I have a case of the F.L.U.

Apparently, it is contagious. There are nine of us in all... F.L.U. is Fit Life University, my group that is going to take me from here to "fierce" in 8 weeks. OK, so maybe if I am not fierce in 8 weeks I'll at least have better endurance and speed. :)

The pre-work was the cardio assessment on Sunday which gave me a starting point for calorie consumption. On Tuesday, I met with the nutritionist for remedial nutrition training (yes, I am ashamed to say I met with her before and fell off the wagon - you can see why I need this group again!). My main problem was once I started adding in all the extra workouts that came with the marathon, I had no idea what to eat, when or how much. We came up with options for eating out and eating on the go and I left her office feeling confident once again!

Tonight was measurement night. The first of weekly meetings for the next two months. Everyone was weighed, measured, and calipered. While this was taking place one by one we discussed goals for the next two weeks and what might be realistic. For me, this is about accountability. My nutrition is the worst. I know this. Now you all know too. I fell into the trap of thinking because I worked out more than a typical person that I could eat whatever I wanted. Yeah, I got away with it. I didn't gain weight training for the marathon but I didn't lose it either. My goal was a little difficult to formalize as really and truly I just need to get motivation (or a butt kicking) to get on the nutrition wagon. I would like to lose some body fat and probably about 6 or 8 pounds. After all the measuring was done, it turns out I am at 19% body fat currently so we set a goal of 15% and 6 pounds.

Things I learned this week:
1. Each week you need a cheat hour. You always hear about having a cheat day. If you think about it, that is a lot of room for error. Tonight, one of my team mates (Spencer aka "puffy") mentioned that it really should only be an hour. It makes perfect sense. An hour is enough to satisfy a craving or allowing you an indulgence but not long enough to destroy everything you have done all week.

2. Nutrition is 80% of the program. If you are neglecting the nutritional side of your life, you will never reach your fitness goals. No matter how many marathons you run in a year. Really. I am living proof.

3. (This came from my risk point assessment - the blood test - and might be something you already knew but it was new to me...) HDL is driven up or down by exercise. LDL is solely on nutrition. I got my blood test back and was surprised to find my LDL was slightly high. Only about 20 points but high. I have never had that happen! It was my own version of scared straight. Seriously.

4. I figured out how much more my heart rate monitor does that I had no idea! That puppy stores my calorie burn for the past 16 weeks, mileage, hours that I worked out, heart rate zones I was in during the work out. So cool! I have had the watch over a year and had no idea.

So that is F.L.U. in a nutshell as of tonight. I have a 30-minute endurance test on Friday and then the testing is done for now. The reality of the program hit me on the drive home. I was planning my morning tomorrow thinking I could go workout earlier than normal and go to Panera for my favorite bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. Oh. Wait a minute... I have to log my food starting tomorrow. Funny, it only took about 15 minutes to forget about my new improved eating! Ha. I probably could get away with an egg and cheese sandwich but might pass it up for a protein shake. At least on the first day :)

Today's workout was 1 hour on the stairmill in zones 2 and 3. Normally, this should have been bootcamp day but my trainer had an emergency of some sort so we tagged along with another group on their workout. It worked out for me as I rarely do the stairmill and love it as a workout.

On tap for tomorrow: Continuing with heart rate training. I have a 1 hour treadmill workout alternating 2 minutes in zone 2 and 1 minute in zone 3. Normally, I hate the treadmill but these workouts keep you motivated because you are watching the time so it keeps you from getting bored.

Challenge for the week: Burn 2500-3000 calories only in zones 1 through 3.

Have a great day!