Saturday, August 04, 2007

Day 6 progress report

It's been almost a week of being on the Dreambodies program. (Oh, for Kettlebell Lady who asked, Dreambodies is a online training program by Tony DiConstanzo.) Here are the pros and cons of the new way of doing things:

Pros
  • I feel leaner and my clothes fit better.
  • I like having an exercise plan instead of randomly figuring out what I might do for the day.
  • The workouts are very different than what I'd normally do, which puts me outside of my comfort zone. (this is also a con -- see below)
  • Having an eating plan feels pretty good.
  • Increased awareness of thoughts is really taking me by surprise (in a good way). Yesterday's insight? I have a basic belief that people don't like me, and the few who do are just delightful anomaly. Is this true? Actually, no it's not. More food for thought and for counseling...
Cons
  • The workouts use weight machines, which I'm quite unfamiliar with, so I'm outside of my comfort zone.
  • I feel tired a lot more than I did before I started this. (I'm sure this is part of the adjustment to doing something new.)
  • Workouts take a long time to do, partly because of my unfamiliarity, and partly because they're pretty long workouts. This may also be a "pro" since it's part of why I'm feeling leaner in less than a week.
  • Food is boring and sometimes I don't want to eat at all, rather than eat another Gardenburger.
  • I miss my kettlebell workouts.
I just need to remember that I'm doing this for a reason (actually for several reasons):
  • We leave for Maui in 4 weeks and I want to look and feel fantastic.
  • It's time to get a handle on my eating and find a way to overcome some habits (huge bowl of cereal nightly, cookies every time we see a Starbucks, etc.) that are not moving me in the direction I want to go.
  • Lower weight = less stress on joints as I train for the Nike Half Marathon.
  • Trying something new gives me more tools to use for my clients as we work to achieve their goals.
Ok, I'm off to the gym. Have a fabulous day everyone!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I use machines too, but often I go for Free weights, and some Machines like Smith Squats, Lat Pull-downs, Behind the Neck Presses on a Smith, are unnatural movements, and not ideal.

I will say though, don't fall into the trap of needing a reason to give more.

I appreciate you want to look good for a trip to Maui, but that's like many other people who say, they want to look better for Holidays, Weddings, Christenings, Barmitzvahs etc etc, it becomes something they give a lot to for 4-8 weeks, then afterwards some of that effort goes down the toilet, and diet / exercise becomes patchy.

Not trying to sound preachy, but hopefully you can find a way, to get your mind 100% tuned into this, for the long run, not just the short-term.

I'd be bummed to see you posting about a week after coming back, saying stuff like how holiday food was so-so, and then the week had resulted in sketchy food intake, and only 1-2 workouts.

Not that if you did say that, I'd be less impessed with you as a person, that would never happen.

So hopefully you can get a handle on this for the long-term, as I am somebody who wants you to succeed at everything, just as much as the next person, and I hope you do that.

Be strong Leslie, chin up, and GOOD LUCK. You CAN do this.

You are amazing.

:-) :-).

Matt

Stef said...

Sounds like you are doing fine. All new programs have ups and downs! You will get used to it!

=)

ColeC said...

You'll have to email me or call me and let me know how this Tony thing really is working out. I have my opinions, but they are just that. I know you would tell it how it is ;) Plus, I trust your thoughts/feelings.

Keep those thoughts positive and know you are a beautiful person inside and out!!