1000 calories, a major reality check and back on track!

At 100 kilos, it was easy to burn 1000 calories.  Moving such a large amount of weight around used a lot of energy!  As I lost weight, I started to realise that I was burning less and less.  My workouts started to get easier as I got fitter and I had slipped into a habit.  I would start with a gruelling 20 minutes on the cross trainer, proceed to the rower where I would spend a moderate 20 minutes, then sit on the stationary bike for a final leisurely 20 minutes.  Twice a week I would reduce these times and spend 20 minutes training with weights.  If I were to do this workout now, I would burn maybe 400 calories.  The fitter you are and the less you weigh, the harder it is to get your heart rate up to burn big calories.  Simple.   

So a couple of weeks ago I wrote about not being ok.  Life has been pretty hectic as of late and all of a sudden I found myself in one big depressing hole.  I have felt like my whole world has come crashing down around me.  Yep.  I have taken the time to step back and realise that things are not as bad as they seem, things could always be worse.  Anyway, I have spent months up and down, the last month, has been very down.  My training has been pretty average, ok but nothing ground breaking, but I have binged constantly.  I slipped back into old habits of eating what ever I wanted, whenever I wanted and often this was done in private.  I knew exactly what I was doing.  I knew that I was playing games with myself.  But sometimes that hole is just so deep that you have to do what you have to do to survive it emotionally.  I used food to distract and comfort myself until my mind was in a slightly better place.  I could feel myself bloating and getting bigger and I have been tired and lethargic.  Yep, two sure signs of over eating.  My first reality check came when I jumped on the scales and realised that I had gained four kilos! Yes four freaking kilos!  I knew I had gained weight, I could feel it sitting in my gut.  I was not impressed.  So I vowed this had to stop, I deserve better.  I knew how crappy I was feeling and I knew exactly what needed to be done.  I started straight away…operation detox!  By lunchtime that had failed, but I didn’t give up completely.  Ok…so I had a blow out, doesn’t matter, straight back into it Liz, no mucking around.  It took me another week of this, waking up and vowing to eat clean and train mean, then stumbling when faced with emotion.

So 1000 calories.  That was the challenge set by my PT mate Kayla.  We would burn that many calories in an epic stair session.  Well, that was set for Easter Monday.  Easter Sunday I had not eaten one nutritious meal.  Not a single one.  Boy did I pay the price for that on the Monday.  So feeling as crappy as I did, operation detox started again!  We ended up doing postponing the 1000 calories but did a reasonable session.  We then put together an epic workout for the next day when WE WOULD burn those 1000 calories. 

So Tuesday night it was.  After a full day at work and joined by Kathryn, we hit the gym and cranked out the following:

·      15 mins stepper – level 15, resistance 30-40

·      10 mins interval sprints

8 rounds of the following circuit:

·      20 side lunges - holding 2 x 4kg dumb bells

·      10 weighted burpees - 2 x 4kg dumb bells

·      5 jumping chin ups

·      10 push ups

·      20 mountain climbers

·      5 ring dips

·      10 barbell squats 13kgs

·      10 dead lifts – 13kgs

·      1 minute of skipping

2 rounds of the following circuit:

·      15 crunches

·      15 side crunches (left)

·      15 side crunches (right)

·      15 double crunches

·      10 lower body twists (L&R=1 rep)

STRETCH!!!

I started so optimistic and pumped, totally ready to smash out these 1000 calories.  However by the time we reached round two of the crazy circuit, I was stuffed!  My muscles were like jelly and I was ready to give in, I mean I’d already burnt around 400 calories, that was a decent effort…right?!  NO!  My mind clicked into gear and I kept pushing.  JFDI.  JFDI. JFDI. That is what was running through my mind.  Just freaking do it!!! So I pushed and something clicked.  It was suddenly becoming easy, I wasn’t so tired anymore, I was rather elated and determined to finish. My heart rate was climbing…beyond its max at 211bpm…(I’m not actually sure if I reached this or wether my hrm malfunctioned…but that is what it tells me my max was!)  I was getting it up to 170/180bpm regularly anyway!  With a resting heart rate of around 48bpm, 150bpm is normally what I get in an average training session.  Around this point too, Kathryn had to leave the room to throw up!  Brilliant!  But guess what?!  She did not let that stop her! She came back and was straight back into the task at hand!! How amazing is that?!  Very proud!!

So I pushed myself for two hours!  Then by the time we had packed up our equipment and stretched, GUESS WHAT!  I had burned 1100 calories!  100 more than what I had been aiming for!  This session was a major reality check for me.  I had eaten clean ALL DAY!  No little treats and extra snacks and definitely no chocolate binges!  Because of this I was able to train much more effectively.  It made me realise how fast the body responds to a healthy diet.  It made me realise how strong I am and how far I can push myself.  It was a major rock star moment for me in the gym.  I actually, legitimately felt invincible when I had finished!!  It was just the greatest feeling coming out of such a slump.  LIZ IS BACK! 

1100 calories burned!! =D

Needless to say, after that full body workout I suffered a major case of DOMS. That insane muscle stiffness, the tight pain when you bend over or try to lift a box is a sign that my training is working and that my body is changing.  It is a good pain.  I have learned to love this pain.  So, as for the remainder of the week, did I stay on track after my mental breakthrough?  Absolutely!  I have mostly eaten clean (I use the 80/20 rule) and within my calorie goal each day and trained like a crazy person!  Wednesday night I decided to go to my first boxing class run at my local gym, which I actually really enjoyed!! (Trying new things is good ;) Thursday I trained twice.  Yep twice!  Cardio at the gym in the morning and my regular boot camp in the evening.  Friday was legs…ouch! Saturday too was a solid session.  As for today…Sunday, well I am about to hit the gym for a mega burn!

So what can you take from this?  What have I learnt this week?  It is ok to not be ok.  It is ok to be in a slump, but ultimately you must survive it.  Eventually the time will come where you find yourself standing at a crossroad.  You can go backwards into old destructive habits, or go right into the healthy and happy lifestyle you can and will create.  This time I chose to go right.  I chose to be happy and healthy and to live the life I deserve.  This is a choice that I make daily…to be the best version of myself. 

Life is hard.  Being over weight and depressed is hard.  Clean eating and daily training is hard. You must choose one, choose your hard.

Liz Xox

Just incase you wanted to see me jumping around ;) LETS GET RIDICULOUS! =D