Slow, but going...

It seems like it's been so long already, but according to my first entry in MyFitnessPal, it's only been about 3 weeks. Crazy!

Weekends away from home are the hardest. It's hard not to give in to the pizza and fries, and I do give in to them. Once in a while, that's okay. But not 3 days in a row. All of a sudden, I've blown a whole week's worth of work.

I have noticed changes in my body that aren't considerably measurable. Increased energy, desire to be more active, and slight visible changes as well. I think I'm okay with weighing myself daily, even recording it daily, but I'll only be checking in with my numbers here once a month or so.

I've been working out about 5 or 6 days a week, kayaking on average twice a week and the other 3 or 4 days doing a workout video, Nike Training Club workout, or cleaning at the local humane society for 3 hours. You'll notice that none of that is running. I pushed myself too hard during my last training run and got some bad shin splints. Now that my shins are healed, I'm going to start back up with my couch to 5k program next Wednesday. I also still haven't started my boot camp classes, because every time I call about activating my Groupon, it goes to voicemail and no one calls me back. Oh well.

That's about it with me lately. I've been doing a lot of DIY projects and finally convinced my husband to do the floors in the kitchen and entryway. And this weekend we are going on a trip to the Denver area to visit my aunt in Arvada, and my husband will be playing ultimate frisbee in a tournament in Boulder. I cannot wait for the cooler temperatures and to visit my aunt who I so very rarely get to see.

Also: I've been considering a Bodybugg. Pros and cons, anyone? Advice and suggestions welcome!!

Weight Gain and a New Exercise Routine

I've tried different weight loss plans in the past, and for the most part, they've worked.  I tried Weight Watchers, and that worked pretty well for me twice.  This is the first time I'm using a more tailored approach for my fitness goals.  See, Weight Watchers allows you to eat pretty much whatever you want within a certain "PointsPlus" range (which is based on Fat, Fiber, Protein, and Carbohydrate composition).  Essentially, that means you could even eat a high fat diet as long as you stayed within the points range, and you would probably still lose weight because of how the plan is set up.  However, for my goals, I really want to get FIT.  Not just thin.  So I'm trying to incorporate more protein than the average diet, and I'm working out more than I have in over a year.  In all of my past diets, I've almost exclusively used running as my means of exercise.  Now, I'm incorporating exercises that will lead to building lean muscle as well as cardio to burn calories.

Why am I telling you all of this?  Well, I have been making the mistake of weighing myself daily.  This is something that I do not recommend ANYONE do, ever, for the rest of their life, because, like me, you can become a little obsessed with it, and it can really get you discouraged when you really shouldn't be.  But here is what I have noticed has happened:

1. I have GAINED weight since my last post on Monday (more on this later)
2. I have been following my 1200-calorie goal religiously (I always eat AT LEAST 1200 calories, no more than 1300, every day)
3. I have been eating 35% protien, 35% carbs, 30% fat (goal was 30/50/20)
4. I have been drinking a TON of water (around 12 8-oz servings a day)
5. I went from being completely sedentary to working out an average of 70 minutes 5 times a week (and it will be even more once I finally start the boot camp)

How come I've gained weight?  While I can't be 100% sure that this is what's going on because I didn't take any starting measurements, I'm pretty certain it's because I'm building muscle (yay!) faster than I'm losing the weight equivalent of fat.  This is a very good thing, and something I'm willing to put up with, because lean muscle actually has a much higher metabolism (burns more calories) than the equivalent of fat does.  Another thing to consider is this:

http://www.meh.ro/2011/12/30/muscle-vs-fat/

But, like I said, I can't be sure I've lost any inches since started my journey because I didn't take any beginning measurements.  So, I'm going to start tracking my waist, hip, and body fat % measurements in addition to my weight and pants size.  Also, and this part is key, I'm only going to take these measurements once every 2 weeks.  I will put my scale away so I'm not tempted to jump on it just any old time.  I'm going to aim for weigh-in days to be Mondays.

Today's measurements:

Weight: 174.4

Waist: 35.75"

Hips: 47.5"

Body Fat %: 34.7%

Pants: 16

I almost feel like I'm starting all over again, but I know in reality that isn't true.  I know it because I feel better, I even feel a little bit more fit lately even though it's been such a short time.  It's pretty amazing how quickly regular exercise and a healthy diet can start to make you feel better!

Let me introduce myself...

As this is my first post here, I thought I would give a little background about how I've found myself in this current situation.  I have bipolar disorder.  It actually explains a lot about my past that I didn't understand at the time, but which now makes a lot of sense.  If you don't know much about bipolar disorder, here's the super short basic rundown: it is a mood disorder where the afflicted individual swings between extreme highs known as manic states and extreme lows known as depressive states.  Many individuals cannot treat their depression episodes with traditional antidepressants, as they can trigger mania (which is the case with me, which I found out the hard way).  So I take a drug known as a mood stabilizer, as well as an antipsychotic, which also acts to stabilize my mood.  I also take a cocktail of drugs in addition to these.  One of the unfortunate side effects of these medications can be pretty significant weight gain.  Which, again, I found out the hard way.

This is a picture of me in college, before I became severely disabled by my disorder.  I was about 120 pounds.

And this is a picture of me recently, at about 180 pounds.  I'm on the far left.

So, let me briefly describe what happened: I got severely depressed.  My doc at the time wasn't convinced I was bipolar, prescribed me an antidepressant, I became severely manic, had to be hospitalized and lost my job, crashed from the mania and went through a million different drug combinations while I fought depression, gaining weight both from depression and the drugs I was taking.

Luckily, I now have an awesome doctor, and I finally feel in control of my mood for the first time in more than a year.  I am motivated to start getting active and eating healthy, and I'm really trying to commit myself to it this time.  My goals are as follows:

Workouts:

• Run 3 miles 3 times a week
• Kayak 2 hours twice a week
• 90-minute Hot yoga once a week
• Boot camp class (55 minutes) twice a week

Diet: clean diet, 1200 calories, 30-40% protein, 20% fat, 40-50% carbohydrates, 5-6 meals per day.

That's about it.  Cross your fingers for me.  I'm already down to 172.4 pounds, so that's a good start.  And I'm feeling better every day, both in my mind, and in my body.