Week 75 Weigh In!

 So, apparently I really am stubborn! Once I finished the challenge, plus the one extra day I went because day 46 was weights,  I kind of fell apart a little. I was so tired I didn't really want to do much of anything and my appetite just roared in like crazy. It feels like what I did was push beyond my limits and then my body decided to rebel a little. But the point is, I DID make it. I was able to push myself like that. Maybe not quite so hard next time... but it's so exciting to have been able to accomplish the challenge! I'm really proud of myself for finishing it.

Honestly though, I was okay with it. I worked hard! If I needed a little rest and some junk food afterwards, I made it through, and it's not like it's going to be a permanent thing, so I went with it. I had some takeout and some sweets from a bakery on the weekend, and I'm feeling pretty bloated so I bet I'm holding onto a bunch of sodium. That's OK- I never expected that exercising meant I would never have gain weeks! And this one was worth it and perhaps necessary!

Today I'll be right back on track. I did go to the gym yesterday since Sunday is a weights day and I didn't want to miss it, and I'm considering going tonight as well even though I don't like the evening classes. My work schedule is a bit finicky this week so I don't want to miss out on going when I'm able to.

So, lots of water, lots of protein, and back at the weights! It'll be OK.

I'm pretty sure that I'm smaller than I ever was at this weight before, even in my 20s. I still can't believe those size 12s zip up, even over my roll of belly skin. I sure didn't have that before, so I bet if it was removed I'd be down even more inches. But I really have no plans to do that or even worry about it at this point. Conventional wisdom is lose the weight and then stay stable for a year and give your skin a chance to catch up. I'm hoping mine will but if not? It's a Future Me problem. And the idea of wearing a size 12 now is pretty awesome! I still want to lose at least 30lbs more, so hopefully I can drop a couple more sizes. But we'll see how it goes.

OZ Year 1 loss: 68lbs (click here to see the week-by-week tracker!) 

OZ Week 53 gain: 1.4 lbs continuing dose at 0.75mg

OZ Week 55 gain: 1.6 lbs

OZ Week 56 loss: 0.6 lbs

OZ Week 57 loss: 2.0 lbs

OZ Week 58 loss: 2.4 lbs

OZ Week 61 gain: 5.4 lbs

OZ Week 62 loss: 1.4 lbs

OZ Week 63 loss: 3.0 lbs

OZ Week 64 loss: 1.0 lb

OZ Week 65 loss: 0.4 lbs

OZ Week 66 loss: 1.8 lbs

OZ Week 67 loss: 0 lbs

OZ Week 68 loss: 1.4 lbs

OZ Week 69 gain: 0.2 lbs

OZ Week 70 gain: 2.2 lbs

OZ Week 71 loss: 2.4 lbs

OZ Week 72 loss: 2.2 lbs

OZ Week 73 loss: 2.2 lbs

OZ Week 74 loss: 1.0 lb

OS Week 75 gain: 1.4 lbs

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 77.6 lbs

45 Strong Challenge: Day 45

 Wow. I can't believe I just wrote that. Today is the last day in the F45 challenge! It's not over yet, but it will be soon- I'm booked in for the lunchtime class today, which is cardio hell. But I'm going to go and I'm going to do it and put my last star on the wall at the gym and my last red X on the digital chart when I tag the gym on Instagram.

I did:

• 55 minutes of walking and 40 minutes at F45 for a total of 95 active minutes. Today was the awful Triple Double cardio set of, do three sets at each of these crazy stations and then when you think you're done- go do it again!!!
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 15 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo.

Honestly... I can't believe I was actually able to finish this challenge. I didn't think that my fitness level would be able to handle it. And not only did I handle it, but I did it very well! I did the F45 classes 6 days a week with one day being my active recovery day where I did a 60 min walk. I am tired and feeling a bit burnt out, but I survived, and I believe my health and fitness have definitely improved. Over the last 45 days I have definitely built more visible muscle tone, the scale started moving again in a way that emphasized my body is enjoying these good choices, and while I didn't take measurements, yesterday I was able to put on an old pair of jeans in a size 12! They were tight, and because they're old they're the ultra low rise style which happens to hit me right where my loose skin is hanging, but I could zip them up and button them without bursting out! Not sure I want to wear that style of jeans anymore but it was awesome to be able to fit into them at least.

Not to mention how I've been able to increase the weight on the strength training I've been doing. I have to keep reminding myself that it's supposed to be hard. If I don't pick up a weight and feel like it's heavy, then maybe it's not heavy enough. Challenging myself is the best way to build strength and get to a point where they don't feel as heavy anymore, after all, and the trainers are there if I am trying to go up a level to help spot me so I'm doing it safely. I can't believe that I've been doing F45 classes for 6 months and I've increased my dumbbell weight (for things like presses and the like) from 3kg to 15kg! That's incredible improvement! I am hoping that if I continue to exercise like this, it will help a little with the loose skin and if nothing else, will fill it with some muscle.

