is just how I feel about how I currently and will continue to feed Lena.

In closing, thanks to all the people who read this and with whom I have talked over the last week, that have supported me!

We made Blueberry Muffins from scratch!