Fitness doesn't have to be your whole life

I got absorbed into fitness. It became my whole identity and I got swept right into it. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the problem is that I also exited this life as well.

I still workout, I still run, but I run less and workout less. I probably run 20km a week less than what I used to. I probably ran 40km+ a week and now I run 20km + a week. I used to do cardio for 45minutes of cardio on the days I didn't run. I usually only went to the gym or ran 6 days a week, always giving me one rest day. Now my cardio is usually 20-30 minutes and I'll do 45 minutes once or twice a week. I don't always do cardio when I go to the gym. Usually at least 2 of my gym visits a week has under 10 minutes or no minutes of cardio.

I used to lift weights/strength train 6x a week for 45mins-1 hour and now I do it for about 30minutes-1 hour.

Honestly, I was bored with my routine, and I switched up a few moves that weren't working anymore, so that has helped.

Luckily I am moving soon so I get to experience a whole new gym so I can get back on my A game with new moves.

But this lifestyle became my whole life for a little over a year. Until about May/June this year I started to slow down. Since I slowed down I probably gained about 5/6 pounds. But 2 of those pounds were muscle and the other few are fat.

But I am not fat. I have fat, but so does everyone else. I just have more fat than I had 5 months ago, which is fine.

It is fine. It is fine. I keep saying these words to myself over and over and over again. Is it really fine? I suppose it is. I am happy with my body. I am 126 pounds and my body fat% is around 23%. It was at 17% at one point. I would like it to get back down to that point, but spending almost 15 hours a week working out really isn't going to be an option that I can take, or I even want to take.

Part of my problem is my eating habits have slipped a bit. I always slip on and off my diet but I always get back on, which is what matters.

I guess my whole point is that fitness doesn't have to be my whole life. I got way too swept up in it. But I have rediscovered a new kind of respect for fitness and I think I can handle that in my schedule.

It's really simple, move your body when you can and eat the healthiest foods you can. Buy stuff from the market, drink lots of water, do cardio, lift weights, run... it's so simple.

I still do plan to run a full marathon someday. It won't be this year, maybe next year. There's no rush.

If you are new to the fitness world it can be exciting. Don't completely quit it when it bores you, just let go a little and hold on to what you want to hold on to. Don't get too swept up into the bodybuilding scene because it is almost inescapable and you feel guilty when you try to escape it. Just be healthy, that is all that matters.

Something I have had to accept- Physical Level of Fitness

I didn't really accept or really learn what it meant to be in your "top physical condition of your life". I hit that point a few months ago, when I ran the 30k and the half marathon.

Since then, I am still running, but less often. I have gained more muscle and more fat, though. I started doing less cardio to gain more muscle--- and it did work!

But even though I look stronger, I am not. I just look it. I trained for appearance. I have also gained body fat. You DEFINATELY cannot see any abs now. I am not fat. I just have fat.

What I have had to accept is that I can't be at the top of my physical fitness game, at all times. Things happen, life happens, it is a pain in the butt to be an intense athlete.

I am going to hop bag on to this again, though. I am going to train to run a full marathon. The furthest I've run since my half marathon at the beginning of May was about 17km. I need to get to 42.2km. If I do, by the end of September, I am going to find a Marathon for sometime in November, to run (since I am not 18 until the end of October, and you need to be 18 to run a marathon).

But what I have to accept, also, is that it is okay not to be at the top, it is okay not to have the best body and best endurance and strength. I won't let myself go, but I also won't pressure myself into crying and having mental breakdowns over it.

I have one body and I want to be kind to it.

I think part of my issue, along with running less, is my eating habits. I don't go over my calories, usually, but sometimes I will have something like a McFlurry, instead of an actual healthy dinner. It's the same calories, it just isn't nutritious. I need to watch everything!

This summer, I am going to use my extra time to get in the habit of eating healthy. Bodybuilders tend to plan their meals for the weak, put them in tupperware, and that is their fridge. I want to do this. If i get in the habit over the summer of doing this, once I am in university, I feel like I will eat a lot healthier.

I don't plan on gaining the freshman 15. I think it is so absurd. I have a lot of willpower if I train it, and I know I can be healthy, even while living on a budget.

Whoops

Firstly, I apologize because I'm blogging from my iphone and so autocorrect may not be my friend.

I've been struggling to motivate myself to workout lately. I've reduced my cardio a lot. I used to do 3-4 hours a week, not including running.

I haven't gained any weight, I'm thinking maybe I was doing too much to begin with.

I'm not running as often as I used to. I used to run 4 times a week, and now I'm running 1 or 2.

My weight lifting isn't as off, but I'm still not doing as much.

My metabolism is off I think because I've been tired and falling asleep and napping my ass off.

I think I should be monitoring my food intake better. I think I'm getting enough calories, but I think I might be lacking a major nutrient or I might be consuming too much sugar because I eat a lot of fruit.

