Nobel Ambitions 5.30.11

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will. -Mahatma Gandhi

Nobel Ambitions 5.23.11

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Snow White belongs to Disney.

Nobel Ambitions 5.16.11

The difference between a goal and a dream is a deadline. -Steve Smith

Nobel Ambitions 5.9.11

Fitness - if it came in a bottle, everybody would have a great body.  ~Cher

Little Updates

Two little updates.

1. My math was wrong (numbers--never my strong area) in my previous post.  I am 11 lbs away from the elusive 100, not 16.  Or should I say, I was, on Tuesday.

2.  Registration for the Princess Half is JUST TWO MONTHS AWAY!  Eeek!

That's all, I just needed to get that out there. 

Tiana knew they way to achieve her dreams
was through a lot of hard work!  We Princesses can
relate to each other like that.  Tiana is copyrighted by
the Big Mouse.

Forward Thinking

I have been terribly neglectful of my blog lately.  That’s no way to build up an army of loyal readers and cheerleaders, now is it?  I have actually wanted to find the time to write, and thought of it longingly almost every day, but I have simply been overwhelmed lately.  I am sure most readers can identify with the busies keeping us from things we want to do for ourselves.

Biggest on my mind lately is my job search.  The movers will be here in like---oh, 17 days and I have no job.  Much of my extra time lately has been devoted to scanning various web sites for jobs, composing cover letters and filling out applications. (Which, by the way, drive me bonkers…SEE RESUME!)  I have hardly been sleeping…too distracted by all that is happening around me.  I usually nod off around 10:30 to 11, only to awaken for a good think around 1 am for at least an hour.  My alarm, set for 4:55 rarely goes off, because I am staring at the ceiling at 4 AM and crawling out of bed before it can ring.  I only wish the gym opened before 5:30.

I was very successful with the #7daychip program until Easter.  Then I tried to get back on over and over again, followed by frustration and going food-wild for about a week.  I am happy to report that today, I am back in control.  I am going to stick to my eating plan very closely at least until I meet with my trainer a week from Thursday.  I want to show some progress and I know if I stick to the plan for 10 days, it will put another dent in my weight loss (at least I hope so) so I have something to show for the six weeks between our meetings.

The weeks ahead of me are a bit scary though—when I consider keeping it in-control, food wise.  As I announce my departure around town, everyone seems to want to take me for a meal or a drink.  Wouldn’t it be great is someone said, “I am going to miss you, let’s do Zumba together before you leave!”  Ha.  Of course in all honesty, I want to linger over a martini with friends, eat a meal at my favorite restaurant in town with people I care about.  On top of the “good byes” I am faced with many celebrations at work.  I work in higher education and as the semester wraps up, there are several celebrations in the very near future, all surrounding food.  I can think of four in the next ten days, and that is not an all-inclusive list.

At these said good byes, and thanks for a great year soirees, I am going to be that annoying girl who orders off menu, or eats a side salad.  I have to.  I am within 16 lbs of losing 100 lbs since March of last year.  That celebration will be so much sweeter than any tasty dish or super margarita that will pass under my nose over the next few weeks.  Then I can focus on the next milestone—100 lbs since officially counting and the start of my fitness journey in January.

Must remember, eat like a princess, not a beast.
Image is Disney's.

Despite my wandering diet, I have remained true to my exercise plan.  I’d like to think that it has become a habit, with me forever.  However, I know better.  I am aware, that my brain program is preferential to the couch, and sleeping in, and I am going to have to work at this every day for the rest of my life.  I have been sneaking in a 2^nd workout at night whenever possible, which has been good for my calorie burn.  I am excited to recently begin to see traces of my legs.  I have great legs under there, I almost forgot.  They are beginning to rise out of the flab.  I was supposed to participate in a marathon relay this past weekend, but was sorely disappointed to rise Saturday morning to find that my teammates were unable to make it happen.  That was really the only day I let an external force keep me from doing my workout.  I was bummed out, maybe a little angry and decided if I couldn’t do the relay than I wasn’t doing anything.  How stupid.  I knocked sense into myself by Sunday AM though, and made myself sweat twice as hard.