I had no idea that you could have visible abs showing with this much body fat left to lose. The articles I've read online say you need to be about 20-25% body fat to have any abs showing but I think I'm still above that. Either way though- look at me go!!!

I just read an article in Women's Health the other day that said that building muscle now, before you go into menopause, has so many bonuses for health. It's commonly known that when reaching menopause that muscle tone starts to decline and so does metabolism, which is why it's normal to start gaining weight even if your diet and exercise remain the same. And at that point, once you start losing muscle tone, it becomes much harder due to hormonal changes for your body to rebuild it. There is some research saying if you build the muscle while in perimenopause or earlier and work to maintain it that menopause is less like being hit by a freight train and more of a gradual change- muscle tissue is even correlated with a reduction in hot flashes and other menopause symptoms. So I am hopeful if I keep up my new habits that maybe my midlife will be a little easier.

So I don't think I'm going to let my membership lapse now that the challenge is over, although honestly maybe not 6 days a week! But I plan on going tomorrow anyway even though the challenge is over because it's a weights day, and I want to keep working on my upper body. It feels really good to be pressing those big heavy dumbbells!

But WOW... go me. Seriously. I did it. And I'm really proud of myself for never giving up, even when I was (am) tired. Like I said at the beginning... I didn't have to hit any targets for anything. Didn't have to lose weight or gain a specific amount of muscle or lose inches. All I had to do was show up for myself, and I did. I'm worth it!

45 Strong Challenge: Day 44

 I'm so disappointed that my favourite trainer is off for the summer. I hope she chooses to come back in the fall- and I'll have to make some improvements over time so that I have progress to show her! I will miss her, though. She's the one who always pushes you that little bit farther and most of the time you think you can't do it but then again most of the time you do it because you're told to and then realize you can! The other trainers don't push quite the same way and I'll miss that. Elo, if you're reading this, you are awesome and I wish you all the best this summer... but I hope you come back!!!

The burnout is getting real though, especially with my broken sleep. Normally I love Tuesdays but today I'm dreading the energy expenditure a little bit. That being said, I planned to have a relatively easy day other than the gym so I will manage and I'll get through it. I think I'll be cutting down a bit from 6 days a week though once this is over!

I did:

• 51 minutes of walking and 40 minutes at F45 for a total of 91 active minutes. Today was the split workout of half cardio half resistance training.
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 16 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo.

Week 75 Weigh In & 45 Strong Challenge: Day 43

So, I'm a wee bit disappointed in the result this week because I saw quite a bit lower on Thursday when I happened to step on the scale, but hey, that's how bodies are! Fluctuation definitely is a thing. That being said, I can't really complain because I'm down over 8.6lbs in the last month! That's fantastic- it's back to the loss rate I was experiencing much earlier in my weight loss journey. So no complaints, even if I am a bit wistful.

It really seems that the muscle I've added has been giving my metabolism a boost, which is burning fat again! I wish I had done a body composition analysis when I first started F45 so I could compare it to the end of this challenge, but the visuals are pretty darn good so I'll chalk that up as a win.

My trainer keeps reminding me it's not all about the scale, and she's right. I've been moving up to heavier weights and that's definitely more exciting than the number on the scale. On Thursday I hit those new milestones and I'm so proud of myself and all my hard work.

I was really tired by the time the 5:30 class rolled around and honestly without the challenge I wouldn't have gone. But I'm not giving up so close to the finish line! I went and I survived! And I learned that I can tough through things when I need to... but I admit I am looking forward to a little rest soon.

I did:

• 59 minutes of walking and 39 minutes at F45 for a total of 98 active minutes. Today was the split workout of half cardio half resistance training.
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 15 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo.

OZ Year 1 loss: 68lbs (click here to see the week-by-week tracker!) 

OZ Week 53 gain: 1.4 lbs continuing dose at 0.75mg

OZ Week 55 gain: 1.6 lbs

OZ Week 56 loss: 0.6 lbs

OZ Week 57 loss: 2.0 lbs

OZ Week 58 loss: 2.4 lbs

OZ Week 61 gain: 5.4 lbs

OZ Week 62 loss: 1.4 lbs

OZ Week 63 loss: 3.0 lbs

OZ Week 64 loss: 1.0 lb

OZ Week 65 loss: 0.4 lbs

OZ Week 66 loss: 1.8 lbs

OZ Week 67 loss: 0 lbs

OZ Week 68 loss: 1.4 lbs

OZ Week 69 gain: 0.2 lbs

OZ Week 70 gain: 2.2 lbs

OZ Week 71 loss: 2.4 lbs

OZ Week 72 loss: 2.2 lbs

OZ Week 73 loss: 2.2 lbs

OZ Week 74 loss: 1.0 lb

OZ Week 75 loss: 0.8 lb

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 79.8 lbs

45 Strong Challenge: Day 42

 I did NOT like it when my alarm went off this morning! But if I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep, then I'd have to go for a long walk today anyway so may as well get up and make breakfast and get ready to go to F45. I generally like the Sunday class because it's weights, although I didn't love the new format last week with cycling bodyweight exercises in between reps of the weights. At least last Sunday it was the same bodyweight exercise each time rather than being one that was similarly tied to the station you were doing. But it's something different and I guess they need to keep each phase fresh!