I guess I can't always be at the top of my game, and working out a lot. I try to put in 10 hours a week, but I usually got 8. Now it's more like 5 or 6. Although when I do to for runs they're usually 1-2 hour runs.

I need to figure out why I'm off. I'm thinking of making a d tea appointment.

I just need motivation and energy.

Learning to love running again

As stated in past blog posts, I have been having troubles with running, lately. I keep injuring myself, and it is hard to pick yourself back up after that.

I went for an 18.75km run, in training for my half marathon on May 6th, but I didn't wear my running watch (so I didn't know my pace). I did record my run on a running app on my phone, but I don't look at my phone while I run. So I just ran. I did run fairly slower than usual, but I ran 18.75 km, so I am happy. It was a good run.

I have also been getting used to a new pair of running shoes. They are the best "Feeling" running shoes yet, but I find them hard to run in still. Still getting used to them. Here is what they look like:

I think once my half-marathon is over, I will be more relaxed about running. It psyches me out. Once it is over, I think that I will be back to normal, just running for fun.

But 11 days until my run! It is scary! I originally signed up for it because I wanted to improve on my time from my half marathon in September, but I am not sure if that is going to happen now, since I don't have much time left to train, and I just got off of running rest. I will still try. But it may not happen. If it doesn't happen--- don't get me wrong, I will be really sad, but I won't quit. I can always try again. I probably won't try again any month soon, but eventually.

I originally wanted to sign up for the FULL marathon in may! But I had to be 18. I am so glad I didn't sign up for it. If I did, I probably would've finished, but with a horrifying time. So glad I'm only running the half, now!

I'm happy.

Quitting Running

Something occurred in my mind during my 30k.

I was in an extremely pessimistic state of mind during the run and thought "Should I quit running?". Briefly I decided that I would.

Quickly after I decided there is no way I would quit running.

Why would I quit running? Well although I have the body shape and type to run, I honestly do have some physical impairment with my running. I think it is either my bone structure or my tendon/ligament strength.

I do not overtrain. But I have had constant injuries. I have seen some doctors and they say nothing is wrong, or they refer me onto another doctor, but in the end I am just told to "stop running for 2-3 or 4-6 weeks". Then after I am healed, I go for a run a few more times, and then I am injured again.

I am tired of this constant fight with my body. I have gone through so many pairs of shoes, because I think the shoes could easily be the problem. But I just can't find a solution!

I have a half marathon on May 6th in Toronto. I haven't ran since my 30k on March 24th... other than no more than 2k, because then my leg/hip and/or knee starts hurting. I can't run!

I literally cannot run.

So whenever I attempt to run and I literally can't, it gets me down and makes me think I should quit.

Soon after that I think "Why would I ever quit? I love it!".

But the truth is that I think I am harming my body more and more. I don't want to quit.

Since I am on running rest, healing up before my half-marathon, I ask myself "Should I run the half marathon?". I should drop out of it. But I know by then I will be fine (or at least usually I am fine in 4 weeks). But my running time will be off. The purpose of me doing the half-marathon was to get an improving time, from september. I wanted to run it in under 1:45:00, compared to my first half marathon which was at 2:01 something. During my 30k, I hit 21.1k around 1:55:00 (approximately). So I know I COULD run it faster. But the thing is, if I am not training for weeks, waiting for myself to heal, my time might not be that good.

I think I will stick it out and do the half-marathon. But my time might be horrible compared to september. I know I can at least FINISH. Even if I have to walk the last 8k of it, I will finish.

But after the half-marathon, I think I am going to take a bit of a break. I don't want to, but I want to give my body a lot of time before I kill it again.

After that, I think I am only going to go for a run once a week. I still do cardio at the gym, of course! But I am only going to go for a weekly run.

I think that having these timelines with these races is stressing me out. I will eventually run a marathon, but I can't until I am 18 anyways. I think I will run it in the spring of 2014. I was going to run it late fall this year, but there isn't a rush. I don't know why I thought there was a rush.

I am just going to hope that my leg really does get better before the half marathon.

I know it did this before the 30k, but during the 30k my leg felt better. Towards the end my hip hurt, and then I hurt my knee 2 days after that.

I think in 2 weeks I should be fine to run. But I just have to wait.

I need to be patient. 

Running Updates!

I have come to the realization I had not yet blogged about my 30k which I ran on March 24th.

My official time was 3:06:49.5

You can look up my times, photos etc., at this link right HERE

If you saw the times, you can tell that I ran fast, and then got progressively... erm, extremely slow... throughout the race.

I ran way too fast the first 10k. My pace was like 5:02 ish, which was :25 faster than I should've been going. I got extremely tired come around 22km ish.

My goal was to finish under 3 hours. But I still placed well! 9/20th in my age/gender category, and I was in the top 50% of all women. So that's good!

But the worst part, is that I hurt my knee a little during the run. This progressed to a hip injury, a few days after the run. Now I am ONCE AGAIN on running rest. I am going to get an extremely expensive pair of running shoes on Saturday (hopefully) that will help me.

