The Backside of Forty: The Year In Review

It was about a year ago that I joined Best Fitness - Erie and met my personal trainer, Doug. I have to say, the man does not put up with my crap and for that I am thankful. The first 6 mos of my Fitness Journey were miserable. I was meeting with Doug a couple times a week for an hour where he would have me do things like run uphill on the treadmill with weights in my hands or countless push ups (and not the "girl" kind). He would have me lift weights, lunge all over the gym and do crazy core exercises on the TRX. I would come in one or two times on my own to walk hills on the treadmill. I was eating the same foods, but smaller portions and through all of this NOTHING was happening. The scale stayed the same and my clothes stayed the same. It was frustrating!

I downloaded apps on my phone to count every calorie that went into my mouth and to track my caloric burn, staying under 2000 calories a day. NOTHING. I tried a diet/cleanse program, lost a couple pounds, then NOTHING. I was so upset and couldn't understand why all this hard work wasn't paying off. I went to my doctor for tests, I went to an endocrinologist, both said nothing is really wrong with you, it has to be you aren't working hard enough or you must be lying about what you're eating. This just infuriated me. Why would I lie to them? I'm trying to get help, lying to them wouldn't be very helpful in this situation. They just shrugged their shoulders, "I don't know what to tell you." ARGH!

Doug, Michael and I put our heads together and decided to try some new approaches. We split my training sessions into 4 - 1/2 hour sessions a week that would be more intense. I promised to amp up my cardio, so instead of walking up hills, I began running before and after my sessions with Doug with at least an hour long run once a week. I also started taking 45 minutes of Cardio Kickboxing at Lund Martial Arts Academy a couple times a week. In addition, I reviewed a multitude of different diets, trying to find one that made sense for me to try. When I say try, I mean follow to the letter. I settled on South Beach - Gluten Solution. This all happened a little over 6 mos ago and what a difference it all has made. The pounds slowly started to come off, the body fat % started to decrease and my clothes became looser. All of these things I expected to happen. What I didn't expect - my chronic heartburn that I had been taking medicine to control for years was gone. I no longer have to take any medicine what so ever for it! I had constant breakouts on my face, scalp and back, worse than when I was a teenager, just nasty. These no longer occur unless I eat crappy food. I feel great, have more energy and am able to cope with more on a daily basis. It's an incredible feeling.

Today my diet pretty free from refined and processed white crap (sugars, breads, pastas) and gluten free. I focus on lean protein, lots of veggies, some fruit and low/no fat dairy. I try and avoid caffeine and a lot of grains, they both tend to really upset my stomach. I'm not the drinker I once was, but do enjoy the occasional adult beverage from time to time. Some of you are thinking, "How boring/horrible." Well, it may not be for everyone but what I can say is I went from 175 lbs to 134 lbs. From 35% body fat to 22% body fat. A size 12 to a size 6 pant and 10 inches off my waist. And I'm not done yet, this is just the beginning. So, would I do it again? A resounding, "Hell yes!"