Work out mix

Although our treadmill is in a room with a DVR, I still want a good music mix for one day when I run walk really fast outside.

While on vacation, I extensively researched good work out music and developed the following list. It's mostly fast paced music, but I threw in a few slow ones that are still quite motivating.

Enjoy!

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Say Hey- Michael Fronte and spearhead
Eminem- Lose yourself
Hey Mama- Black Eyed Peas
Survivor- Destiny's child
Green Day
3 doors down- kryptonite
my life would suck without you- Kelly Clarkson
Sk8er Boi- Avril lavigne
Holiday- Green Day
AMerian idiot- Green Day
Since you been gone- Kelly Clarkson
Pop- n'sync
Hollaback girl- Gwen Stefani
See you again- Miley Cyrus
Kerosene- Miranda Lambert
Ready to Run- Dixie Chicks
Rehab- Amy Winehouse
Pump it- Black Eyed Peas
When I come around- Green Day
lady gaga- just dance
Low- flo rida
All that she wants- ace of base
Best days of your life- Kelli Pickler
Hey there deliliah- plain white Ts
1,2,3,4- plain white T's
Sin Wagon- Dixie chicks
Stupid Girls- Pink
Don't let me get me- Pink
Rehab- Rhianna
So what- Pink
The Climb- Miley Cyrus
I wanna be sedated- The Ramones
Girlfriend- Avril Levigne
What I like about you- Romantics
Stronger- Britney Spears
Gun powder and lead- Miranda Lambert
Start All over- Miley Cyrus
Nobody's Perfect- Miley Cyrus
Kissed a girl- Katy Perry
What about now- Daughtry
Not ready to make nice- Dixie Chicks
Digital Getdown- N'Sync
I Run for Life- Melissa Etheridge

Formalizing my strategy

Having given quite a bit of thought to how I’ll being my fitness journey, I’ve decided slow and steady wins the race.

One of my biggest challenges is that I’m an all-or-nothing kinda gal. When I want something, I want it. Like yesterday. When I get my mind set on something, I go at it 100%, full steam ahead. I study it, prepare for it, budget for it. I allow it to consume me.

In the past, I’ve approached weight loss with the same ambition. I immediately change what I eat, how much and how often. In addition, I also start some sort of physical exercise 3-4 days/week. I’m pumped and keep up the motivation. For all of three days. Then I tend to crash and burn.

With all of the changes I implement simultaneously, after a few days, nothing is familiar to me. My daily routines are all out of whack. I get frustrated with the unfamiliarity and I throw my hands up in full surrender.

Fortunately, since mid-December, I’ve been able to lose (and keep off) almost 7 lbs. At that time, I recognized my all-or-nothing approach as a barrier to sustained weight loss and I committed to slow and steady progress.

Since then, I’ve eaten smaller portion sizes. That’s pretty much been the only real change I’ve made and it seems to be working well.

With that challenge under my belt (literally), I think the next step will be incorporating physical exercise. I’d like to work out 3 days/ week for at least 30 minutes. If I can burn at least 300 calories each time, that’ll be a good start. I’m not sure if that’ll help me to lose 1.5 lbs per week, but I’m more interested in establishing a healthy, sustainable routine rather than be consumed by the scale.

Now is also a good time to make sure I’m physically healthy. I don’t feel the need to see the doctor just to get orders for lab tests and for him to tell me I’m generally healthy, so my plan is to get labs done online. I have a high deductible insurance plan combined with a Health Savings Account, so going the online route is the financially responsible choice.

Within the next two weeks, I will check my:

Vitamin D 25(OH)

TSH, T3, and Free T4

My last TSH done Aug 2008 was on the high end of normal (and “normal” is a moving target when it comes to TSH). Dr. Davis says a perfect TSH is 1.0 and my last level was 3.8 (five years ago, right before our wedding, my TSH was 0.8- and I weighed about 150 lbs and felt fantastic).

Your thyroid affects your metabolism, so having higher levels of TSH can negatively affect your metabolism.

Now that I’ve started supplementing Iodine in higher levels, my TSH will likely be high for a few months until my iodine levels optimize. As long as the T3 and Free T4 levels are normal, that’s what’s important.

I also feel the need to get a non-digital scale. The one we currently have shows we weigh about 5 lbs heavier than the one at my office (I work at a doctors office, so I’d like to think that scale is more accurate since they’re calibrated). We’ll see about getting a new scale. Mr. O doesn’t like when I get “on my new kick” because it inevitably means we’re spending more money on something.

Maybe if I just moved the scale out of the bathroom and onto a different surface….

