Body shots showing progress + update

Today, though I spent a good amount of time studying, I managed to work out and take some body shots for comparison (seeing as how it's been 4 weeks and 2 days since the last time I took them and I wanted to be consistent). Here are the before and to-date (as it's technically not really an after):

BEFORE

TODAY

Although I can see some results (namely in the calves and back region), I still have a lot further to go, in my opinion. I'm trying to get my legs more "cut" and want to cut some of the fat still left on my abs. However, I am proud of the progress that you can see in just four short weeks, and hope to gain even more the next four!

While at the gym today, I felt like a moron. I've been inwardly moaning about the lack of rowing machines at my gym (which is otherwise a top-rate facility and amazing), and finally made it up to the inside jogging track. WHERE THERE ARE AT LEAST FIVE ROWING MACHINES. Although I had already done tons of cardio, I still hopped on a machine and rowed for 5 minutes (1000 m) for old time's sake. It felt good. Here's a shot of what I did in the gym today (weight training only targeted the triceps):

My running keeps getting better and better, and I've finally gotten rid of the residual effects of the wheat/sweet potato from a few days ago! My weight has finally normalized again at around 109.6, so tonight I added black pepper (I know, I shouldn't shift things around, but I'm tired of waiting for black pepper and want to go ahead and figure out if I'm sensitive to it). I've been packing my lunch while studying every day, and make sure to pack TONS of fruits/carrots to eat throughout my studying period. It makes it a lot easier to focus on what's in front of me if I'm not hungry.

I'm basically falling asleep at the keyboard right now, and have to wake up at 6:00 am to work out, so I'm going to bid you adieu.

Quick update (i.e.: I haven't died)

It's been a while since I've posted, and I'll blame that on my studies for the Texas bar (which are currently whooping my ass, just for the record). Since I last updated, I spent 5 full days away from home and managed to keep my diet (!!!), had a reaction to wheat/sweet potatoes, and am slowly working to come back from the residual weight gain that resulted.

My workout schedule has been pretty consistent (aside from time taken during job interviews), and I'm feeling good about my results. I've been for a few runs outside and like them SO MUCH MORE now that I have an inhaler and can actually breathe. :)

Because of bar studies, I got up today and was in the gym before 7:00 am, then studied from 10:00 to 6:00. I've gotten stuff done, but I NEED TO DO MORE. I'm seriously freaking out about the bar, and can't even begin to express how much I want it all to be over.

Tomorrow, I'll post a proper blog and get back on track with my fitness screen shots, but for the time being, I'm going to veg on my bed and study more family law. God help me.....

I hate cashews, and they hate me.

I've went to bed by 9:30 p.m. the past two nights, and feel like my body is exhausted and pre-sickness, so I'm trying to ward that off as best as I can (I think the good diet, coupled with enough exercise and water and fruits has been extremely beneficial to minimizing potential bugs, however).

Yesterday, I introduced an orange in the morning and that seemed to be fine....no weird effects or strange occurrences. But then, I happened into the health food store while waiting for my second job interview and discovered some raw cashews, which are on the "safe" foods list....I just haven't been eating them due to not having a health food store next to where I live. Okay, y'all, I know I'm allergic to peanuts. I also realize that cashews are legumes. What I didn't realize is how my body apparently doesn't like EITHER of them. About an hour after eating those little bastards, my stomach was aching (and I do mean aching), and I had a headache AND the back of my mouth and jaws felt a little numb. My weight this morning sealed the deal. The past three days, my morning weights have been 109.6, 109.2 and 109.4, respectively. (The .2 weight gain is probably due to potatoes.). This morning, I was up to 109.8, and I wholeheartedly blame cashews. Today I'll be taking it easy and only eating the foods on my safe list, although it makes me angry that my diet was sabotaged by a food that should be low-sensitivity. 

Job interviews were....interesting. The first one I went to was for a legal secretary job in a reaaaally small town. The guy expressed surprise at having not one, but THREE lawyers apply for the job. The second interview was crazy. I mean, the guy was cray, the interview was cray, the questions were cray. My mom is convinced I'll get the second job. ::such is my life::

Today I'm studying, then hitting the gym since I couldn't yesterday and because I MISS IT. I need some weights in my life. (I think I'm hitting biceps and calves today.)

