Kuawen

Well I'm learning some very important lessons this week, such as you can't assume a 15 month old is going to be okay in a gym's daycare just because he's been okay going to them since he was 6 months old. My son absolutely refuses to stop crying unless I'm there physically holding him. So working out this morning didn't work but thankfully my trainer was willing to reschedule for tonight. The other thing I'm learning is that I'm not physically fit enough to work out four days in a row without a rest day. My left knee has been killing me all day so my trainer and i had to change it from a weight training session to a stretching and mobility building session. She showed me a lot of good stretches to use to help strengthen my knees and hips that will hopefully help me deal with my chronic pain better moving forward. My sessions with Carleen have been worth every penny so far.

Ok I consider Tuesday a success because I got my butt to the gym at 4pm to meet with my trainer even though I was feeling really crummy. She put me through a bit of an easier training session so as not to aggravate my knees any further because they were already popping and aching. Today, however, is a bit of a bust already because my son got kicked out of daycare for excessive crying halfway through my workout. Now we're both at home, he's napping and I'm miffed that I only got 30 minutes of high intensity cardio in for the day. It's times like this that I wish my knees could handle jogging, because then I could take him with me around the neighborhood. I might need to get some exercise DVDs to do at home (even though there really isn't enough room in the house) for days like these.

Thank you!

Thank you for your concern, silverbeam. My doctor is the one who prescribed the 1400 calorie diet, because my hypothyroidism lowers my bmr (basal metabolic rate). As he is able to treat me and my bmr rises, the weight should begin to come off fairly quickly and then he and I will discuss raising my calorie intake to better suit my body's needs.

A quick and unexpected update from my doctor: my initial tests indicate that I may have adult onset growth hormone deficiency. This could explain many of the symptoms I've been having as well as the sudden weight gain. I'm scheduled for further tests to find out how severe the deficiency is and then we'll move on to treatment. I'm cautiously excited that my life might finally turn around.

Thank you for the kind words. Well, week 1 down and I've begun week two on the right foot, I think. I totally failed at staying within my calorie goals on Saturday, but Sunday I reigned it back in and was pleasantly surprised to see that I had lost a lb overall this morning. That makes 3 lbs lost in 3 weeks since joining NF. And today I shook my booty in zumba and had a lot of fun doing it. This week is going to be a little less organized than I would like it, because I'll be seeing my trainer in the evenings rather than mornings.

Thank you for all the warm welcomes! I actually have already started my first challenge (I love challenges!)

Thank you! Yeah it feels good having made it through the first week of my challenge (or nearly so, there's still Saturday) Day 4 was rough thanks to the blues. I still did my walk and I put together an inspiration board like the flash mission instructed, but I felt down looking at women who have lost 100+ lbs and thinking "that was me. That should be me. I don't know if that can be me again". I just gotta remember: failure is not an option. Day 5 I went to the gym and pushed myself as hard as I could on the machine weights, doing 3 sets of 10 reps for leg curl, leg press, knee extensions, lat pulldowns, rows, and chest presses. I averaged 40 lbs across all excersises save for the leg press which I did 90lbs and I was surprised I could do that much. Then I went to water aerobics and worked my arms even more (my legs too, but I didn't feel much burn from them) so I'm sure my arms are gonna be sore tomorrow. I also found out that I won't be hearing back from my doctor until all the test results are in, which won't be until after the new year.

Thanks @Hazard. I'd still love to hear any advice if you have it. Day 2 and 3 of mission: gym rat finished. Day 2 was straight forward enough, as it was my rest day, so all I did was track my food, water, and go for a 2 mile walk, which my son loved. Day 3 and back to the gym, Carleen was not so gentle with me today as she was Monday. She had me doing lunges as well as planks (and other things, but these hurt the worst) but she wouldn't let me back down and I appreciated that. Then I went and danced my butt off in zumba, and had a lot of fun doing it. I feel less achy today and I definitely felt happier after my workout today than I had Monday, but I attribute that to just loving zumba so much. Unfortunately, I'm also struggling with a bit of the blues. It's so hard to be pushing myself like this and I ended up gaining a lb. I admit I do compare myself to others, though I know I shouldn't, and I do get jealous when I see a friend losing 1 lb a day and I can't even shake 1. I was the biggest girl in zumba today and I felt like an elephant riding a bike on Monday, too. I guess I'm just shamelessly asking for praise. I still haven't heard back from my doctor, but I find myself nit picking at everything I do. Can I be doing more? Should I eat less? I just don't know. Sorry for the pity party.

