Showing posts with label results. Show all posts
Showing posts with label results. Show all posts

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Summer in Hong Kong: heat, humidity, typhoon, repeat.

The summer weather in Hong Kong certainly lived up to its reputation this week. Believe it or not, we were hit by two tropical storms in five days: Severe Typhoon Hato and Severe Tropical Storm Pakhar. Needless to say, my workouts for the week were not the norm.

Monday - The week started off with record-setting high temperatures. That didn't stop me from getting outside for my low carb Tabata workout and it was a good one: jump squats, in and outs, scissor jumps (I did star jacks instead), mountain climbers with a twist and toe taps. I decided to forego my normal Bodystep class because the Tabata workout sounded good on paper. Even in the heat, it felt good to do my workout outside.


Diverging for a minute...I've been meaning to share my FASTer Way to Fat Loss carb cycling results and since I keep forgetting this seemed like a good time to squeeze it in.

My initial six week program ended while we were at Cape Cod, so I took my measurements after doing another two weeks once we were back. Overall, I lost about 6 pounds and a total of 4.25 inches (mostly from my belly, hips, and thighs). I think it is hard to see a difference in the photos (easy to see my bad posture, ha!), but my clothes are definitely looser and my stomach feels flatter (most days). After doing multiple rounds and loving the program, I've continued carb cycling with the FWTFL VIP program which means that every month I get a new set of workouts along with even more interaction and accountability in the VIP online group.


Back to my Monday workout, my second time with the Discovery Run group was a hot one and mrC joined me this time. At 7:45pm the temperature was still 90 degrees with a feels like temp of 104! It did not stop us or the other 38-ish people from showing up to run together. The run was a little short of a 5K (that was ok with me because it was so hot) and it was a different route. I like that they will be switching things up week to week. I wore my favorite tank and shorts from Oiselle and they were soaked when we were done.


Tuesday - I had another laser hair removal appointment in Central which means no sweating for 24-36 hours. I ran some errands and then hung out with mrC in the AC because it was another record breaking hot day.

By the way, we all know how important it is to stay hydrated, not just in the summer when it's hot, but all the time. Hydrant wants to help you stay hydrated. Sign up here for a chance to win a one month supply. Winners will be announced September 1st.


Wednesday - Typhoon Hato came. This was the biggest storm I've experienced in Hong Kong. The winds were so powerful that I could feel the change in pressure and the building sway. I alternated between watching the storm from our 20th floor apartment or the lobby and being worried about it. Thankfully, mrC was home to keep me calm!



I did a little #typhoonyoga to distract myself and that helped a bit in the beginning. It felt good to go through a flow and just let my muscles stretch out and relax. Well, try to, when there's a raging typhoon going on outside.


By late afternoon, the storm had mostly passed, so we took a walk to see if our SUP boards survived. I was expecting to find them blown off the rack. I did not expect to see trees down and boats/canoes upside down and piled up like a mass collision on a highway.



Thursday - we walked down the hill to the boat club to get our SUP boards. The cleanup would involve removing the fallen trees and we didn't want to worry about the boards being in the way or getting punctured. We deflated the boards at the beach, rolled them up, and backpacked them up the hill to our apartment. 


Friday - the weather was quite nice for a walk in the morning. It was still warm, but the strong breeze and lower humidity made it feel cooler than it had in a long, long time.


In the afternoon, we joined one of the beach cleanups. If you have never done this kind of cleanup before, it is quite a workout! There is lots of squatting, lunging, lifting and dragging. 


Saturday - mrC had to work, but I headed to the boat club for some more beach cleanup. The nice thing about this one was the boat club fed us! Again, it was all about squats and lunges. I even double dragged trash bags across the beach once ---> it reminded me of dragging the tire on the rope at Bootcamp.


Sunday - Another day of watching stormy weather out the windows. Pakhar was not as strong as Hato and it was farther away, but the winds were still strong enough to blow a leaf up to our bedroom window on the 20th floor. It's crazy that there is a huge hurricane happening on the other side of the world at the same time. We are praying for you Texas.


It was a wild and wacky week. I am hoping that things will be nice and quiet and normal around here until we leave. We are heading back to the US in a week and I can't wait!

What's the most extreme weather you have run during?
Have you ever had to ride out severe weather?


Linking up with Tricia and Holly for the Weekly Wrap!


Saturday, September 17, 2016

30 Day Shred: The Results

This summer I signed up for Amanda Tress's 30 Day Summer Shred Program. I did a post about it, but here's a quick summary.
  • Follows a 5 day carb cycling and intermittent fasting plan
  • Uses customized IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) plan
  • You choose your own food
  • Workout plans available for gym and non-gym participants
  • Workouts are a mix of sprints, interval running, and strength training (weights)
My goal was to strengthen up and gain some muscle in places that I could use it like my arms and quads, but also lose any weight/inches that I could along my waist, hips and butt.

