"I feel like Rocky"

Let's just say that Jillian's workouts are . . . psycho! Spoken from the person who runs for hours on end -- this was NOT easy. If you don't already exercise, this is not your book. But if you do, you'll be delivered a set of challenges that you probably wouldn't have attempted. Confronted with the possibility that if I continue doing this it might get easier, I'm sticking with it! (Clarification for 3x per week to supplement my running.) It's weird, at this point (day 3) the food is much easier than the working out -- I am never hungry, which given my fatgirl mentality rarely ever happens.

Yesterday, my friend June and I hit the YMCA and crushed out an hour long workout *was supposed to be 45 minutes but some time was spend debating "Is this how you do it?"*

WORKOUT (I copied June for this):
Dumbbell presses & flys on the body ball
Squats
Plank holds (both side and front)
Close-grip push-ups
Inner thigh raises
Burpies.. (these are fun!)
Sumo Squats
Squat thrusts
W shoulder presses w/ leg extensions
Bench Dips
Rope tricep presses
Static lunges w/ lateral shoulder raise
Mountain climbers
Holding Boat Pose.... and all of this was done with 1 minute jump roping and one minute sprinting (speed 7 on treadmill) throughout (3 sprints / 2 jumping rope)

Mid jump-rope, I realized I hadn't done this since I was about 13. But by the end I was swingin that rope like it was my job and yellin, "YO ADRIAN, I DID IT!!"

P.S. I have a little bit of a heathy obsession with Rocky as demonstrated by my Team in Training Fundraising Website (Shameless fundraising plug): http://www.active.com/donate/tntgsf/tntgsfESalami

Blogging is hard

I was trying not to turn this into a "What I ate today," blog, because the majority of the men, and many of the women out there are just not interested. I've seen my own boyfriend's eyes glaze over when I've been talking about the amount of fat in a sunflower seed. And I am sorry!

But since this is about dieting and Making the Cut's effectiveness I will tell you this. Normally when I go for a run after work I am absolutely raging hungry afterwards. I ran, all told, about 45-50 minutes yesterday on what I'd consider not a lot of food and was NOT HUNGRY afterwards. For those of you looking to deploy, here's what I ate. All others glaze over.

Breakfast: 2 Egg whites, 1 cup Kashi Go Lean, 1/2 cup milk
Lunch: Low carb wrap, ground turkey, zucchini, and slice of fat free cheese
Snack: @ about 5 p.m. Apple and natural peanut butter
Dinner: Chicken, onion and apple soft tacos

For me, the forumla of fat, carbs and protien in everything is working to stave off my trucker appetite. See if it works for you!

Fat free cheese aint so bad

Yesterday I went to the grocery store (I can now remember why I haven't been to the grocery store in months -- that place is hell! The worst thing about my grocery store is that they make an attempt at customer service by trying to pronounce your last name. So, "thank you Ms. Sal...Sala....Salada?" doesn't work for me Just stop, you're embarassing yourself.) and stocked up on new, diet-friendly foods including chicken, ground turkey, various whole wheat and low carb bread products, low fat and fat free dairy products, natural peanut butter, Kashi Go Lean and various fruits and veggies. The goal of my diet as a "balanced oxidizer" is to process a protein, carb and fat in every meal that I have, including snacks. So basically, if I eat an apple, there should be peanut butter on it. Balanced oxidizers function best on this combination, while slow oxidizers need more protien, and fast oxidizers need more carbs.

Here's the plan for this week, of which my friends and I will partake:

-Today: One hour run
-Tomorrow: Make the cut workout (weight-training intensive)
-Thursday: Track workout (speed training)
-Friday: Making the cut
-Saturday: 9 miler
-Sunday: Short jog and making the cut.

We'll see how my pants fit at the end of week one. For all of you making the cut purists out there, you should just follow Jillian's workouts. Please do not run 9 miles or sue anyone because I gave you bad advice. Disclaimer: I am not a personal trainer.

Run Fatboy, Run

It starts tonight! I am going shopping for my extensive grocery list of things that I can make for myself and planning out the rest of my week like a really cool person who has absolutely no spare time on her hands.

One thing I saw on TV the other day that a lot of you normal eaters out there (who do not eat enough for a 400 lb truck driver) might find useful is a show called "I Can Make You Thin" on TLC. Paul McKenna, the show's host, talks about four rules that you have to follow in order to be thin. It seems simple but I believe that slowing down may behoove a bunch of us. I will give it a shot. Hey, thanks Paul.

If I'm feeling saucy I'll let you know what I shopped for later. I know you're on the edge of your seat!

My friend Earl offered to match me pound for pound. It's on Earl!

Day 1 of Chronicles

OK let's get this straight. By most standards, I am not really a fatty. But I wanted a funny, self-deprecating way to describe the journey upon which I am about to embark.

First, let's outline the fatgirl mentality:

1) I ran 7 miles today, so I can eat 5,000 calories. No big deal.
2) Queso, sure why not?
3) Danger, Will Robinson: www.specialtysdirect.com

Despite the fact that I am training for a marathon, I've managed to gain 10 lbs since I moved to this lovely city of San Francisco in November. Yes, I do exercise quite possibly more than any person I know, but manage to pack it on because I am indulging in the bounty of foods this city has to offer. Today, we rise up! This changes! I'm going to slowly ramp myself for the next four days into Making the Cut, an athlete's diet and exercise program written by none other than Jillian Michaels, the trainer from The Biggest Loser. For all of you super-exercisers out there, since I am doing this in public, I have to stick to it. I'll chronicle my results and hopefully by the end of this I can change my blog name to Chronicles of the Regular Erica. Disclaimer: At no point in this process will I reveal my weight, sorry folks. I'll just say how much I'm losing. C'mon now, I'm a girl.