Elimination Diet, Beef + Yeast

So I'm not allergic to beef, and SHOCKINGLY not allergic to yeast (which I choked down last night, and which sucked, lol). My weight last night was 112.0, and my weight this morning was 110.4.

Yesterday was a good workout day, and a great food day as well. I ate responsibly, hit my back and lats REALLY hard, and have the residual lactic acid/muscle soreness to prove it. Today I worked out my legs, and I *know* they're going to be screaming tomorrow. My workouts from the past two days looked like this:

Feb 6, 2013: Shoulders/Lats Workout

Feb 2, 2013: Leg Workout Day

Yesterday's food intake looked like this:

Yesterday, I scheduled interviews for two jobs next week, and while I'm excited, I'm also kinda bummed. This means that I'm going to have to plan REAALLLLY far in advance so I can square away my diet, and it also means that I'm going to have to spend time driving rather than studying to get to those interviews (they're far away, for the record). However, I REALLY need a job, so I'm sucking it up, and would really appreciate some good thoughts sent my way!

Elimination Diet, Day 16

Today was the day I was able to begin reintroducing foods into my diet (YAY!!). Specifically, I introduced pork (okay) and onions (will know tomorrow). My measurements for today were 111.6 (morning) and 111.2 (evening). I don't know why my weights are generally lower in the evening, but whatever.

I ate shit tons of chicken and rice today. Then EVEN MORE rice. With a pork chop for breakfast. And, to be honest, the pork chop was pretty damn good. Tomorrow, as long as I don't have a reaction to onions, I'll probably make another pork chop slathered in onion powder. I'm also introducing ground coffee and lemons tomorrow, which means I have to go to the grocery store sometime tomorrow to buy the lemons. If lemons are okay, then it's GREAT news. The more things I can use to season my food, the better.

I also took today off from working out. I've been reading up on rest days, and even though I sometimes feel guilty about taking them, I know that they help me in the gym. I'm also not going to lie...it's a lot easier taking rest days when your entire body hurts. (I woke up this morning in pain--my butt, quads, obliques, and biceps are ALL hurting.) I like the pain though--it tells me I've done something right. I'm debating whether I should take a cardio/yoga day in the gym tomorrow then resume weight training on Tuesday, or just go back to weights tomorrow. I'm thinking of the former. And maybe a run outside (because the weather has been GORGEOUS lately).

I've got to REALLY start working on getting highly motivated for the Bar. Tomorrow I'm focusing on slogging through as much criminal law/evidence crap as possible (it's 130 pages long).

Bad ideas

You know how yesterday I said that *since I had broken my diet anyway,* I was going to go out to eat?

BAD IDEA. 

Let me reiterate: it was a 

BAD BAD TERRIBLE NO-GOOD IDEA!

I spent yesterday night huddled in a fetal position, feeling as though I were about to die. So yeah....anyone who thinks that breaking the elimination diet is a good idea should probably think again. I had a headache, felt like throwing up, had gas, a stomachache, and  went to bed three hours earlier than normal. All because of a potato, some butter, and a slab of meat (okay, and some salad dressing and a piece of bread). 

Today I'm back to eating "safe foods," and have a chicken roasting in the oven as I type. I don't think I'll be repeating that mistake again. 

I did take the sodium/potassium bicarbonate mixture yesterday, and it did help get me back to a closer weight (111.8). Hopefully I'll weigh in at my normal weight tomorrow morning, and then can continue testing foods. 

Wish me luck....I'm headed to the gym.

Elimination Diet: Day 7 (AND BROCCOLI)

Today, I weighed in at 112.8 in the morning (although I reweighed after a BM, which I had been doing, and it was down a pound at 111.8). My evening weight was 113.8.

I've already discussed yesterday, which was much like the day before, and almost exactly like today. 

Did that make any sense? (I'm guessing not.)

Anyways, what that means is that I'm pseudo-starving myself, not because I am not hungry or want to lose weight, but because I am SO SICK OF THE FOODS. Fortunately, tonight I was able to introduce broccoli back into my palate, and ate an entire crown of the stuff. This followed an ENTIRE BAG of pistachios, which amounted to about 800 calories and about which I don't feel guilty at all.