Thanks for the follows! I need some accountabilibuddies. Yeah, my doctor is testing me for at least a dozen different metabolic disorders. I have hypothyroidism but it's not responding to medication, so he thinks there may be something wrong with my pituitary gland. Hopefully the tests he's running will shed some light on the why's. So day 1 of mission: gym rat has been (mostly) a success! I met with my trainer, Carleen, and she's super nice, and she ran me through my first bodyweight training circuit. I let her know that I live with chronic pain in my hips and knees and she was very attentive to my need to moderate some of the exercises. I got to work on a trx machine for the first time and it was intimidating but good. Being so big (I'm 287 lbs) I was afraid I might pull the whole thing down on top of me if I put all my weight on it, but she reassured me that that wasn't possible lol Then, after Carleen kicked my butt (nicely) I jumped into the spin class and kicked my own butt. Again, the instructor Kathy was super nice and helped me get the bike set up so I wouldn't hurt my knees and she encouraged me to go at my own pace and take breaks when I needed to. Even still I made myself stand up and work on that bike 15 times (yup, I kept count). I hit a wall halfway through class and I was in so much pain but I kept pushing just ten minutes at a time because I knew that if I let myself get off that bike I would feel ashamed the rest of the day and then I would use it as an excuse the next time I did spin to just leave early and...yeah, vicious cycle (no pun intended). So I suffered my way to the end of the class and felt so accomplished when I got off that bike. The goal I didn't quite hit yesterday was goal 4. I ate 1800 calories (*womp womp*) but I made sure to up my protein in the hopes that it might remind my body to make some muscle with it. Today I hurt from my head to my toes. Advil is my best friend. But today is my recovery day so I only plan to go for a walk with my son and research some new healthy recipes. I just got a pressure cooker and I'm loving it thus far. Son is awake from his nap, so I'll leave this update here. Oh! Before I forget, my current mantra is: failure is not an option.

Hi. I'm kuawen. I'm new to NF but not to diet and exercise. Ten years ago I lost 100lbs the hard way, through blood, sweat, and tears, but over the past year I've gained it all back despite my healthy lifestyle changes. After meeting with a bunch of doctors that couldn't give me any answers, my family decided to move to Los Angeles so that i can be seen by one of the country's top endocrinologist. In the meantime, I'm continuing my healthy lifestyle and hoping my doctor can help me shed this fat suit... again. A friend of mine, on here he goes by @NONSLOTH, told me about NF:RH and I've been enjoying it thus far. I figured it was time I finally introduce myself here and maybe get to know a few of you.

Hello! I'm kuawen, and this is my first NF challenge. I'm new to NF:RH but I'm not new to diet and exercise. Ten years ago, I lost 100lbs through diet and exercise alone. The problem is, over the past year, I've gained it all back. What happened? Well, I'm not 100% sure. I've continued to exercise and eat right, but the weight keeps piling on. So, after seeing a number of doctors that couldn't give me any answers, my family and I moved to Los Angeles so that i can be seen by one of the country's top endocrinologist. In the meantime, while I wait for test results to come in, I've got a shiny new gym membership and I need to keep my healthy lifestyle going, so I figured I'd start a challenge! I know we're in the in-between weeks for them, but I saw @Hazard post saying we could start one at any time. My main quest? I'd like to call it my life quest, is to lose 100lbs *again*, but that's not gonna happen in a month, so I'll start out with something smaller: 1) I am committing to meet my trainer twice a week for the next five weeks. 2) I am committing to do strength training three times a week for the next five weeks. This is a hard one for me, because along with gaining weight I've been losing muscle, and I need to work to keep what I still have (which isn't much). I'm going to ask my trainer to show me how to do body weight exercises to start, before moving on to the machine weights. 3) I am committing to do cardio a minimum of three days a week for the next five weeks. I love taking classes, especially zumba and swim aerobics, it's a matter of getting my butt out the door to go do it. I'm also wanting to start doing cycling classes again, so that'll be a sub-goal within this goal. Can I add more quests? 4) I am committed to eat no more than 1400 calories per day for the next five weeks, and to consume at least 4 glasses of water (that's 8oz each) per day. I keep a food and water journal on sparkpeople.com and 1400 is what my doctor feels I should stick with. I'm purposely not setting a weight loss goal, just because I know it's going to be an uphill battle no matter how hard I work. I want to lose 10% of my bodyweight to start, which comes out to 28lbs, but that's not going to happen in a month. But some weight loss would be nice. I think that does it! My journey to becoming a gym rat again begins first thing tomorrow.