Man it was hard getting up in time though! Since it's weights day, that means high protein breakfast so I planned my usual "quick" one of eggs on toast with cheese. But then by the time I dished up my breakfast, it was 7 minutes before I'm supposed to leave! I didn't think I had dawdled that much but ugh. Hopefully the walk to the gym helps me digest before the class!

It was a tough one, too! We did the same bodyweight exercises again this week as we did last week but the regular workout changed. The big issue is also that it's 30 seconds with the weights and then 20 seconds of the bodyweight exercise but no break in between so you might lose time putting down your weight or getting off of or down to the floor. But it was busy, that's for sure!

I did:

• 70 minutes of walking and 42 minutes at F45 for a total of 102 active minutes. Today was not fun cardio!
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 17 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo.

45 Strong Challenge: Day 41

 Really feeling a bit worn out today! I'm glad it was active recovery because I need it.

I did:

• 64 minutes of walking.
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 15 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

45 Strong Challenge: Day 40

 It's still somewhat amazing to me to see the numbers keep clicking over. And I'm still in it! Yesterday I got a pretty darn good dose of motivation, too. Although today I didn't get enough sleep so I'm already dreading the day- plus I have to go to the 5:30pm gym class so that really runs me out. But some days that's how my work schedule goes! 

I do think once the challenge is over I might cut back on the evening class days since I'm definitely not a fan, but we'll see how it goes. I mean, the way I am looking at it right now is that I'm paying $6 a day whether I go or not, so it encourages me to go at least. But maybe not six days a week once the challenge is over! Or maybe still six days a week but take the one day completely off and no hour walk? I'll see how I feel.

Today's workout was challenging- a good mix of cardio and strength training. Walking there in the rain wasn't a whole lot of fun but I went!

I did:

• 56 minutes of walking and 41 minutes at F45 for a total of 97 active minutes. Today was not fun cardio!
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 16 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

45 Strong Challenge: Day 39

 Ok, wow, y'all- I hit two new milestones at the gym today and I am so excited! Today's workout was weights, and Thursday is the day when they tend to push for lifting fewer reps with heavier weights. Today I managed to do two sets of pushups on my feet instead of on my knees! They weren't great pushups and I didn't get all the way down, but I was trying my best and I managed at least a little bit.

And the big one is that I managed to go up to 15kg dumbbells for the chest presses today! I've been working hard to try and up weights on chest presses and I've been doing the 12.5kg for a while now. Last time I tried to see if I could do the 15kg I couldn't even lift them into place but today I could do it! I am riding a pretty good adrenaline high right now. Super proud of myself for my hard work and it's amazing to see results like this!

I'm really glad I gave the F45 a try even though it's expensive. It's been interesting watching my body change. I don't think I've ever had this much muscle tissue in my life. Not only is my body healthier but this much muscle is likely going to make it easier to maintain my weight when I stop trying to lose. I think the choices I'm making this time around are much healthier for myself.

I did:

• 53 minutes of walking and 44 minutes at F45 for a total of 97 active minutes. Today was not fun cardio!
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 15 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

45 Strong Challenge: Day 38

 I can see the finish line! One more week and this challenge will be over!!!

I am not a big fan of the Wednesday workout this phase, but it is what it is. Triple Double means you do three sets at each cardio station and then when you're so exhausted you want to collapse, they tell you to do it all over again. But, I sure worked up a sweat last time!

The gym owner told me that my perception is correct- Phase 4 is indeed tougher than the previous phases. But she told me that this is the last phase for whatever focus this is (she couldn't remember what it was called off the top of her head) and then next month will be a new Phase 1 with a different focus. That works for me! 

I did:

• 51 minutes of walking and 40 minutes at F45 for a total of 91 active minutes. Today was not fun cardio!
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 15 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

45 Strong Challenge: Day 37

 So I've been noticing that I have burned out a little bit on lunches especially... if I manage to squeeze in the noon gym class, the last thing I want to do afterwards is figure out what to eat! Since we're in the homestretch of the 45 Strong Challenge and I don't want to derail myself, I ordered a box of Factor meals to use for lunches for the rest of the challenge. They are pricey at full price, but if you get a referral from someone using the service then you get a pretty good discount and they are actually pretty good, as well as being healthy! They have higher protein and keto options, so they're great for a post workout meal.

Since I'm getting to the struggle-y bit of continuing to go to the gym and finish the challenge, I wanted to make it as easy as possible to stick to my plan. If having healthy premade meals will do it, I'm there. 

