So, I do believe that at some point last week, I promised a post of things that don’t suck. And failed to deliver. But! I do have, hot off the presses, something that definitely does not suck!
FREE STUFF!
Because I referred some friends to SPUD, I (out of 83 eligible referrers) won their draw for a prize! Three free sessions to build a personalized strength training and nutrition plan from Duquette Strength!
I had my first meeting with Roy Duquette today, and boy was that a wake-up call.
I know I’ve been feeling generally mushy and sluggish over the winter months, but I found out today that while I’m the same weight, and even a little thinner than I was a few months ago, my body is comprised of a whopping TWENTY-NINE PERCENT body fat. Gross. I have scenes from Fight Club running through my head. My poor, abused body only has 89.6 lbs of lean muscle mass doing the work to carry my lard around.
Hopefully, with Roy’s help, that’s all about to change.
I’ve picked up some supplements for protein, healthy oils, and greens, and have strategies to incorporate those into my already pretty healthy (but admittedly carb-heavy) diet. I go in later this week for a postural and alignment analysis, to tweak the nutrition plan, and to get started putting the workout together. After that I have one more free session of personal training.
And since we’re on the topic of health and all, there are a couple websites that have been sent my way for quick reviews – they’re both worth a glance.
Along the Fight Club lines, there’s a web campaign out (www.bewiseaboutbeauty.org) by the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery. It’s exactly what you think – an information site about the details of various procedures, and recommendations on how to find a cosmetic surgeon.
Most interesting factoid? That Liposuction does not actually remove cellulite. Because tight bands of fibrous tissue cause cellulite, extracting the fat layer that resides just under the skin may actually worsen the dimpled look. Armed with that tidbit, I suppose I’ll just restrict my own personal plastic surgery experience to watching Nip/Tuck.
The other site is more about nutrition, but far less user-friendly. At eatbetteramerica.com (a project of General Mills) there are a few fun things to look at – if you can get past the super slow-loading flashy mc-flasherness of it all. While the site thankfully doesn’t brow-beat the user with brands the way some other sites (Kraft Foods) do with their “ingredient assembly” excuses for recipes – there’s nothing really revolutionary here for anyone who’s well-versed at all with basic principles of nutrition.
There is a pretty nifty section on how to “Healthify my Recipe”, where the test chefs take Aunt Ida’s Fatty McFatterson Mac & Cheese recipe (among others) and change the ingredients up a bit to make it less of a heart-attack in a bowl.
In case you don’t want to suffer through the flash (which has twice crashed my browser whilst typing this), I’ll give you the Readers’ Digest Version: Don’t start every recipe with a pound of butter, put down the fucking whole milk and eat a carrot or two!
Though I guess it’s hard to make these kind of changes when you don’t know where to start. And if you absolutely must have the Macaroni in your life, may as well make it healthy.
Which brings us back to my experience today. Roy was awesome in helping me find ways to incorporate extra supplements into things I’m already eating! My morning smoothie gets a boost from some greens powder and flax oil. Even my morning Choffee (hot chocolate powder in coffee) changes to Chocolate Whey Isolate powder in Coffee. Giving up coffee was non-negotiable.
So, armed with some new knowledge, and about to be gifted with more, I’ll try going about my day a bit more mindful of increasing my lean mass and getting fitter instead of fatter.
I’ll report in again as things progress – perhaps in a week, perhaps in a month – depends on how fast my body composition changes. Of course, it would probably go faster if I’d decided against my post-gym, drive-thru Chicken Snack Wrap on the way home from my appointment with Roy – which (FYI), if you are a fast-food lover, is another thing that (in my Mc-deep-fried-chicken lovin’ opinion) does not suck.
I know you’re probably capable of much, much more than this, but would you be interested in a gym buddy? I really want to start doing more than just yoga. We could go to the Kits Community Centre fitness centre together.
Also, does this mean you will add a new category for Roy-isms instead of Ray-isms? 😀
By capable of “more than this” I actually meant “more strenuous exercise than what your average 3rd-trimester pregnant lady does when she wants to work up a sweat, ASIDE from eating spicy food”.
Hehe, I’d certainly be interested in a gym buddy! Once I figure out what the heck I’m supposed to be doing…
Oooh, oooh! I JUST told Markus last night that I was joining a gym soon – like this weekend soon. I want a gym buddy too! 🙂
PS – I guess that means I should stop eating my piece of strawberry rhubarb pie, then, huh? *lol*
Don’t be too put off by that amount of body fat. I was 22% fat when I was in gymnastics, working out 24 hours a week, and hadn’t even hit puberty yet.
My (rather smart, in hindsight) mother refused to let my coach measure it a third time after I was chastized for having a .2% increase. Not what every 13 year old girl needs.
I’m curious as to how you define “carb heavy”? The most up-to-date nutritional science suggests that 45-65% of our calories should be coming from carbs (see this pdf. Of course, this recommendation is based on an intake of the appropriate amount of calories and high fibre carb-sources are better than refined carbs.
But carbs are your friend, I swear!!
I suppose I should’ve specified: my “bad carb” heavy diet.
I was getting about 75% of my calories from carbs, and most of them were pretty high on the glycemic index. Basically, every time I got hungry, I made toast. Or KD Easy Mac. That was around my regular meals.
So I’ve made the small changes to make lunch mostly veggies, and substitute the toast snacks with fruit, veggies and high-quality protein as well as cutting way down on the “white” food.