Week One Results!

File this under, "how did that happen?". Wednesday night was the weekly weigh-in of Fit Life University (FLU). I think everyone in the group had the nervousness equal to that of any competitor on the Biggest Loser. Perhaps not quite as much worry as there are no threats of being sent home to the real world or the possibility of losing out on $250,000 and, thankfully, we do not weigh in wearing spandex and a sports bra like they do on the show. We have our pride at stake and points which will ultimately lead to fame and fortune, personal training, massages and other prizes so there are carrots dangling to lead us to our goals. At this point, a pizza, coconut cake or Bruster's butter pecan ice cream might be more appealing than a carrot but I digress... Pardon me while I wipe the drool off the keyboard.

I have been diligent all week which is a lot for me. I.love.to.snack. I only had ONE cheat food item all week! All week I have felt like I was eating a lot of food so Wednesday morning as I contemplate how little I will have lost and whether or not I might make my goal of a little less than a pound, I glance at the label on the chocolate milk I bought a few days back at quik trip and am now drinking. Wow. This is some good chocolate milk. Let me preface this to say I *DO* know how to read labels. I do. I know the label is the serving size and there can be a zillion servings in the whole container, blah, blah, blah. I clearly remember looking at the label at the QT. I saw the main ingredient as nonfat milk and somehow in my head calculated a serving as 100 calories or so. I didn't study it but I got the idea (or so I thought). Must have been in a hurry. As I am enjoying my cup of lovely, oddly creamy and fatty tasting milk. How can this taste so good? I decide to read the ingredients. 1. Nonfat milk. 2. CREAM. What the? I look at the calories again and realize I had that all backwards. It was more like 220 calories a serving. Oops! A lesson in being more careful with my label analysis. Ha.

The Wednesday night weigh-fest basically goes like this... Al (co-head honcho) arrives and plops the scale down in the middle of the room. From there we take turns weighing in while Tosha (other co-head honcho) reviews our food logs and either gives us a check mark which translates to points or tells us something like we need to work more protein in or veggies or whatever is lacking in the food log. Basically, the idea is to eat well balanced and within the recommended calories based on your goals. Even if it seems like you are eating a lot, trust the system and make sure you don't under-eat. Conversely, they are also checking to make sure no one went crazy and fell off the wagon. There are points at stake for following the food plan as well as your weight goal.

The first lady gets up and weighs in, 2 pounds lost. Woo hoo! She is pretty excited, apparently had been plateaued out for a little bit. Second lady up, also 2 pounds lost. She had been burning it up in the gym but had not been taking in enough protein. My turn. Have I mentioned I felt like I had been eating A LOT this week? Not a lot in terms of junk food but just feel like I am constantly eating. By the time I finish my meal, it seems like 2 hours have passed and it is time to fuel up again. By the end of the day, I often am still short of servings in certain food groups so I have to cram those in at night. The point is, I have been eating A LOT but A LOT of recommended foods. Going into the weigh in, I really didn't feel like I had lost anything. I was wrong. Step on the scale. Clickety, click. Wait for the number. Four pounds lost. Are you kidding me? Honestly, it was a shocker! My goal for the week was to lose 0.75 pounds. I'll take it. :)

The educational segment this week had to do with the zones. So, what is the deal with the zones anyhow and why go through this whole process and not just train as hard as I can? Here is the short version:

Zone 1: 50 to 75% of threshold. The recovery zone. Essentially used to recover from intense training. Creates blood flow and enhances coordination.

Zone 2: 70 to 90% of threshold. Training in this zone builds aerobic efficiency, increases stamina and trains the body to burn fat at a higher caloric rate. These are mostly long, slow distance workouts.

Zone 3: 90 to 100% of threshold. Training in this zone will eventually allow you to exercise longer at aerobic intensities, enhance conversion of lactate to fuel, delay fatigue and push your threshold up. Typical training is long, moderate intervals and base building.

Threshold: The line in the sand between aerobic and anaerobic.

Zone 4: 100 to 110% of threshold. Training objectives in this zone might be increasing tolerance to lactic acid or to exercise longer at anaerobic intensities.

Zone 5: 110% of threshold to peak HR. Has anyone ever been in zone 5? Of course but not for long. Training in this zone is used to develop speed and power. Think sprinting. Very intense exercise, very uncomfortable.

My random bits of wisdom learned this week:

1. Unless you do cardio for 45+ minutes you aren't tapping into fat burning. Twenty to thirty minute bouts of cardio are only going to burn sugars.

2. Strength training is not a fat burning activity. As you are doing reps, your glycogen stores are being used up. Resting in between reps allows them to go back up.

I am excited to have a three-day weekend! It is great to work for a bank and get all the banking holidays :) Tomorrow, I am doing the Run the Reagan race. Pretty cool, low key race. I did it last year as a 5k. This year I am doing the half marathon. It is cool because they block off one of the highways to traffic and we run on the parkway. As I picked up my race number this afternoon, I overheard a first time racer asking these questions to a very patient volunteer:

1. When she was handed her race shirt, she asked "do we have to wear this during the race or are we allowed to wear something else?"

2. She asked if there would be water at the race. The volunteer replied that there would be water stops every 1.5 miles. "is it free or should I bring money to buy it?"

I don't recall being that naive ahout racing but it did make me smile :)

Have a great weekend!
K