I started eating before I took a picture, but today's lunch was turkey ragu with zoodles and herbed ricotta. It was really filling and pretty tasty! I don't tend to follow low carb but I did order a few keto meals for my weights days since that's where I want to really boost protein so I can build more muscle.

I did:

• 55 minutes of walking and 39 minutes at F45 for a total of 94 active minutes. Today was the Tokyo Disco workout again- two pods of weights, one upper body one lower and you do both.
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 17 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

Week 74 Weigh In & 45 Strong Challenge Day 36!

Hard to believe the challenge is 80% complete! I'm really going to make it to the end, unless something awful happens (I hope not!).

And while I am wearing out a bit, surprisingly my body seems to be able to handle the more intense exercise, which is pretty cool! I think I might like to try and keep it up. Maybe not quite this much- I would like some actual rest days too, not just a 60 min walk. But I can wait until I finish the last 9 days!

I am also really happy that the scale has started moving again after so much time. Looks like the solution, unsurprisingly, is adding more intense exercises along with more protein and calories to grow that new muscle. It's not the answer anyone wants to hear in terms of weight loss because it's slow and definitely requires putting in the time and work. But I think that was the key for breaking the long stretch of very slow losses and holding steady. Plus, it's better to be eating more anyway. We want to be eating as much as possible and still losing so that our metabolisms don't get used to eating too little. That would mean that maintenance calories end up quite low which is hard to sustain over a lifetime. What good is it to reach goal if we start regaining the weight almost immediately? It's better to try and heal as much of the damage obesity has done to our bodies and systems so that we can eat like normal people in the future. Not go back to eating the way we were (or at least how I was) but where it's OK to indulge occasionally and eat regular food with our families. It's one of the reasons I think diet culture can be so toxic. If you view your weight loss journey as a diet, how will it stick? A diet implies an end. And a lifetime diet just sounds awful! Choosing a way to eat sustainably that you can continue on with and not feel deprived, that you can eat with family and friends, and still enjoy your food? That's something that's much more likely to keep the number on the scale down over time because it won't be as hard to stick to it.

It's good to find substitutes for things we love- in fact this whole blog is full of recipes to try and recreate lighter versions of the calorific foods we enjoy indulging in. But I don't think I'd go the rest of my life without occasionally having big steak cut french fries made deep fried and not in an air fryer! Life has got to be about balance or we'll find ourselves back here again and I don't actually think I'd live through it next time.

So, I'm currently sticking with my ~1800 ish calorie plan, continuing the exercise, and we'll see how things go! Still not increasing my dose and staying at 0.75mg again while I hope to see the scale keep moving for a while and not get stuck until I'm closer to my goal.

I did:

• 58 minutes of walking and 39 minutes at F45 for a total of 97 active minutes. Today was the Quarterbacks workout again- two pods, one weights, one cardio.
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 15 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

Happy Eclipse day, if you're in the path! We will only get to see 99% totality here but unfortunately I'm not able to travel to get the full picture. That being said, it's looking pretty overcast so I'm not sure how much we will actually get to see anyway. Must be disappointing for the people who have spent thousands of dollars to visit places with the longest totality.

I'm kind of wondering how many people will be at the noon gym class today or if they'll be off to try and view the eclipse. Guess I'll find out! Result: slightly fewer than normal but still plenty of people came to get their sweat on!

OZ Year 1 loss: 68lbs (click here to see the week-by-week tracker!) 

OZ Week 53 gain: 1.4 lbs continuing dose at 0.75mg

OZ Week 55 gain: 1.6 lbs

OZ Week 56 loss: 0.6 lbs

OZ Week 57 loss: 2.0 lbs

OZ Week 58 loss: 2.4 lbs

OZ Week 61 gain: 5.4 lbs

OZ Week 62 loss: 1.4 lbs

OZ Week 63 loss: 3.0 lbs

OZ Week 64 loss: 1.0 lb

OZ Week 65 loss: 0.4 lbs

OZ Week 66 loss: 1.8 lbs

OZ Week 67 loss: 0 lbs

OZ Week 68 loss: 1.4 lbs

OZ Week 69 gain: 0.2 lbs

OZ Week 70 gain: 2.2 lbs

OZ Week 71 loss: 2.4 lbs

OZ Week 72 loss: 2.2 lbs

OZ Week 73 loss: 2.2 lbs

OZ Week 74 loss: 1.0 lb

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 79 lbs

45 Strong Challenge: Day 35

 This new phase 4 is really tough! Wow. I got up for the morning gym class but it sapped energy today rather than giving me extra. Some days are like that so I took it easy once I got home. The end of the challenge is in sight, but then as another gym member asked me, then what? She laughed and said I should just keep putting stickers on the wall once we complete the big sticker chart! 

I did:

• 28 minutes of walking and 42 minutes at F45 for a total of 70 active minutes. Today was a new strength workout called Pegasus which involved adding bodyweight reps after the weights.
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 15 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. I've been less motivated in Spanish lately after that few weeks in the tournament! But I'm still doing it.