Also, on March 31st, it was time for me to submit my progress photos on bodybuilding.com, as a part of a contest I was in. You can see the before and after pics here: http://blog.bodybuilding.com/sarahfloria/2013/03/31/the_end_is_just_the/

I am happiest about my back progress, because my trapezius and rhomboids are a lot more defined. Also you can kind of tell that I've lost a bit of body fat in my stomach, and my butt.

When I was taking my "before" pictures for the contest, I was somewhat bloated. So I'm real sexy there.

I feel like there is way more to say than there actually is. Oh well. I am just hoping that my hip will feel better soon!

I have my half marathon in Toronto in a month! Woo!

Here's a photo I posted on instagram on the day of the 30K around the bay in Hamilton!

Runrunrunrunrunrun

It's time! My 30k run is on Sunday!

30k Around the Bay in Hamilton! AHH!

It's starting getting exciting, now. I am excited to look at the stuff at the expo today. 

I was thinking back to "Why did I sign up for this?". I heard about it from my coach from cross country. I think I decided since it is 30k, and a half marathon is 21.1, and a marathon is 42.2, that this is a good halfway point. 

I've been anxious/nervous for the past... well especially the past 2 weeks, and very much so the past few days. But right now, I am not too bad. I think the worst thing for me is the nerve racking feeling when you stand at the start line.. erm, start clump. I remember during the half-marathon we were waiting for the start, sitting on the bleachers, then we got called to the start. Standing at the start at first was quite intimidating. But as soon as the gun went off, I actually didn't really notice it. But the first few kilometres at the half marathon were intimidating. Then you get used to the feeling.

The same thing was at cross country. Standing at the start line I was ridiculously nervous. I tried to keep moving to distract my mind. As soon as the gun went off, it's just this terrible feeling like you are running for your life.

Breathing doesn't really help me. Music sometimes helps me. So that will be good. 

We talked about this in exercise science, how people get nervous before sports events.

I have my meals planned out this time, because during the half marathon in Ottawa, I was forcing myself to eat. 

But I am excited. I just have to realize no matter what my time is when I finish, that I will have finished. I have 4.5 hours to do it. I am aiming for 2.5-3. If I hurt myself, I'll keep on stumbling. 

Ahh!

Should I compete?

Bodybuilding competitions.

I've been thinking about bodybuilding competitions lately. Should I do them?

I am obviously not ready for them yet, I probably won't be for at least another year, year and a half or so.
But when the time comes, should I do them?

First of all, I need to decide which event to do.

Bikini competitions are less muscle definition, and more for beauty.
This is the 2010 Miss Bikini Olympia winner, Sonia Gonzales.



Figure Competitions, generally have a lower body fat percentage and are judged more for the more "ripped look"
This is Erin Stern, the winner of IFBB Figure Pro and Ms. Figure Olympia 2010


Fitness competitors not only compete for physical appearance, but also are tested with strength activities . This is Tanji Johnson.
 

And lastly, Bodybuilding competitors usually go for the extreme muscular look.
This is Cheryl Myers in 2010.



I would be most likely to compete in Bikini competitions, since it seems to be the easiest. I can also see me doing figure competitions as well. But I am still not sure if I want to do them or not.

Why?
1. It is a huge commitment! Your diet, exercise, training is so intense and takes a lot of time and hard work. Not to mention the fact that if you suddenly decide to stop doing competitions... well... you just don't do that.
2. You might not win, and in general, bodybuilding isn't anything you can really earn money off of. Some people strike it lucky and win competitions and prizes, some get sponsorships, but usually sponsorships are more like a lot of free samples, rather than actual money.
3. It is a really "public" thing. You are showing off your body, and it can be really intimidating. I don't think I would mind this so much, but it is still the type of thing to take a lot of confidence and charisma.
4. Expensive. With travel, bathing suits, tanning, food, the gym, shoes, and EVERYTHING it really adds up. There isn't a big payoff as I said before. So it is extremely expensive. Plus if I am really going for it, I should probably invest in a professional trainer.

There is one more thing, that I thought was a bigger deal than in all actuality: Tanning.

If you have seen me, I am EXTREMELY pale. I have the whitest skin ever. I was stressing thinking "If I do bodybuilding competitions, I have to tan a lot more" which is true, I am going to have to tan to create a base coat. But obviously, as you can see from those images above, they are super tanned. This is from spray tanning. Bodybuilders usually spray tan once the night before and once in the morning of competitions. The reason why bodybuilders tan so much for competitions is because the lights on on the stage are really bright, and darker skin + the lights creates more muscle definition.

So in all actuality, the tanning really isn't THAT much of a big deal. The spray tan takes a few weeks to wear off, but other than that, it's not an enormous detail.