On the other hand, today's workout went surprisingly well. I was able to hit cardio hard, and I also got in a good delts/lats/biceps workout, as evidenced by my Sparkpeople's record: 

Tomorrow is going to be even better, because I'm roasting a chicken. :)

Elimination Diet, Day 4/My Day at the Gym

Yesterday was more of the same diet foods. My morning weigh-in was at 113.8 and my evening weigh-in was 115.2. So far, my chart looks like this:

	Morning Weight	Evening Weight
Night before	---	118.8
Day 1	117.8	114.4
Day 2	114.4	115.4
Day 3	114.4	115.8 (after din)
Day 4	113.8	115.2

My weight is holding pretty steady, and I managed to drink 8 glasses of water yesterday. The corners of my mouth are healing nicely, and I hope that in a couple of days, the cracking will be a distant nightmare. 

So, I alluded to a horrible incident in the gym yesterday. Let me explain....

I already knew it was going to be a shitty day. My littlest brother was running late for school (I drop him off in the morning to ensure that I get up and get my pahookis to the gym), I forgot my breakfast (sliced pineapple) on my way out of the door, and I was starving come gym time. 

Then I get on the only open treadmill to start my fitness test and the woman on the one beside it had the worst imaginable breath ever. I'm talking....rank. It made me want to throw up, except, well, I didn't have anything in my darn stomach to heave! 

I managed to get through my upright bike, my AMT, and my running cardio (my fitness test was better than the last time, so that's a plus!); then I headed to the weight room. Since I had done pecs and lower back the day before, I figured I could do some triceps and abs to balance it out and focus on legs during the latter part of the week. So I grab my bosu ball and I'm heading to set up my station when I hear a guy kinda yell/grunt really loudly by the leg press machine. I figure he smushed his finger between two plates (haven't we all?) and I didn't give it much thought....until he did it again, much louder, and remained hunched by the machine. 

I cautiously approached him from the other side, asking if he was okay (because I thought maybe he had somehow gotten caught under the machine--I had no idea how I was going to help, but I HAD to offer). That's when I notice his hands were curled into claws and that he was seizing. 

At that moment, he fell down and began to convulse. I've seen someone have a seizure before, and luckily there was someone else in the weight room at that time who ran to help assist me. We rolled him over, and then realized this was no normal seizure. He was bleeding from his mouth and his eyes. His eyes actually looked black around the edges because of the blood vessels, and I saw blood coming from them. It wasn't just broken blood vessels, but ACTUAL blood. Now, had it just been coming from his mouth, I would have figured he had bitten his tongue. As it was, we knew something was very VERY wrong. 

I told the guy who was holding him to stay with him, then SPRINTED to the main desk to tell the person to call 911; that a man was having a seizure. Being as she was from another country, I guess she didn't understand me or why I was shouting. I shouted to the rest of the gym that if a medical professional was there, that they needed to come fast, because he needed a doctor or a nurse. By that time, I had already grabbed my phone and started dialing 911. They answered immediately, and after I calmed down, I explained where I was, what was happening, and to send help. A few minutes later, the managers of the facility also came downstairs and attempted to help. There was nothing I could do, and he was having large muscle contractions by this time, and lapsing in and out of consciousness. The police chief arrived, and about ten minutes after making the call, the paramedics (FINALLY) showed up. 

It turns out that this guy (who couldn't have been older than 21 or 22) had a preexisting condition; he wasn't wearing a medical bracelet indicating his propensity for seizures (which I know can be difficult and burdensome to wear in a gym). The medics got him in the bus and started an IV, and he suffered a gash to the head as well when he seized. I gave the police a report, and then went cut my workout short and went home. 

The rest of the day was pretty much wasted. I didn't feel better until I called the hospital, explained who I was (to three separate people), and just asked if he was okay. They told me they couldn't give me a report (which I was okay with and understood, due to HIIPA), but that he was being released (it was noon at that time).

However, it got me thinking....the emergency procedures in this gym were sorely lacking. No one covered this guy to keep him from going into shock (and the weight room was cold). The people behind the front desk were not equipped to handle such an emergency. They didn't even call the ambulance, but instead opted to phone the police, which could have wasted PRECIOUS minutes had this been something worse (not that this wasn't God-awful) and had I not called 911 instead. No one brought a defib in case this guy's heart stopped, and I'm not sure they even had one. It seems to me that every single gym should have an emergency plan in place, particularly at a university. No alarm was raised, no intercom system was used, and no one seemed to be in much of a hurry. 

