My personal trainer experience #3

In 2010, because my goal was all about fat loss rather than fitness, Andy wanted me to commit to healthy eating.


My introduction to the Paleo Diet
Andy is an advocate of the Paleo diet and lifestyle - there are plenty of sites that discuss the diet, but at its basis - eat what our ancestors ate: meat, veg, fruit, nuts. What's missing?  Dairy, pulses, legumes, grains, sugar.

My weight-loss plan
Andy wanted me to go "strict paleo" for the first four weeks to kickstart healthy eating, and go to personal training three times a week (45 minute sessions).

He also repeatedly said that a food diary is the single best tool I could use for weight loss.

The outcome
FAIL.  I had so many excuses for not writing my food diary, and for not bothering to change my eating habits.

As for paleo? While I didn't tell this to Andy, there was no way was I giving up breakfast cereal, hot buttered toast, cheese and sugary treats when I was doing so much exercise! 

Surprise surprise, I only lost 5 kilos over several months.  I thought the exercise would be enough. I was wrong.

So is having a personal trainer worth it?
Only if you are committed to healthy eating as well.  And only if you have specific goals.

The AU$2000ish dollars I spent on personal training in 2010 did not show $2000-worth of results.

Was the experience a waste?  No.  For two reasons.  I DID get a lot stronger. From not being able to do a push up, to doing 80 in a session! So, while I only lost five kilos over those few months, I did increase my fitness.

AND, fast-forward to 2011. I am using a personal trainer again.

My personal training experience #2

At my first session in 2010 with Andy-the-personal-trainer, it was all about benchmarking.

The nitty gritty
Andy weighed me, measured me up (arms, thighs, chest, waist, hips), and pinched my fat to measure that too.  All extremely humiliating while he was alway upbeat and cheerful.

The rest of the session was doing a series of exercises to "benchmark" me against what he called standard measures - how fast I rowed 500 metres, sit ups, push ups, and so on.  It was intense, but I did feel the feel-good endorphins flowing afterwards (and sore for quite a few days after it).

Goalsetting
And we talked about my goals. I was not very specific about that, just saying I wanted to be "fitter", and healthy before I tried to get pregnant.  Losing weight was what I was specifically after.

Andy wanted me to think of goals like "run a marathon", or "bench-press 60 kilos". I had no idea what he was talking about, and I had no ambition to run a marathon. I wanted to lose weight, so I said my goal was to fit into a size 10.

So we discussed my diet. More in the next post.

Week 2 wrap up

Weigh in day today, and while not brilliant on the scales, I am not one to complain about a downward trend.

Tuesday 1 February 2011 - 89.6kg (home scales)

Why am I blue?  It is all to do with the lovely hormones. At least I now understand why I was completely overwrought angry and emotional for a few days late last week, why I have been craving sugar (chocolate preferred), and why I have been feeling so bloated and uncomfortable despite eating far cleaner than I have for quite a few months. It is THAT time of month.

What makes this quite emotionally traumatic for me, though, is that six weeks ago I was pregnant. But, I lost my daughter. So this is my body telling me it is back in the baby making game if I want to be.  I am not sure if I am.

So, if I am feeling less than enthusiastic about my successes this week - and there have been quite a few successes - so be it.  I am giving myself permission to be as blue as I need to be.

But, for the record my achievements this week

• Getting below 90kilos and losing a total of 2.1 kilos by week 2
• Going to all my personal training sessions
• Running/walking/jogging 4kms in under 30 minutes
• Succumbing to a piece of cake and NOT turning it into a binge session. Twice
• Getting to a low of 89.4kg before the bloat took me back into the 90's.
• Taking Dusty for a long walk this morning when it would have been easier to leave it when my legs felt like jelly after my training session (100 thrusters, 50 burpees)
• choosing healthy options while dining out