So will I do competitions? Well. I can't answer this question at this time. I want to wait to see where my fitness route takes me. If I develop a good physique, than I think it wouldn't hurt to do a couple of competitions. But as I said, it is going to be at least another year or year and a half before I achieve that body.



Sources:
http://blog.bodybuilding.com/fitnessprincess/2011/07/06/an_introduuction_to_some_of/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdzzANd3leA
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ramsey19.htm

Nerves/Anxiety before a run

I get ridiculously anxious before a running event/competition.

On the day of my half marathon, I was so nervous I could barely eat. I had cereal (only like half the amount I usually have) and then I grabbed a muffin. I ate the muffin from like 10am-3pm. It took me 3 hours to eat it. It had a lot of carbs, which is why I forced myself to eat it. But I was alone from this time, as well, because my mom was hanging out with her friend during the day. So I didn't eat anything else. Later around 4/5 we had an early dinner of some pasta stuff and a couple of raw veggies. I could barely eat there either. Then my run was at 7. I had some pre workout and water and stuff before the run. It turns out I didn't do so poorly on so little food. I think it's because I probably ate mostly carbs, so at least that was good.

Before runs in cross country I would get so nervous I wouldn't want to eat. I specifically remember it was Bay of Quinte, and I was ridiculously nervous. My time was worse than the last run I had in cross country. At BOQ I swear I was like shaking. Standing/warming up at the starting line was the worst feeling ever. I felt like I was waiting for hours. Then at COSSA I was a little nervous, but nowhere as bad as BOQ.

Now I have my 30k in 13 days. I am nervous for it now. But it is in the morning, which is good so I don't have as much time to be nervous throughout the day or waiting. The thing I am the most nervous for is the fact that there are 8,500 people running it. What the fudge? I'm also nervous because there are 3 corrals and I am not in any of them. I'm with the "other" runners. I'm not that slow! Grr. Whatever.

I hope to run it in 2:45:00. But if I get an adrenaline rush, I might be able to run it in 2:30. Somehow I doubt this. I'll hopefully not go over 3:00.

Usually my pace for 30k is between 5:00min/km-5:46min/km

So that means that my time will be 2:30-2:53.

Ahh! Stresss.

To calm down, I usually just wait it out. The nerves go away about 1-2km after I start running.

I am a little more nervous for my half marathon, even though it is 21.1km. It's because I am really going to try to get a really good time! I want to try to get it under 1:45. The fastest I've run a half-marathon distance is 1:47. But that wasn't an event. So in the toronto half-marathon, I really am going to push it.

I'm going for a run today. Probably going to be somewhere between a 18-22km run. I ran 30k on Thursday.

Let's do this!

Do you get nervous before you run?

Bigger, faster, stronger. Part 2!

I experienced two things today that made me feel amazingly strong.

1. You know those windows in classrooms and on buses that are insanely hard to open and close because you have to pull in the tabby things? Well, today in class some people couldn't shut a window. Someone said "Sarah is strong she can do it" and I just kind of looked at them. I said I'd try it. I walked over and it took me barely any time to shut the window. It made me feel awesome because they couldn't shut it, and I remember as a kid being unable to open and shut those windows.

2. I was at home and my mom was on the couch next to the dog. I charged at the dog and started goofing around with her when my mom said "pick her up!" as a joke. I haven't been able to pick her up since she was a puppy, and she is a full-grown lab now. So naturally, effortlessly, I picked her up. I wasn't expecting to be successful picking her up because I remember about 4 months ago trying to pick her up and being unable to. Later, I decided to pick her up again and weigh her. So I did, and she weights 79lbs. This makes sense because sometimes at the gym I walk around with a 90lb barbell to do deadlifts with, which is essentially lifting it up and putting it down (not quite, but you catch my drift). So this made me feel amazing too.

This is a picture of my dog, Sadie from about 2 years ago. She is a chocolate lab. She is considered overweight, and is probably 5lbs lighter in this picture than she is now. But ain't she cute ;).

Have you ever experienced something like this where you have noticed an extreme difference in strength, agility, speed, etc.?

Eating... And shoes!

First of all, I apologize because I am typing this blog post on my iphone. Therefore, it will be short.

I feel the need to talk about something serious.

I used to have eating issues in grade 9/10 and for the most part after that, I've been fine.

But recently I've run into some trouble.

I've been trying to eat healthier lately, and it is really not working out well. It did for a while, but I've been so hard on myself. I'm trying to eliminate all bad foods. For me, this essentially means portion control and eating less baked goods, like cookies, muffins, and any desserts my mom makes.

I've been so hard on myself that I am overly concerned about my weight, which is weird.

I'm trying to hit 130 lbs and I usually get excited when I gain weight. But I bought this scale that tells me my body fat % which is what is freaking me out. My weight is going up, but so is my body fat %! I'm honestly starting to think that the scale is inaccurate, but I have no way of telling.

The problem is not that I am not eating well, it's just I am so concerned about it I am getting anxious about my weight more than I should.