So glancing through this rant, it all seems very whiny.  But these are my challenges and at times they overwhelm me.  However, I also am about to open a new chapter in my life.  I am very excited as I look forward, so please don’t get the impression that I am a wailing Eyeore.  I am very anxious and excited, and tempted by old coping methods—sleeping, eating, and drinking adult beverages.  Resisting those now, while I know they are the right choice, adds to the anxiety level.  But I have plenty of moments too, when I glance down in the mirror at my ever firming, toning legs and am excited knowing they are going to carry me through my next, new adventure.  And they will look good doing it.

PS:  Forgive me if my loyalty to the blog is low for a while.  I am quite certain I will be busy driving to interviews and such almost any day now, which could keep me from finding time to write.  Right?

Nobel Ambitions 4.25.11

I am a little behind on my blog.  Hope to have some time mid-week to get a post written and ready for Thursday.  Please come back! 

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. -Wayne Gretzky

Princess Diaries II images belong to Disney.

Nobel Ambitions 4.18.11

Be careful about reading health books.  You may die of a misprint.  ~Mark Twain

Princess images belong to Disney.  Duh.

One Week

I have had a really awful week.  I have been super exhausted, something is wrong with the girly-hormones, Charming and I are in a bit of a money crunch, work was a zoo and I am feeling overwhelmed because Charming got a new job and we are relocating in about a month.  To top it off, I have to sell the concert tickets that I have coveted for my favorite band because of the relocation (and failure to find a replacement date).  Have I mentioned I need to find a new job, pronto?  I am super stressed-out.

In response, my eating has been out of control.  It started with just a couple extra hundred calories here and there.  A couple of deli turkey slices while watching the tube.  A peppermint patty from the secretary’s desk.  But I wasn’t logging it into the Bodybugg system, so Digit had no idea.  As the week has progressed it has snowballed to an all-out feeding frenzy.

This is horrible.  It is making me feel bad emotionally—I feel guilty and disappointed with myself.  I haven’t gained any weight yet, but physically I feel gross.  I can tell the bad food is affecting my body.  It certainly is contributing to my sluggishness.  I am spinning out of control.  And I am kind of freaking out.  The Princess Half is in like 10 months.  I have so much work to do, and I want to complete that more than I desire anything else in the world right now.

For a few months now, I have noticed several tweeples mentioning #7day chip on Twitter.  I honestly thought it was somehow related to Overeaters Anonymous, something I tried once, but it wasn’t for me.  (I should blog about it in the future.)  So I have more or less ignored it.  However, someone I follow on Twitter blogged about starting the #7daychip program earlier this week.  You can check out her blog here.  She is amazing—super inspirational.

It turns out that #7daychip isn’t a certain diet or eating plan or OA.  It is about getting through a week, one day at a time, following your healthy eating choices, whatever they may be.  It focuses on being in control, for just a week.  Of course, you want to do this for many, many weeks in a row, but the focus is ONE WEEK.  People report progress Twitter, using the hashtag, and help each other out.

I have been busting my butt for four months in the gym.  I can do anything for a week, right?  So I am going to give it a try.  Tomorrow, Saturday is day one.  My goals will be as follows.

·         To stick within the calories allotted to me by Digit.  Not to be less than, or exceed the goal by more than 100 calories daily.

·         To report every bite to my trusty sidekick, Digit.

·         To avoid all fast food, even the stuff I have made fit in my diet, like a plain grilled chicken sandwich, I need to stay away from those places. 

·         No candy.  Not even if I report it properly.

·         To pay attention to what I am eating.  No mindless eating.

One week.  One week is nothing.  I can do this. 

Magic Pills

Ohhhhhh, so I am almost embarrassed to share it, but you know, the fitness journey blog is supposed to be all about self-disclosure and stuff.  So here it goes.

