Ok, well, I can't say too much about this first tidbit. . . I received notification that someone I was in a car accident with 20 months ago has retained a lawyer and is pursuing a bodily injury claim against me. For obvious reasons, I am not going to comment on the merit of his case. What I WILL say, however, is that it stressed me the funk out! Holy balls! Great way to start the week, huh? Here you go, Ali. Now, try not to eat your weight in chocolate bars and cry your eyes out, buddy!
I made the decision after reading the letter and speaking with my insurance that I would set an almost unattainable fitness goal for the week and work my stress out through exercise. I've been making it my mantra to ask myself, "Will (eating this or doing that) make me feel better and less stressed after I'm done?" If not, then I'm trying to say no to whatever it is. It's not always easy.
Well, the fitness goal was lofty. If you read last Monday's post you know that the goal was to burn 7k calories on the treadmill. I didn't really just mean treadmill. I meant through exercise. I chose 7k calories because that's the equivalent of two pounds of fat. So, here's what I did:
Monday 110 minutes of incline treadmill for 1255 cals
Tuesday 50 minutes on the exercycle for 388 cals
Wednesday 110 minutes of incline treadmill for 1258 cals
Thursday rest
Friday 135 minutes of incline treadmill for 1526 cals
Saturday 125 minutes of incline treadmill for 1562 cals
Sunday 180 minutes of incline treadmill for 2160 cals (!!!)
Total: 8149 calories burned!
So, yeah, that's the equivalent of greater than 9 sticks of butter! It's a bit mindboggling to think about. And I hate to say it but you could have made one hell of a pie crust out of my ass. . . or what I shed of it. Delish!
I'm resting today. Sorta. I'm about to take Diego for a walk in the forest preserve. It's a gorgeous day.
No intense workouts today, though.
Beyond the exercise, of course, I also made it my mission to stay on track with my diet. There were ups and downs. To be honest, 6 out of the 7 days were great. I'm not sure what happened on Thursday but I can tell you I went off the mothaf*cking rails! I had intended to work out. I even had a break in the afternoon to slip in about 110 minutes of walking. It didn't happen. And, by the time I got out of work I was famished and emotional and I drove straight to Panda Express. I swear to god I sat in the parking lot after getting my food and cried. I felt powerless. I wasn't, of course. But, I was. Hard to explain. I drove home and I ate that shitty-ass food. I felt sick for 2 days after because of the water I was retaining from all the sodium I consumed. I think I learned my lesson. I hope so. And, interesting observation: the day after eating all that sodium I barely sweat while I was working out. I was busting my ass and my heart rate was up, but I barely sweat. By Saturday I was sweating more, and my Sunday the sweat was pouring out of my pores. It was like my body just did not want to let go of that water and sodium. . . stupid body.
That one day aside I have to pat myself on the back, though. Over the past week I had two days where my net calories consumed (subtracting what I burned through exercise from what I consumed) was less than 500 and 3 days where I had a NEGATIVE net calorie balance--3 days where I burned more calories through exercise than I consumed! 6 of the past 7 days I stayed within both my sodium and sugar goals. I did well all things considered, but that doesn't excuse the poor choices I made on Thursday. And, for the record, Alester, you were NOT powerless. You should have phoned a phriend and gotten the support you needed to dump that panda bear shit food in the bin. I will do better next time. That's all I CAN do. . .
So, this upcoming week is exciting.
My fitness goal will be a little bit different, but still challenging. I'm gearing up to climb the stairs of the Hancock Building in downtown Chicago on the 24th--that's next Sunday! I have established that I can keep my heart rate in the cardio zone for hours, so now it's time to see how I do with a more intense workout. So. . . My goal is to climb the equivalent of the Hancock on the Stairmaster StepMill twice. That's 102 Stairmaster flights. I plan to do that on Tuesday and Thursday. I will mix in some incline walking, as well. I also want to fit in one Eliptical workout on Wednesday. And then I plan to rest up on Friday and Saturday before climbing the ACTUAL skyscraper on Sunday. I've done this climb once before and I've also done the Sears (Willis) Tower twice. I'm less prepared this time than I have been in the past, but I'm determined. I'll get to the top! Also, in the process, I would like to burn 3500 calories through exercise this week. I think those are reasonable goals.
If you'd like to virtually cheer me on as I climb you can make a donation here! All donations support Respiratory Health Association in the fight against lung disease. No dollar amount is too small, and for every five dollars you donate I will offer to climb a floor in honor of someone you love. I'll climb for you, a family member, a friend--whoever. I would be especially honored to climb in honor of someone you have lost whether it is to lung disease, heart disease, cancer. . . I'll even put their name on the back of my shirt so the people who pass me on the climb will know who is pushing me forward.
Well, before I put on shoes and a hoodie and take my favorite pit bull for a walk in our favorite forest preserve I need to catch you up on my progress vis a vis the scale. I wish I could say that this weeks weight loss was as stellar as my workouts were, but I guess I can't have my panda bear and eat it, too. . . or something like that.
I lost another 2 pounds this week. I am fine with that.
I've lost 18 pounds so far. I am more than fine with that.
This week will be amazing.
I know it in my soul.
I will make it so.
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