This has been going on for 2 weeks ish.

I just had to step back and really look. I came to the realization that even if I har gained body fat, that I am still extremely healthy and fit. Sure, I can't let it get too high, but gaining 1% isn't that much of a big deal, especially if I am unsure whether or not he scale is actually working.

Although, there is good news! I've been wanting some hi tops for the gym, just for training, and I finally bought some. But they are special because I customized them! I wanted customized Adidas but they don't ship To Canada, so. Got reeboks. I got to pick the colors and I am getting them personalized with something else.

Once I get them in (hopefully before the end of march, and likely not before the Ed of march break) ill probably do a hole blog post about them because I'll love them so much. I just hope they are as nice as tht were online!

Bigger, faster, stronger.

Do you know what the most amazing feeling is?

Being able to lift more weight.
Being able to run longer distances.

It is absolutely amazing. I've been thinking about how much physical progress I have made since I started working out, because it has been around a year since I joined the gym. I compared before and after photos and I am so happy. But it's not just the way I look, it's what I can do.

When I first joined the gym, I was doing 8lb bicep curls--- that is a really small amount. I was extremely weak. Now I am doing 22.5lb bicep curls. Which is higher than most people at the gym do. Usually I see women doing 10-15lbs.

When I first joined the gym, I did like 75lb on the back extension. Now I am doing 195 lbs.

It's so crazy.

The craziest thing is how much easier it is for me to lift barbells now. Lifting and carrying a 40lb barbell for me at one point was a little bit of a struggle. Yesterday I was doing shoulder presses above my head with a 40lb barbell.

It's so hard to explain the way it feels. Lifting a 20lb dumbbell at one point felt really heavy, and now it is so light.

Recently I ran 30km for the first time. I was so worn out afterwards. I felt that same way after running my half marathon (21.1km). Yesterday I ran 21.2km, and today I was in no pain whatsoever, and I ran it 14minutes faster as well.

It's so crazy what your body can do if you just push it a little bit more each time.

Here are some pics of my progress. It's been a year and that is crazy.

I'm so excited to begin my second year.

My 30km run + Inspiration

I ran 30km for the first time today. My time was 3:00:15. 3 hours, 15 seconds. It's funny, because my goal to run 30k is to not go over 3 hours. 15 seconds. Really? Well my 30k run is not until March 24th. I can definitely scrape off 15 seconds. I hope I can scrape off at least 5 more minutes too.

The first 22ish km were pretty... well I wouldn't say easy, but it was simple. Once I got to around 24/25km in my run, I was so tired. I pushed on though. Once I eventually got to 28km, I began freaking out. I always get delusional in the last bits of my long runs, obviously from lack of water/nutrients/etc., and my right shoe untied 3 times. I was so delusional I cried every time it untied. Then I would start running again, and I would see that I was almost at 30k, and I would start laughing because I have almost completed my goal of running 30km! Once I finished it I was smiling so much, I was so delusional.

I did do something different this run: Caffeine pills. I have caffeine pills in 200mg doses (worth about 2 cups of coffee) and I took one before I started running, and then I took one after an hour and after 2 hours of running. I honestly think they helped a lot. Caffeine has a lot of positive effects on runners-- it reduces leg pain, helps speed up recovery, and increases alertness. Studies have also been done that show that it helps to increase running times, too. I know this from an essay I wrote last semester on the effects of caffeine on endurance athletes.

Now--- inspiration! I follow a lot of "fitspo" (fitness inspiration) accounts on instagram. I follow mostly women because I will see these muscular women and want their bodies. Especially their abs! They post quotes, images of their meals, etc. I think that by going over these instagrams, that it is actually helping me to be inspired to try harder.

I hope to find, maybe not a career, but a hobby out of my fitness regime. Right now the main goals I'm working on are building more muscle, losing more body fat, and increasing my distance and decreasing my running times. I am also working on eating healthier. I really think that by the fall of 2014, that I will have a body I am extremely proud of. I hope that I can gain an audience of others and inspire them to do the same and to start a healthier lifestyle, eventually. I want to be one of these people I see on instagram. I know that there are five in particular I like Bella Falconi (@BELLAFALCONI_FITNESS), Brittni Shae (@BSHAEFIT), Savannah Rose Neveux (@MUFFINTOPLESS), Jessie Hilgenberg (@JESSHILGENBERG_IFBB) and Maizee Demske (@MDEMSKE). These girls have amazing bodies!

I've been thinking about getting a fitness related tattoo, but I am not sure what. If I want some form of image or inspirational quote, or what. I don't want something cheesy like a barbell or a little dude lifting or something weird like that. I hope I find an idea. I might look for some quotes later.

Wouldn't it be amazing if once I achieve my body... or even in the meantime, that I can monetize my blog and youtube videos to earn money? Once I am 18/in university, I can do this. I really hope that I can make something out of this. I don't want my life career to be fitness oriented, but I wouldn't mind working for a gym during university, part-time, or doing something online to be inspirational.