In January I stopped into GNC for protein powder for the breakfast smoothies I like to make sometimes.

• ¼ cup raw oatmeal, blended powder fine
• ¼ cup vanilla lowfat, organic yogurt
• 1 cup skim milk
• Frozen berries—about a half cup-ish (Sometimes a banana & some ice instead.)
• 1 scoop GNC Pro Performance® AMP Amplified Wheybolic powder

I find that this is super satisfying and it takes me almost all morning to drink the whole thing, so it appeals to my grazing tendencies.  I make it at night and store it in the fridge in a thermos and it is still nice and thick the next morning.

But I avoid my confession. Back to GNC.  So, they gave me a free sample of “OxyElite Pro”  a thermogenic--a fat burner, metabolism booster, magic pill.

I was skeptical.  And sort of intrigued.  Does anyone out there remember the good old days of Metabolife before they removed the ephedra from the product? That stuff was my crack in high school. 

I researched a lot.  Most people who reviewed it online fell into two camps.  1) The loved it, it changed their life. Some claimed it worked as appetite control.  2) They hated it, either because it didn’t work, or the side effects were too significant.  Individuals who reported side effects complained of heart palpitations, limited attention span, thirst and irritability.  Both pro-OxyElite and anti-OxyElite mentioned excessive sweating during workouts. 

I looked around a bit on thermogenics in general.  The science about why they worked seemed a little weak to me.  Plus this is the label on the bottle: “OxyELITE Pro is Pharmacist-formulated & must be used with extreme caution, only by healthy adults capable of handling its true power. It is mandatory that users get clearance from their physician before use.”  Seriously, are you selling me a diet pill, or an NRA membership?  Other resources said absolutely, under no condition should anyone take a thermogenic, because they don’t work, they mix with meds, they do bad things to the body---there are all kinds of haters out there.  Educated ones.

So Alice is not a princess, but I couldn't resist!  Her image
belongs to Disney.

So, did this stop me?  Of course not.  Mostly I was attracted to the amount of caffeine in each pill.  Like coffee, Jetson’s style.  I started with one of the beautiful purple pills before my workout.  I didn’t notice any negative side effects.  But was I sweating harder?  Yes.  No, that was in my head.  Well yes, I was!  Maybe?

The free sample bottle eventually ran dry.  So I invested in a big one—and increased my dosage to two each morning before my workout.  That’s like four cups of futuristic coffee in my belly by 5:15 AM. 

Image from GNC website. 
Purple is my favorite color, and these little capsules are pretty!

I cannot say I have every felt a negative side effect.  I also can’t say one way or the other if it has had any effect on my weight loss.  I can tell you that the bottle went dry on Monday.  And all week long, I have been a walking zombie.  It takes me longer to feel pumped up at the gym, I am sluggish in the locker room and I want a morning nap—desperately.  So, I think I can definitely attest that the caffeine was making a difference.

These types of things are not especially safe.  I don’t recommend them without doing your own research.  You should probably consult a physician.  Read the labels (the one on OxyElite is actually quite extensive once you get beyond reading about its “true power”) and investigate ingredients.  And we all have to remember, there is no magic pills.  Taking these things may be counter to my healthy, fitness focused goals and lifestyle, I don't know.  I feel like I am cheating--but coffee--without the work of coffee--I love it.  What do you think?  You can tell me the truth.

I am looking forward to a GNC run in the very near future.  Because although they aren’t magic fat melters—they are the coffee of the future!  Charming calls them my OXYcontin pills. 

GNC (or the OxyElite people) did not request this review and have not compensated me in any way to talk about their product.  All opinions expressed in this blog are my own.  CBC or a supplement manufacturer want to send me product or coupons, I would be happy to share my honest thoughts about how a particular item for me, and would disclose such perks to readers.   I can be contacted at discoveringmyinnerprincess@yahoo.com.