45 Strong Challenge: Day 34

 Really tired today! My friend asked if I wanted to go on a road trip, so I did since it was nice to get out of the house. But I did make sure to schedule time for a walk so I wouldn't lose my streak!

I did:

• 61 minutes of walking.
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 15 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

45 Strong Challenge: Day 33

 Still tired today even though I managed to go to sleep a little early. Although I realized why yesterday's strength workout was tougher. I forget sometimes that where you are in your cycle (if you have one) can really take a toll! I guess that's why it was harder to lift!

So I figured I'd start off today with some carbs because I really need the energy. Breakfast was absolutely delicious- I had a serving of Kodiak chocolate protein pancake mix and I added cinnamon and 1 tbsp ricotta to punch up the protein a bit. Then I cooked it until crisp in my waffle iron (they really don't need that tbsp of oil to be waffles!) and topped with a sliced banana and 1 tbsp maple syrup. It's still got protein, but it was just what I needed to get started today.

It's going to be a busy day, and I've got to go to the evening gym class because of my work schedule which I don't love. I'm betting I'll be pretty burnt out by the end of the day. At least tomorrow is my active recovery day!

Sooo close to the end of the challenge. I can make it! Then what? I'm not sure. I'll still have the unlimited membership for now. I still want to keep working out- most of the time it feels good afterwards. The times it doesn't? Well that's what willpower is for.

Well, definitely needed the willpower today. I'm so tired! The workout was really tough. You know when the trainers are being nice that it's a hard one!

I did:

• 94 minutes of walking and 40 minutes at F45 for a total of 134 active minutes. Today was a hybrid workout called Apex. I think Apex was around before but I'm not sure I ever did this class.
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 15 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

45 Strong Challenge: Day 32

 The burnout's getting real... but in less than two weeks I'll be finished this challenge! I know the pride that I feel will be worth the effort. I actually think I like going to the gym a lot, but once 45 Strong is over, I think I'll let myself take a break on those days where I'm really tired. I don't have to go to the gym 6 days a week! I mean- I still have my unlimited membership for at least another month now to finish off this challenge and since it's paid for I'll want to use it. Just maybe not *quite* this much!

I can't deny there have been visible changes in my body, though. I wish I had done a body composition analysis before starting the challenge so I could have seen what 45 days of intense exercise can do, but not knowing the exact numbers doesn't take away from actual results. I've still been working very hard and I'm proud of what I have accomplished even if I don't know exactly how much it is.

Today's F45 is another new program- they're all new this week since it's now Phase Four. I have to be honest I don't really understand how all that works or what is different but hey that's why I pay them the big bucks to design my workout plan, right? I just show up and do what I'm told! I know the plan sticks to the general idea of which days are cardio and which days are weight training and which are hybrid, but other than that, I don't know what the changes are based on. So I do know that today is Gemini which is your choice of working upper or lower body for strength training but I'm not sure how that differs from last phase's Two Fold workout, which I really liked.

I did:

• 52 minutes of walking and 38 minutes at F45 for a total of 90 active minutes. Today was a new strength training workout called Gemini. 
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 17 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

45 Strong Challenge: Day 31

 Still not sleeping well, so things are getting hard again. Or more so, I suppose! Everything seems harder when you're tired and stressed.

Have to admit I'm really not looking forward to today, especially since it's pouring rain but also windy so an umbrella won't be very useful. I've got to walk both ways to the gym so hopefully it won't be too bad. It's cold out, too- supposed to turn to snow again tonight! Spring really has been such a tease this year so far.

OK, I don't like Wednesdays lol. That workout made me feel like it was my first ever. Totally blown out exhausted afterwards. But, it's on the program for now, so I'm doing it.

I did:

• 25 minutes of walking and 40 minutes at F45 for a total of 65 active minutes. Today was a new HIIT cardio workout called Triple Double. It was awful and I'm dying lol.
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care; in fact I also went to the dentist today for a cleaning!
• 15 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. Feeling a little Spanish-ed out!

45 Strong Challenge Day 30

 Yup, still tired this morning... but when I get through today, I'll be 2/3 of the way through the challenge! It's no time to give up!

Starting to get bored of my high protein breakfasts though. I'll have to start looking around to find something new. The problem is when I'm tired I've got less energy to experiment and play with my food- I just want something quick and easy. And normally I love eggs but I just wasn't feeling eggs. But- tired wins. I had eggs cooked my usual way over two slices of carved ham leftover from thanksgiving, with a slice of black pepper cheese melted on top. Hopefully that will give me a boost for my workout today!

The new workout format is pretty neat. It's a full body strength workout divided into two pods- one upper body and one lower body. Longer work times and longer rest times, so we were encouraged to push for higher weights. I did my best!! The person sharing my station commented about me choosing bigger weights and I told her that the trainers tried to get me to increase weight each set so I always tried, and so she tried too! I got to be a bad/good influence lol!