Well. Only time will tell.

Failures

Failure is such a harsh word in the fitness community.

Sure, I have failed- but really, have I? If you get up and keep trying, you really haven't failed. Maybe you did something wrong that you had to reverse later, but eventually got back up there.

It's only failure if you stop trying.

I have this rule in which on holidays and celebrations such as birthdays, that I will eat whatever I want. On valentines day this year, I ate so much candy it was ridiculous. I am not sure how much it has affected my body because I am too afraid to take my weight and body fat %. But I must've had like 3000+ calories in candy. I might've gained 1lb. Which may not seem like a lot considering it was just one day, but when you are trying to reduce your body fat % significantly, pretty much everything counts.

I am actually kind of embarrassed about it, but I will talk about this anyways.

I wasn't going to admit this, but I've been eating candy pretty much all week since Monday. It is bad because last week I declared I was going to have the toughest diet now.

I did have a few triumphs in which I denied myself crackers and white bread, which is good. I should focus on my successes, but the chocolate is haunting me.

But I can't reverse what I did, and I am definitely not going to be bulimic.

So what am I going to do? Jump back on that horse. I am getting back into the swing of eating healthy. No more candy.

I know that it's bad to deprive yourself of candy and such, because then you will crave it more (obviously), but I don't do that. I am going to try to change my lifestyle up again. I am incorporating more dark green vegetables, less protein (because I was having too much), less "bad" carbs (like white bread, crackers), more skim milk and less chocolate milk. Removing candy, chocolate, chips, general junk food.

But again, I should focus on triumphs. I have been restricting certain foods in my diet for years. In the summer of 2010, I decided I would no longer drink soda. I had braces then, and you weren't supposed to have sugar soda with braces, so I had been drinking Diet soda, which has 0 calories. I sort of watched what I ate then, and so since diet soda had 0 calories--- I could have as much of it as I wanted? Wrong. I started having 2-3 cans of it a day. But it is still extremely unhealthy for you. So I stopped.
Since then, I have cheated and had some pop, but usually it's when I'm at a friend's house. I don't know for sure, but I have probably not had more than 20 cans/drinks of pop since 2010 when I decided to stop, and no less than 8.

Another triumph I've made is my reduction of ice cream intake. I used to eat an ENTIRE bucket of icecream/week. I realized this was bad, and I stopped. Of course I still eat ice cream (well I'm quitting it for a while to lower my body fat %), but not a bucket a week.

I also rarely eat hamburgers from fast food/restaurants. I've probably had less than 10 in the past 2 years.

Funny story about hamburgers. Over the summer of 2012, I was training for my half marathon. In August I started to crave an A&W hamburger. I told myself that a hamburger from A&W will be the first thing I eat after my half marathon, as a reward for my hard work. After I ran my half marathon, I was not even hungry. But my mom and her friend asked me what I wanted to eat, so I told them. My mom's friend then informed me that she doesn't think there are any A&Ws in Ottawa. What. What. What. There weren't any. So we went to a random hamburger joint. When we got there, I felt sick, and refused to eat any hamburgers. I think that night I drank a lot of water, I ate a yogurt, some random sample things I got from my swag-bag and maybe a banana or something. I remember I fell asleep munching on a box of cereal too.

Geez.

Well, I just hope that this can inspire someone to know that no matter if it's a diet problem or a workout problem, like missing a few workouts in a row, or eating unhealthy for a while, that you can always still go back to it and start over again.

Get back on that horse!

Changing up my diet

Okay, okay. I've been avoiding it for a very long time.

It's time to start eating healthy.

I do eat healthy, healthier than the average person, but I have a fitness goal to achieve, and that involves me lowering my body fat %.

Cardio + Portion control, is what I need to do. Since my cardio has stopped cutting it, it's time to eat healthier.

To start this off, I am doing the thing I did once before, where I cut all unnecessary carbs out, along with icecream, popsicles, candy, etc. So "unnecessary" carbs are bread, pitas, bagels, muffins, pasta, etc. I may eat some bread or something, once I start running again, but the majority of carbs are going to be coming from fruits and vegetables.

Secondly, I am cutting out some of my protein intake. WHAT?! Yes. I knew I was starting to have too much protein for my body weight, but I kind of wanted to be bulking (google what bulking is for bodybuilders, to understand why), so I did do a over-intake of protein. An excess of anything results in body fat storage, so... I have gained 2lbs of fat, likely from the combination of excessive carb and protein intake.

2lbs may not sound like a lot to some people, but 2lbs of fat is actually a big difference for my physique, especially because my fat usually accumulates around my stomach. So... there will be no instagram "ab shots" for a while until I lose this.

I think my biggest problems are;
1) I don't plan my meals
2) I snack/ eat excessively
3) I eat late at night

I'm mostly going to deal with #2. I eat when I'm not hungry, even though I am typically eating healthy food, too much of anything tends to be bad.