It also made me think about how fragile life is, how unpredictable your day may be, and how much I hold on to trivial details when I should be thinking about the larger picture. 

Just food for thought....

Elimination Diet, Day 3

On day 3 of the elimination diet, my morning weight was 114.4 and my evening weight (which I stupidly recorded AFTER DINNER) was 115.8. I honestly thought I was having a wee bit of a reaction to the sweet potatoes I had for dinner, because I had gas and felt bloated after eating them. However, I was shocked when I got on the scales today (day 4) and actually measured less than I anticipated.

As far as diet, I had more of the same: pineapples, cod, lentils, walnuts, and apples. I added some sweet potatoes, as I've mentioned previously, and which I do not plan on adding for the rest of the seven days. I also managed to drink eight glasses of water yesterday (which I never do!) largely due to the fact that the corners of my mouth have started to crack and look absolutely horrible. This condition also made me run to Walgreens for an antifungal (thankfully found the athlete's feet section before I had to resort to buying Monostat and smearing it on the corners of my mouth) and a B-complex vitamin. They're already starting to look better, thank the little baby lord Jesus.

Here are my stats from yesterday, a la Sparkpeople:

Yesterday was a pectoral and lower back workout, and I went light on the weights. I'm really looking forward to being able to add some more carbs back to my diet after these seven days, because I don't have nearly as much energy in the gym as I do when I can eat grains and a really hearty breakfast.

In other news, I encountered the scariest gym incident (or possibly incident ever) today, and I'll be writing about that tomorrow, with day 4 of the elimination diet update.

Body Shots - 1/21/2013 - Gauging where I'm at

I looked high and low for a swimsuit, but they're all packed up. Thus, I picked some boyshorts and a matching top to take these pictures in (which are actually probably more covering than a swimsuit!).

As the caption says, I've been working out for about eight weeks--I started on November 27 (after gorging myself on EVERYTHING). I hope to have a lot more definition by the time summer rolls around, and I'd LOVE to have some cuts in my legs.

Compared to where I was 8 weeks ago, I look TONS better. :) I wish I had some proper before pictures to display.

Elimination Diet, Day 2

I started day 2 by weighing in as soon as I woke up. The scale still read 114.4 from the night before. I figured that today my weight would go back up as I started to rehydrate, but by the evening, I only weighed one more pound than I started (115.4).

I hit the gym hard, focusing mostly on legs and lower back. I started with a mile and a half on upright bike (doing for alternating resistance, hill style), which took eight minutes. I normally do cardio first, but I wanted to really hit the weights hard since I had slacked off recently. After weights, I went for 20 minutes on the AMT, which is one of my favorite machines in the gym--it's like an elliptical on steroids. My workout routine consisted of the following (I nickname my own free weight exercises, and estimate the time for each one--I actually did weights for 38 minutes yesterday, but I try to account for rests):

If you're not familiar with www.sparkpeople.com, I suggest you take a look. It's what I use to track my exercises and calories daily, and I absolutely love it. I also take progress of how many miles I go during the week (running, cycling, on the Stairmaster and AMT, etc). I'll also do a post soon about my gadgets that I use in the gym and my undying love/adoration for them.

Following is a screen shot of the calories I consumed yesterday. I just threw everything together, so the 3 cups of lentils for lunch were actually spread out through the day, etc.

As you can see, even though my diet is incredibly limited, I'm still getting the proper amount of carbs, fat, and protein, which is probably better than I did before (I was getting either far too many calories or far too few), but I don't have the refined sugars and proteins that I'm used to. I won't lie--my little brother got pizza yesterday and I side-eyed it so hard. I can't wait for day 7, when I get to introduce broccoli, and especially day 8, which is CHICKEN!!! :)

Elimination Diet, Day 1

Yesterday (1/20/2013) I started the elimination diet. This consisted of me taking two tablespoons of Epsom salts and only eating foods off the recommended 40 list. The Epsom salts function as a laxative to "eliminate" everything else bad you've had up until the time you started the diet, and BOY HOWDY, DOES IT. I was miserable all day yesterday, sprinting to the toilet, and my workout *really* suffered because I was so dehydrated. At one point, my legs felt weak because I had literally just expelled all the water from my body. Even though I tried to rehydrate, there simply isn't enough water in the world to counteract the disgusting way Epsom salts work on your body.