Still trying to push protein today and looks like I'll be up to 142 grams which is great. Gotta feed that muscle!

I did:

• 52 minutes of walking and 47 minutes at F45 for a total of 99 active minutes. Today was a new strength training workout called Tokyo Disco. 
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 16 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

Week 73 Weigh In & 45 Strong Challenge Day 29

You know, it's been strange. I've been hungry lately, but it doesn't feel worrisome or like the medication isn't working. It feels like maybe all this physical activity has kickstarted my metabolism into working the way it should again. I mean maybe this trend won't last- I'm still only down 10lbs in the last 20 weeks, so it's nothing quick to say the least. But I at least have this positive feeling that maybe my body is going to work properly again. We'll see how it goes!

Also, I had no idea that sea turtles weighed so much! I guess they are very large!

So I've generally had my new calorie goal around 1800 lately to compensate for the additional exercise I've been doing. I could eat less, but realistically the goal when losing weight is to eat as much as you can and still lose, so that your metabolism doesn't slow to accommodate the small portions. So if I can lose a pound or two a week eating 1800ish calories, I feel like I'm on the right track. That's quite a bit more than I was eating before I started F45 and I was mostly sitting stagnant. I've definitely gained a lot of muscle too, and muscle burns more fat as long as you keep moving and consume enough protein for muscle growth! I've just got to keep being creative and finding more snacks to eat so I don't get bored with my food.

I did:

• 59 minutes of walking and 39 minutes at F45 for a total of 98 active minutes. Today was a new hybrid workout style called Quarterbacks. It was pretty good actually!
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 16 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

OZ Year 1 loss: 68lbs (click here to see the week-by-week tracker!) 

OZ Week 53 gain: 1.4 lbs continuing dose at 0.75mg

OZ Week 55 gain: 1.6 lbs

OZ Week 56 loss: 0.6 lbs

OZ Week 57 loss: 2.0 lbs

OZ Week 58 loss: 2.4 lbs

OZ Week 61 gain: 5.4 lbs

OZ Week 62 loss: 1.4 lbs

OZ Week 63 loss: 3.0 lbs

OZ Week 64 loss: 1.0 lb

OZ Week 65 loss: 0.4 lbs

OZ Week 66 loss: 1.8 lbs

OZ Week 67 loss: 0 lbs

OZ Week 68 loss: 1.4 lbs

OZ Week 69 gain: 0.2 lbs

OZ Week 70 gain: 2.2 lbs

OZ Week 71 loss: 2.4 lbs

OZ Week 72 loss: 2.2 lbs

OZ Week 73 loss: 2.2 lbs

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 78 lbs

45 Strong Challenge: Day 28

 Still feeling pretty ragged this morning; I'm just not sleeping well. I'm just taking things one day at a time.

I did:

• 50 minutes of walking and 40 minutes at F45 for a total of 90 active minutes. Today was the last week of the Piston workout which is a weights workout. I'll miss this one- it's actually a nice way to start a Sunday morning.
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 42 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. Today is the last day of the Spanish event so I'll be able to slow down a bit tomorrow! I finished in the top ten in the tournament, yay!

45 Strong Challenge: Day 27

Again, super tired this morning. I was awake early enough to go to the Saturday class but I need some active recovery. Honestly I'm not even thrilled to go for an hour long walk today, but I'm 60% of the way done and I'm not giving up now!

Trying to keep things low key today. We don't do much as a celebration for Easter but I did decide to make a ham and cheese scalloped potatoes and veggies for dinner. Everything in moderation, right? I stayed within my daily calories, too.

I did:

• 61 minutes of walking.
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 46 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

45 Strong Challenge Day 26

 OK y'all, today I am just tired. Thank goodness tomorrow is Saturday and it's my active recovery day.

Happy Good Friday! Instead of sleeping in and enjoying not having to work or pack the kiddo off to school, where was I? Sweating my ass off at F45. Sigh. That being said- I went. I just don't feel energized post workout today. I feel sweaty and tired. I think I'm just going to relax today and enjoy the holiday as much as possible. Hope you do, too!

I did:

• 54 minutes of walking and 41 minutes at F45 for a total of 95 active minutes. Today was the last week of the Valor workout which is a team based primarily cardio workout. I'm glad to see the back of this one.
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 21 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. Tournament ends Sunday and then I can slow down a bit on the Spanish!

45 Strong Challenge: Day 25

 Well, I'm feeling more positive today about my ability to get through this challenge, which is nice! It's been interesting to see my mood fluctuate so far as the days go by, although honestly I could do without the low days!

I'm actually looking forward to today's F45 workout, even though it's the last one of its kind before we switch to the new month. This is the strength day where we work on progressive overload and lift heavy. I have seen visible improvement in my muscles just over the last few weeks, so I'm excited to go in today and see what I can do. I hit a new milestone on reps and weight last time, so I want to see what I can do today! Definitely planning on hitting the protein hard, too. I want to keep feeding the muscles!