This is really funny that I am doing this now, because 2-3 months ago I had the problem that I wasn't eating enough, so I kept sneaking snacks into whenever. That progressed into eating crappy again.

So now, whenever I get hungry I will either drink coffee, tea, or water.

Blerg.

This will be hard. But the results will be worth it!

Just some Fitness Q+A's about me!

Quick Stats:
Age: 17
Weight: 120lbs
Height: 5'7''
Body Fat%: Approx 17-17.5%

How did I get started with fitness?
I started about a year ago, with just wanting to find a healthier way to like my body. Joining the gym was on my mind, but I rode my bike, and began doing pilates before I joined the gym. I still am not on an official health kick for nutrition, but I am getting there.

Where does my motivation come?
A couple of places. Firstly, myself. I motivate myself to achieve higher and higher goals and always crush them. Secondly, a few people in my life. None of them really motivate me, themselves, but sometimes when I am working out or running and I am getting tired, I think of them, and it gets easier.

What is your general routine like?
I honestly don't have set days for specific moves or parts, but I do have separate days for the following:
- Abs
- Legs + Glutes
- Triceps + Biceps
- Back
- Chest
- Deltoids

I do each of these for about 40-70 minutes (depending) and then I do cardio for about 40-50 minutes.
My workouts tend to be 1:45 long.

I used to combine deltoids with back and chest, or combine back and chest, but I have isolated them to really spend the time and effort on these parts, specifically.

What are your three favourite exercises?
1. Seated Row- I love working out my rhomboid, for no apparent reason.

2. Tricep extension, with rope. - Lately I have been obsessed over my triceps. I am starting to see more definition there.
3. Back extension!!!- Sorry, love my back :) - cept instead in this picture, holding a 35lb plate against my chest for resistance!!

Diet?
I don't count calories, which I should.
I don't eat anything special, which I should. This is my next step.

But I do focus on getting a lot of fruits and protein.

I use fiber supplementation, protein powder, and I eat lots of bananas for potassium. I also use caffeine and pre-workout for supplements, as well.


Funny Gym stories?
I have a few... some are embarassing for me, others, are about others.

1. One time I was drinking a weird pre-workout concoction I made, while on the elyptical, and it spilled everywhere.
2. I have broken/partially broken 3 treadmills. I didn't do anything. They just stopped working.
3. I was doing something with the stability ball and I was near the TVs and mirror and I jumped up and hit my head off the bottom of the TV.
4. Some random new guy decided to try to deadlift some other guy's set, and dropped it, causing everything to shake on the floor.
5. There was a guy in a leather jacket grunting and wailing and deadlifting everything. Did I mention the jeans and chains?
6. A guy was doing lat pull downs with a poncho. I have no idea.


Things that piss you off at the gym?
I can probably think of some...
1. When someone asks to hop on with you and then takes forever. If you don't know what this means, it's when you are using a machine or something, and you are resting, and someone asks to hop on with you, that means they want to take a turn and do a few reps. What pisses me off is when someone hops on with me and tries to do like 3 sets. Dude. Take turns, and take a rest, your muscles need it.
2. When people tighten the nobs too much.
3. When I can't find something I need for the lat pull down machine. I also frequently can't find the bar I use for tricep extensions and bicep curls.
4. Okay. So I always use this one locker at the gym, and about a month ago, someone permanently rented it out. Now I use the one next to it like a loser.


Favourite gym outfit?
I'd post a pic, but I don't have any. My capri yoga pants, vibrams, black tank top.

What are your three favourite body parts, three least favourite, and three that you most need/want to improve?

Fave:
1. Back, specifically my rhomboids and lower back.
2. Quads.
3. Triceps

Least Favourite:
1. Stomach/abs - I need to lose that belly fat. That means diet control. Ugh.
2. Calves - I feel like my calves are really small in comparison to the rest of my legs. Also, I think my Gastrocnemius is small, and my extensors are oddly developed, compared to the average person.
3. Forearms

Need/Want to Improve:
1. Forearms - I don't work them out enough. Barely get to them on bis and tris day.
2. Deltoids - I don't mind the way they look, but I want my shoulder muscles to be more proportionate to the rest of my arm. I like working out deltoids, it's just I haven't really isolated them until 2 months ago.
3. Glutes- I hate working out my glutes. I get them in with squats, but I don't do glute exercises as a rule.

My body

I blogged before, but now I have something else to say.

People who workout, or worry about their weight frequently think about things like "genetics". I know that a really small percentage of people, actually cannot lose weight, for whatever reason, they have metabolic or some other bodily issue, that doesn't allow them to lose fat and gain muscle as easily.

Well there is me. I look nothing like anyone in my family, but I know I am not adopted.

I have really small bones. I have been considered a "twig" most of my life. In grade 9-10 I had a bit of a disorder, and I thought I was really fat. Now in grade 12, I hate the fact that I am a twig. Now, that doesn't mean I want more fat on my body... I don't, I am still trying to lose fat, always. But I just wish my body structure was larger.