Update: This program is now called FASTer Way To Fat Loss - learn more here.

THE RESULTS

I lost 3 pounds (I think)...the scale at the fitness center was a little questionable, but since I snuck a weigh-in while at my dad's I think this is pretty accurate. I'm pretty happy with this because I did this whole program while staying in Montreal with mrC while he was working and traveling to Florida and Ohio for two weeks.


I lost .75 inches on my waist and hips which feels true because I did buy a pair of shorts a size down from my normal. I gained .75 inches on my thighs and biceps and I'm hoping this is a result of the strength training and not bad measuring.


I will always remember Shred as the time I fell in love with lifting weights. Once I figured out how to use the different machines at the gym, I looked forward to the weight lifting workouts. It was my mission to build up muscle especially in my arms and in left quad. I worked hard and pushed myself to use heavier weights than I ever have.

I love that this program incorporated running workouts, even though I had to modify them for my knee. The sprints and interval runs were still doable on other equipment, but I enjoyed the runs when my knee was feeling happy and used the elliptical, bike and treadmill when it wasn't.


Yesterday's Workout ---> After taking a couple of days off and running a lot of errands, I was ready for a good workout. I picked a full body resistance workout from a new fitness app I found. It was a circuit workout: 2 circuits with 4 exercises and 7 minutes to complete as many laps of the exercises as you can. The workout ends when you complete both circuits 3 times. This might sound confusing, but it's really not.

This workout had a mix of squats, burpees, tricep dips, straight leg sit ups, ab toe taps, lay down push ups, step ups, and mountain climbers. It also followed up with a good stretching session. I burned 279 calories in 36 minutes and worked up a good afternoon backyard sweat.


It was just like old times when we went to watch our niece play high school soccer. I always enjoyed our Friday afternoons watching the girls play when they were still in high school.


My watch had an update and then this happened in the car when we were running errands. One minute of guided meditation. The watch vibrated when it was time to change from breathing in and out.


WIA - it was all good until mrC wanted Chinese food! Then my sister-in-law brought in some Kitchen Sink cookies? Have you heard of these? They're made of everything but the kitchen sink! Butterscotch chips, raisins, rolled oats, chocolate chips, white chocolate, coconut, pecans...SO GOOD!


This happens every time I open the refrigerator door at my sister-in-laws. Sydney also licks the plates as they go into the dishwasher. Funny dog. Since we can't hang out with Booney in Hopkinton every day, Sydney is a nice substitute.



Know any good online training/workout programs I should check out?
Are you an Apple watch user? Do you like the update? I love it!
Do you meditate? One minute is about all that I can do.
Ever had Kitchen Sink cookies?



Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Carb Cycling and Intermittent Fasting Results

Have you read about/seen an ad for a diet or training program and thought it's too good to be true?

When I first saw personal trainer Amanda Tress posting about her Carb Cycling and Intermittent Fasting Program that's what I thought. I also thought she looked AMAZING and was curious about her plan and how I could get back to a healthy weight.

But I wasn't brave enough to take the plunge and "buy" her program. So I sat on the sidelines and scrolled enviously through my Instagram feed reading posts from people doing the program and loving the results. 

Then my friend Nancy, Living the Dream, shared her amazing results on her blog. That got me thinking. I know Nancy! If Nancy can do it, I can do it! And just like that, I signed up.



For the last six weeks I've been following a food cycling program and completing workouts that match the way I'm eating. I was freaked out at first because the program started when we were still in the US visiting, then we traveled back to China as well as to Bali. There was fasting!! Many of my go-to foods were not appropriate every day of the cycle, so I had A LOT of learning to do.

And I did. 

So how did I do?  


I lost 4 pounds and 13.5 inches overall!

-1.5 from my bust
-1 from my hips
-3.5 from my waist!!!
-3 from thighs
-3 from calves
-1.5 from arms

I'm so excited by my results that I have signed up to do round 2 starting in two weeks! mrC is pretty excited too (remember he followed this program with me) because he lost 9 pounds and 9.5 inches. His biceps got bigger though! 

To celebrate our accomplishments and enjoy the sun that mrC brought back to Shenzhen, we went to the pool.


For the next two weeks, I will be enjoying lower intensity workouts and a IIFYM kind of diet.

Today I did some morning yoga. It was all about getting twisty. 


My eats from the day. We fasted until lunchtime and then enjoyed some treats! It all fit my macros.



Would you rather lose weight or inches?
What reward do you give yourself for hard work?











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