The night before I began the ED, I weighed in at 118.8. I'm not gonna lie. Those numbers broke my heart. It's really what galvanized my ass into action, when I am being completely honest. The next day, I measured myself in the morning and weighed in just above 117 (I guess that's my "resting weight") and by yesterday evening, I was down to 115.6. I lost 3.2 pounds of water weight in one day. That's a LOT of effing water.

So what did I eat yesterday? I had an apple for breakfast, then I soaked and simmered lentils for lunch. The great thing about the first seven days of this "diet" is that you can have AS MUCH OF THE FOODS ON THE LIST AS YOU WANT. The difficult thing is the only thing you can season with is pure sea salt and olive oil. Luckily, lentils taste awesome with salt on them, and I had two bowls. Following this, I went to the gym, then to the grocery store to stock up on some more food that was on the "good" list. I came back home with a lamb chop, a bag of cod, a fresh pineapple, some fresh apples, some pistachios, and some walnuts. For dinner I had the lamb, which sucked. I am no master chef, and salt is NOT enough for lamb. I followed it up with some pineapple.

At the end of the night, as I said before, I weighed 115.6. This morning, on day two of the diet, I weighed 114.4. Weird.

Overall and honestly, as far as my reflections for the first day go: it was miserable. My body was hungry, I took a nap because I was so tired, my stomach hurt due to the Epsom salts, and I was irritable for all the above reasons. However, my stomach never actually felt hungry (I just knew my body was). The foods aren't all too bad, and after I figure out how to cook everything, I'm sure it will be better. I'd love to find some raw cashews, because I can cook with those easily!

The Elimination Diet Experiment, An Overview

I'm officially a lawyer by profession, having passed one bar examination (in the great state of Arkansas) and I've somehow decided that to take a second bar examination, because (a) I'm crazy; (b) I'm a masochist; (c) I have nothing better to do while basking in funemployment.

Anyone who has ever taken a bar exam can tell you it sucks. It wreaks havoc on your diet, your body, your mind, your psyche, your everything. (No lie: I looked like a friggin meth addict, I was picking my face out of anxiety so much.)

Ahem. Since beginning to study for this last bar examination, I've been feeling those same pangs in my stomach. The pangs in my head. The need for a nap at 11 in the morning. I'm exercising at least five days a week, and I don't mean the pansy workout where you get on an elliptical for 20 minutes and call it a morning. I lift shit. I move my ass. And I've not lost a single pound.

So what's a girl to do? Well, a week ago, I read an article (I have no idea what the link is, because I followed that article up with about seventy billion more articles on the same subject) regarding elimination diets. One of the premiere doctors in the field is Dr. John Mansfield, who is an allergist and who has penned two books on the subject--one concerning food sensitivities and how they exacerbate osteoarthritis and another merely on how food sensitivities can affect your weight loss. I honed in on the latter book, entitled "The Six Secrets of Successful Weight Loss."

I was intrigued, but the only way to really know what was really in the book was to buy it. I thought about purchasing it off Amazon, but since this book is primarily released in the UK, I didn't know how long it would take me to receive it. So I downloaded Kindle for my PC, then I bought the book for ten buckaroos.

The basic premise is the six secrets, which I'll touch upon later. MY main focus in this book was that we all have food sensitivities that are preventing us from reaching our goal weights because our body is constantly having to readjust for these foods that we aren't supposed to be eating. Although I hated human physiology in college, I did somehow manage to receive my degree in Toxicology, and I knew all about the cortisol reaction--you introduce a stressor (e.g.: in this case, a food you have a sensitivity to) into your system, your body freaks out, your body releases cortisol, and cortisol (necessary and magical thing in its own right) tries to put everything to rights. However, time and time again, studies have shown that when cortisol is constantly relied upon to fix all of your troubles, it eventually leads to problems with your pituitary glands, your thyroid function, and your subsequent fat distribution.

After downloading this book, I was highly impressed at how Dr. Mansfield breaks everything down. I decided to embark upon this elimination diet to see if it could help me. I certainly wouldn't mind knowing all the foods I'm sensitive to, and I think it would help me in the long run with regards to my overall health and progress in the gym.

Because what's the point of busting your ass in the gym if you're not going to see results????