In exercise science we learned about different body types mesomorphic, endomorph and ectomorph. 

There, so I don't have to explain it. I am very ectomorph. I am a little bit mesomorph, but mostly ectomorph.

Girls already have a hard time gaining muscle, and being endomorphic, doesn't help at all.

Most bodybuilders (virtually all of them) are mesomorphic.

Typically, endomorphic males take mass gainer to help them gain weight, but not necessarily fat, but that too. If I were to take that, I would probably explode out of my pants, since I am a girl.

I don't want to gain fat. I am trying to gain muscle and lower my body fat %.

I think I should re-establish what I am trying to accomplish with my body now. I don't consider myself a bodybuilder. I doubt I would ever enter any bodybuilding contests. But I do want muscle. I frankly find it attractive, and so I want it. I remember a while back, I posted some pictures of what I want to look like, and now I sort of have a new idea of what I want to look like. Right now I look like the type of person you would see in the Seventeen magazine workouts, they usually have lean muscle and low body fat %.

These abs. I am going to estimate her body fat percent to be like 8-10%. Mine right now is 17.6%. I would never allow my body fat percent to get below 8%-- for a girl that isn't really healthy. But honestly, if I have never mentioned this before: Abs are made in the kitchen, especially for girls. This means eating lean foods and healthy foods. Also, A SHIT load of cardio. Since I am a runner, I burn an insane amount of calories all of the time, so my body fat % will lower, as long as I eat healthy *most* of the time. I doubt I will have abs like this until late 2014, anyways.


Arms like this would be nice. I chose this photo because I can tell that she has a small bone structure (look at her wrists), like me. I don't think this is overly insane, I can tell she has a low body fat % too.




I can't find any good leg pictures. But just imagine it, okay?

My body is really slender. I look like someone who just goes to the gym to do cardio, compared to others. I do have a significant amount of muscle, but again, since I have a small bone structure, it is practically invisible.

I doubt that I will reach my ideal body until the end of 2014.

I don't know. I just think that muscle is attractive. Plus the actual health benefits--- amazing, and the ability to lift things and do housework shit, would be awesome as well.

It'll be hard. 

30KM Goals!

If you didn't know... I am running a 30K on March 24th. Gulp. The most I've run is 25km.

I have a while more to train, I am hoping to hit 30k, sometime next weekend, or during exams. At least by the end of the month.

I'm probably going to be doing 2-3 runs a week. 1 Run will be my SUPER long run (at least 22kms). I am trying to hit 35k, just because I told myself if I run 35km before the end of February, I will sign up for the Toronto marathon.

My other run will probably be 10-15km, just to have a more relaxed run, or to work on my pace. Lately I've been doing either Saturday or Sunday, and then Wednesday is my shorter run.

Let me talk about goals.

I want to finish the 30k in between the times 2:40:00-2:45:59

Well, I could be faster, but I am hoping for around there. At this rate, I think I will be somewhere around 2:50:00-2:53:00.

But I am trying for around 2:40:00.

Other than time goals, I would like to place in the top 2,500 (there are a total of 8,500 runners) and place in the top 10 for my age category (F15-19). Last year there were 38 people in that category.

I think I have my hopes a little high, but that's good, I will train HARD and long for this!

I just won't wreck my legs.

As long as my time is under 3 hours, and I place in the top 50%, I think I will be pretty darn happy.

But these are my goals.

I will achieve them.

The other thing is that when I am actually running a race, adrenaline gets to me. When I was training for my half marathon, I had only ran the 13 miles, once before, and it took me like 2:30 hours. But when I actually RAN IT for real, my time was around 2:01. I was expecting to come in at 2:20. That was an amazing feeling.

I think that cross country has helped my breathing a lot. Breathing is a lot easier now. But my endurance is kinda shotty (obviously if I ran 25km yesterday, it's not) it's just my legs get tired. I was on running rest for a month, but I could walk, so I would speed-walk uphill on treadmills at the gym, at a 20-25% incline. So I didn't lose too much of my endurance. It's just my legs get REALLY tired REALLY fast. It's from the running movement. Although my body can take endurance and breathing heavy for a long period of time, my legs can't take that repetitive movement.

Yesterday during my run, up until 10km, my pace was good, and I felt good. From 10k-18k, my pace slowed about :10-:20 seconds/km, and then from 18k-20k, I was really "hacking it". The last 5 k, my pace had slowed a whole minute from the first 10k. I was running slower than my average time at my half marathon. It was bad. But at least I finished! I ran 25km in 2:33. Which is pretty good, but not as good as I am hoping for. But literally, my legs were in PAIN intense, horrifying, PAIN for the last 5k.

I also misjudged the length of my run by a long shot.

I don't know. All I want to do is run, but I can barely walk right now. Wednesday I might do 18k.

We'll see.