So I started today with my favourite easy high protein breakfast that you've seen me mention a few times now, two sunny side up runny yolk eggs on whole wheat weight watchers toast with a slice of deli ham, some red onion, and lowfat cheese. 363 calories, 16g fat, 24g carbs, 30g protein.

Lunch is the quickest and easiest protein heavy meal! I literally just got myself a frozen shrimp ring and I'm having cocktail shrimp and a salad. Not only does it feel decadent, but seafood is low in calories and high in protein. I'm really enjoying it! 174 calories, 2g fat, 2g carbs, 35g protein.

By afternoon though I was looking for a little sweet to complement the spicy cocktail sauce I'd had earlier! I had 1/2 cup chopped strawberries, a container of vanilla Greek yogurt, and just a little drizzle of sugarfree caramel syrup. Sweet and delicious! I added an ounce of almonds on the side. 319 calories, 14g fat, 29g carbs, 23g protein.

Dinner was a homemade cheeseburger with 4oz extra lean ground beef on a low calorie bun with 1oz cheddar cheese and grilled onions, and roasted carrots on the side. I was going to share a recipe for a Big Mac salad but honestly there's nothing wrong with having an actual burger sometimes, even on a day when you're aiming for higher protein and lower carbs! It was delicious and I enjoyed every bite. 522 calories, 23g fat, 46g carbs, 36g protein.

I went for savory for dessert so I could load up on more delicious protein! I had 5 of the PC Black Label cranberry & fennel artisan crisps I've written about before along with 2 oz Brie cheese and 100g Brandt turkey kolbassa. 367 calories, 23g fat, 15.5g carbs, 32.5g protein.

That brings my day to 1745 calories, 78g fat, 116.5g carbs, and 156.5g protein, which is fantastic! I wouldn't choose to eat this way every  day but I did some very heavy lifting today and definitely want to help build that muscle!

I did:

• 54 minutes of walking and 40 minutes at F45 for a total of 94 active minutes. Today was the last week of the Two Fold workout which is where you do strength training but focus on upper or lower body. 
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 52 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. Gotta stay in the silly tournament!

45 Strong Challenge: Day 24

 I'm already worn out and the day hasn't started yet! Not because of physical exhaustion, but I'm just really stressed lately, which is not ideal for taking care of my body. I know studies have shown that stress undoes literally everything I'm trying to do to help myself, so I don't love that.

Then this morning literally nothing sounded good for breakfast, which is frustrating because I have so many ingredients on hand. Finally I just gave up and grabbed whatever was easy, and it's funny because it made me laugh to realize that I fell completely back to basics- the old Nutrisystem program that they had back in the early '00s where breakfast was a Nutrisystem entree plus a dairy or protein serving plus a fruit. The program has changed since then, in some ways better and in some ways worse (at least in my opinion) but their food was generally pretty good, and I still do occasionally drive across the border to get an order of the frozen entrees (which are vastly superior to the shelf stable ones)!

So my quick and easy breakfast this morning is a banana chopped into coins, topped with vanilla Greek yogurt and a little caramel sauce, and a Nutrisystem cinnamon roll. I guess old habits die hard but in this case? That's a pretty good habit. I'm not an active Nutrisystem member anymore because I don't order the food frequently enough to keep my auto delivery on, but I'd still recommend that service to anyone looking for quick and easy meals designed to help with weight loss. Is it cheap? No, but when you look at the cost of food nowadays plus the cost of all the ready meal services that have sprung up, it's pretty reasonable. And most of the entrees can be "doctored up" to actually taste pretty good. In fact, if you haven't read back in my blog, that's what Stomach Rumblings was originally about. I shared lots of recipes and tips and tricks to make the NS program work for you. Back in 2010 when I was an active member, I lost 125 pounds with Nutrisystem and I maintained that loss for six years until my life got really stressful and I stopped taking care of myself; stopped even caring about taking care of myself. That's what I have to prevent this time. Weight loss gets harder the older you get, and yo-yo'ing is very hard on your body. I don't want to go through this again.

But I digress! My point is, I'd still recommend them if you're looking for something, and they obviously instilled some reasonable habits in me that I know work well!

I did:

• 59 minutes of walking and 38 minutes at F45 for a total of 97 active minutes. Today was the last week of the Triple Threat workout which is tiring cardio. 
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 42 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo.

45 Strong Challenge- Day 23

 Well I have Bon Jovi stuck in my head- we're halfway there! 

I'm still not getting enough sleep though, and not for lack of trying. I could really use it given how much energy I've been expending lately, but it is what it is.

It's going to be a busy day. I'll just keep doing the best I can. I started today with a high protein breakfast to give me a boost- my favourite pre-weights meal of eggs on toast with cheese, ham, and sliced red onion. Delicious!

My favourite trainer was there today and she always pushes me to try that little bit more. I have a confession to make... I'm still that woman who hates exercise and sweating... but I think I like lifting weights. I feel strong and capable, and I like that.