In addition to adding the physical exercise and checking my blood levels, there are also a few daily routines that I need to adhere to:

1. Take my daily vitamins/supplements

• Vitamin D 10,000 IU
• Iodine 12.5mg (down from 50 mg during my initial replenishment)
• Magnesium 250 mg

2. Eight hours of restful sleep

I have other goals that I plan to incorporate into my daily routine (drink more water, etc), but SLOW and STEADY. Those goals will come later after I’ve established I can do the 2 things on my current list.

Weekly goals include:

1) Work out 3 times for 30 mins each

2) Blog at least once/week

I may eventually join Amber’s group, but again, too much at once has failed me before, so I’m keeping things light and reasonable (at least for now).

I’m scared that I won’t be able to keep up even these small routines. My motivation really kicked up a notch while I was on vacation, away from the real world and the daily responsibilities. Am I willing to do what it takes each and every day once I’m back to my life?

I know I CAN do it, but WILL I? Guess we’ll see.

The Strategy Room

As most people do, I've studied many weight loss strategies.

While on vacation, I went to Borders, grabbed a few weight loss books and parked myself in a comfy chair for a few hours. I read part of the "21 Pounds in 21 Days." I didn't realize it at the time, but the author is Dr. Roni, who has been on Howard Stern several times. She's Robin's colon cleansing doctor. Needless to say, it was a very interesting read.

I am NOT shoving something up *that* end, but in reading what Dr. Roni has to say about detoxing/colon cleansing, she made a lot of sense. (Side note: She claims that most people have several pounds of poop waste collecting in their colon. SEVERAL POUNDS. Just sitting in there. Being Disgusting. And Stinky.)

The other book I picked up was The Core Diet. I had previously taken the hormonal profile and according to this book, my adrenals need my attention first. According to the Women-to-Women website:

The basic task of your adrenal glands is to rush all your body’s resources into "fight or flight" mode by increasing production of adrenaline and other hormones. When healthy, your adrenals can instantly increase your heart rate and blood pressure, release your energy stores for immediate use, slow your digestion and other secondary functions, and sharpen your senses.

My profile indicates that my adrenals may be overworked and therefore, negatively affecting my cortisol levels:

Sustained high cortisol levels destroy healthy muscle and bone, slow down healing and normal cell regeneration, co-opt biochemicals needed to make other vital hormones, impair digestion, metabolism and mental function, interfere with healthy endocrine function; and weaken your immune system.

I've also been a follower (and HUGE fan) of Dr. Bill Davis, a Wisconsin Cardiologist. He spends so much time educating readers about various factors that contribute to heart disease and he's one in a million. Literally. He's one of the good guys in medicine. He's not paid big bucks by drug companies to pimp their product. He's a genuine, very down-to-earth, and reasonable man and a fantastic member of the medical community.

Dr. Davis is a true believer in eliminating wheat products from the diet. He explains the wheat addiction cycle:

But wheat addicts immediately know who they are. They are the ones who can't resist the warm dinner rolls served at the Italian restaurant, need to include something made of wheat at every meal, and crave it every 2 hours (matching the cycle of blood sugar peaks and valleys, the "valley" triggering the craving). When they stop the flow of immediately-released glucose that comes from wheat (with blood sugar peaks that occur higher and faster than table sugar), irresistible cravings kick in. Then watch out: They'll bite your hand off if you reach for that roll before they do.

Break the cycle and the body is confused: Where's the sugar? The body is accustomed to receiving a constant flow of easily-digested sugars.

Once the constant influx of sugars ceases, it takes 5-7 days for metabolism to shift towards fat mobilization as a source of energy. But along with fat mobilization comes a shrinking tummy, reducing the characteristic wheat belly.

When you consume too much wheat (or any wheat according to Dr. Davis), your body gets all of its energy from the constant supply of wheat. When this happens, you body doesn't ever burn stored fat for energy. Excess "energy" that your body doesn't need then gets stored as fat and the cycle persists.

Eliminate wheat and after a few days, your body adjusts and begins obtaining it's energy from your fat storage.

Followers of Dr. Davis comment and attest to their success stories when they completely eliminated wheat from their diets.

He also recommends intermittent fasting in the form of significant caloric reduction for a period of 3 days by eating only vegetables. He has a great post on how to spice up the diet during these few days (dip veggies in hummus, salsa, bean dip, etc). One can expect to lose about 1/2 lb/day while "fasting."

In addition, there is the ever present argument about which physical activities are best for weight loss: cardio vs. weight training. Cardio is very beneficial for your heart, but weight training helps sustain long term weight loss because it increases your metabolism by creating more muscle.

Wheat or no wheat. Veggies. Fasting. Hormone imbalances. Cardio vs. weight training. Small but continuous meal eating. THERE'S SO MUCH TO THINK ABOUT.

Whats my strategy?

I'm not sure. That's what I'm figuring out.