June 22: 90 minutes Bikram Yoga

Totals:
17 days
1495 minutes

June 23:

Ran four miles along the usual route on this gorgeous sunny, slightly breezy Saturday morning. This is what memories of summer are made of.

June 23: 60 minutes spin class during which I pushed myself way too hard and sweat buckets. I thought I could recover for boot camp, but after starting boot camp, I felt dizzy and my legs were still jelly. I made it for 15 minutes of warmup-- mainly sprints-- and decided to cut my losses and go. I'm still hungry and woozy feeling hours later despite eating lunch and extra protein.

60 minutes spin
15 minutes boot camp

Totals:
18 days
1570 minutes

Sunday, June 24:

20 minutes Stairmaster step mill, aerobic intervals, resistance at eight, hands free
60 minutes shoulders, triceps & biceps workout
20 more minutes on the Stairmaster, which is the limit on this machine until the other one gets fixed. (The other one has been broken since April.) Thank goodness, this time a fan was trained on it, which made a BIG difference.
20 minutes on Precor elliptical, resistance at eight, backward all the way, trying to work my hamstrings

Hi all,
I'm thinking maintenance even though I'm still dieting. June 1: 214.2 pounds. June 24: 199.4 pounds. Yeah I get to bungee jump again (but I won't)! So now I'm feeling more like in the middle of my AMA ideal weight range of 190-207lbs for a 6'4" guy. I planned to go to 197, then 195, now I am wondering about maybe 190. is it harder to maintain an ideal dream weight in any objective way?

Maintenance consciousness is being cultivated. Even during this strict diet pahse I have had a couple occasions where I would be at a party or family dinner, and I managed my portions very well. I realized yesterday that if I "cheat," my body measures it and I weigh in accordingly. If I take a "day off," my body measures what I take in and weighs accordingly. There are no breaks from reality. I can still enjoy a meal out, but I must be aware of the cost of overeating because that is always there. being OK with that is one of my first challenges as I become more conscious of my eating choices as a soon-to-be maintainer.

June 24: my first outdoor "tough mudder" boot camp in preparation for the tough mudder. I was nervous but it went pretty well. I missed the first session so I felt behind, but I held my own. It was tough! Running uphill, dropping and doing burpees, lunge squats and more.

In the afternoon, I went to a very fancy spa like gym. My friend was talking to people about her business and since she is a member, they let her set up there. As her guest, I got in free. I attended a U-Jam class. I enjoyed it but it was much different from my U-Jam classes-- the ones I usually go to are in the basketball court, 80 plus people pumped up and cheering. This was in a small exercise room with about 15 ladies who neither yelled nor cheered.

75 minutes Boot Camp
60 minutes U-Jam class

Totals:
19 days
1705 minutes

Michele The kinder, gentler U-Jam? Sounds like your regular class has a lot more fun.

Dagmar

Monday, June 25:

45 minute spin class, "riding to the beat," which means 7-minute and 10-minute music intervals on progressive hills, mostly seated. I will miss this no-nonsense, high-resistance spin class, which I grew used to during the past seven months
15 minute Pilates routine on my own

Thinking of my forthcoming trip to Wellfleet, out on Cape Cod, which should be an ideal place for outdoor exercise, except that one of my hosts is physically incapacitated, so, sadly, we won't be biking or kayaking, as this couple once loved to do. I'll see if I can get out on some decent runs.

Definitely-- I "perspired" politely in this class, when in my regular class I usually sweat buckets!

June 25: 90 minutes Bikram Yoga

Totals:
20 days
1795 minutes

Monday, June 25:
-20 minutes sprint intervals on elliptical, level 7/10.
-Upper body weights routine. Managed one set of 10 with perfect form on lat pulldown at 80 lbs, hooray! Did not aggravate back either.
-5 minutes cooldown run on treadmill.

Tuesday, June 26:

Finally made it out to the gym after dinner, and yes, I was the only woman in the free-weight area. Of course the guys are intent on their own routines -- except for one guy in his late teens or early 20s who kept staring at me while he served as a spotter for his father or some other older mentor. I couldn't tell if he was amused at my light weights or the novelty of a female bench-pressing at all, but there there were long stares while he hung around at the bench.

15 Stairmaster stepper, resistance at eight, aerobic intervals
60 minutes chest and triceps
45 minutes back on the stepper, and this was really hard to get through, with me grabbing the rails twice during the last 12 minutes for maybe half of that time on the steepest part of the climb

I don't like going to bed right after working out. I am too stirred up by the exercise.

saef Maybe the young guy was staring at you because he admired you and/or found you attractive. That is a possibility yes?

Dagmar

Dagmar, that's flattering, but this was a young dude, which, at my advanced age, would create a cougar-type situation. Still, you raise an interesting point, as I do tend to underestimate my personal appeal. Being so fat for so long did a number on my ability to detect whether men are attracted to me. In my interactions with them, inside my own brain, I'm still over 250 pounds.

Wednesday, June 27th:

45 minute spin class, as always, a tough class
15 minutes Pilates routine afterward

As usual, I'm slowly growing sore from yesterday's bench-pressing. I wake up feeling good but by mid-morning I'm feeling it.

The cougar thing can be fun (been there etc.) as long as you don't really expect to converse with them.

Dagmar