But man I'm blown out for now! I worked really hard though and I'm proud of myself. Now time to load up on some protein!

I did:

• 65 minutes of walking and 45 minutes at F45 for a total of 110 active minutes. Today was the last week of the Titans workout which is an awesome weightlifting class. I'm sorry that this one will be finished but I'm sure the next month will have similar and good stuff.
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 31 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. I'm in a silly little tournament on Duolingo this week so apparently I have to do more Spanish than usual to keep up! That's not usually my goal but why not do a little more if I am able to.

Week 72 Weigh In & 45 Strong Challenge: Day 22

 Yay- the scale is moving again! I hope this keeps up for a little while! Again, I know that when you're gaining muscle that the scale might not move for a while because muscle is heavy, but it's still a bummer to work hard and stay within my calories and not see that number drop even when it's literally only one factor in weight loss. But I really needed the boost this week. It's first thing Monday morning and I'm already exhausted and I haven't even gone to work yet let alone gone to F45 today. Those Monday workouts are really rough! It's six pods of three exercises each, which all target the same muscle group. You work out for five minutes with only a ten second break between a full set of three. It's really strenuous- and they're not easy exercises either! 

That being said, my fitness tracker says that my cardio fitness score is slowly increasing, and that's awesome. Yet another visible marker that my health is improving. So while these cardio sets feel very hard hopefully they will get easier. Although I'm sure when they get easier, my favourite trainer that I love to hate will find a way to make them difficult again!

I have been trying to keep my calories towards the higher end of my range because of the high amount of exercise I'm doing during this challenge, so I guess I will keep doing that. I had been worried because the past few days the proportion of carbs has swung a little bit higher so I thought maybe that was going to stall me but I've been so tired that I think my body has genuinely needed the extra energy. My glucose readings are all still within range so I'm not going to worry about it. I do try to get 100g of protein daily but meal planning gets more difficult the more tired I am, and life has been stressful lately. I'm hoping to do some batch cooking this week so that I can just grab a container of leftovers out of the fridge for lunches rather than figure out what to make. I bought a bunch of meal prep containers that are all the same and instead of storing food in serving dishes in the fridge, I portion them out into appropriate meal sizes so they're just grab and go. Bonus- they even look like they're in takeout containers for that little extra bit of feeling like it's junk food!

Today I noticed that I was hungrier- I'm wondering if I do need to keep my calories higher? I'll have to see how it goes. I had to squeeze in my morning snack today even though timing was weird because I was just so hungry. It's not the kind of hunger that feels like Ozempic isn't controlling things- just normal hunger. I'll see how it goes.

Still keeping my dose at 0.75mg for now... I'd really like to save that last boost to 1mg for when I stall closer to my goal weight. Since I'm taking Ozempic for diabetes and not for weight loss, I won't be prescribed a dose higher than 1mg, since it's definitely helping my A1C. So if that's my last increase, I want to make it count and hopefully help my weight loss start moving again when I really need it. I admit it's been tempting lately since I've only lost 6 lbs in the last 3 months but I keep telling myself to give the exercise a chance to work. Muscle burns more fat, and I've definitely put some muscle on. Since the scale had been staying the same, that means I have actually been losing fat while I gain the muscle, since I didn't gain weight. So my daily calories burned should increase as long as I keep up with the F45- and that means the fat loss should start to increase as well. It's a marathon, not a sprint. I'll be patient and keep doing what I'm doing even when I don't feel very patient and want results RIGHT NOW!! A 2 plus pound weight loss in a week at this stage of the game is great!

Onwards and downwards... I'm nearly halfway through the 45 Strong challenge!

I did:

• 60 minutes of walking and 38 minutes at F45 for a total of 98 active minutes. Today was the last week of the Loyals workout which is a brutal cardio workout.
• drank 3 litres of water
• did my dental care
• 31 minutes of Spanish on Duolingo. 

OZ Year 1 loss: 68lbs (click here to see the week-by-week tracker!) 

OZ Week 53 gain: 1.4 lbs continuing dose at 0.75mg

OZ Week 55 gain: 1.6 lbs

OZ Week 56 loss: 0.6 lbs

OZ Week 57 loss: 2.0 lbs

OZ Week 58 loss: 2.4 lbs

OZ Week 61 gain: 5.4 lbs

OZ Week 62 loss: 1.4 lbs

OZ Week 63 loss: 3.0 lbs

OZ Week 64 loss: 1.0 lb

OZ Week 65 loss: 0.4 lbs

OZ Week 66 loss: 1.8 lbs

OZ Week 67 loss: 0 lbs

OZ Week 68 loss: 1.4 lbs

OZ Week 69 gain: 0.2 lbs

OZ Week 70 gain: 2.2 lbs

OZ Week 71 loss: 2.4 lbs

OZ Week 72 loss: 2.2 lbs

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 75.8 lbs