The Subtraction Project

Counting down.

[subtractionproject]

Progress

I have been working out using the JM app and so far I am really impressed. I have realised that I am a person who needs rigid structured workouts in order the succeed and this is what the app gives me. I hate the Running Plank Moghuls though, and the crab kicks - utterly vile.

I have just completed week two and am looking forward to a variety of future routines and difficulties to keep me motivated.

I have also lost 2lbs so far! Every little helps.

[subtractionproject]

Crawling back

Ok.

Here I am again, logging in roughly three years later and I am back to my heaviest ever weight of 157lb. Strangely, this is a weight that I can constantly maintain for months on end without going over, so I have a sneaking suspicion that this is the weight that my body is happiest at.

I, however (the I who is subject to all kinds of external influence and pressure from societial norms and whatnot) am not happy here.

I am therefore back on the bandwagon, as it were. This unfortunately means quite heavy calorie restriction, and I will need to cut it back to around 900 calories a day until I reach a lower weight (around 135lb and I can increase). There is a long way between here and there however so I need to keep thinking long term.

I am considering trialling the new Jillian app to see if it is useful for floor work at the gym or even at home.

I will be regularly here keeping myself accountable.

Sigh. Round three.

[artof-beinghealthy]

[befitnessbabes]

Fitness Babes

[subtractionproject]

Bleurgh

Downsides of living with my lovely, supportive boyfriend: I have to workout first thing in the morning when I wake up. The sheer unfairness of it all hits you like a jackhammer when your alarm blares out at 6am; not only do I have to workout at all, but I have to get up an hour earlier to do it, and then I have to go to work for 9 hours afterwards. BLEURGH.

The only saving grace is that Body Revolution has regained a sort of freshness to it, as I haven't touched it for such a long time - the boredom has not yet set in.

I am also contemplating skipping the cardio exercises altogether. I am training for a 10k, and I feel it would be a more productive use of my time to use the cardio days for that. But then, am I cheating on the programme to skip out on them? It's so goddamn effective when done right, I am loathe to go off piste at all, but the cardio videos are so, so dull after a few times doing them. I have until tomorrow morning to decide - do you think it would be too much to do Cardio 1 in the morning when I wake up and then a 5k run after work?

In other news, I am heavier than I have ever been before, I think. I find this strange, as I felt so much larger at University than I do now, but the scales and the fit of my clothes don't lie. I wish I had the ability to sustain the changes I render in my body - I was a lithe 117 pounds two years ago, and I have steadily put on 35 pounds since then.

I must, must, must take this seriously. 

[fitsology-deactivated20150824]

[fitsology-deactivated20150824]

[fitgirlsohyeah]

[subtractionproject]

Just attempted Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown.

I am still shaking. Shit is intense and I'm only on level 1.

Sob!

In other news, I did incredibly well on my eating today. I am now craving root vegetable kettle chips and humous, nngh.

[subtractionproject]

Slip up.

I finished Body Revolution. I started eating terribly and didn't exercise. That stops right now. I will be starting Jillian Michaels' Ripped in 30 tomorrow and I'll be back on the C25K when my iPod armband comes.

I am pretty excited, actually. I love how I feel after I work out, and it's a feeling that a bag of crisps just can't replicate. I love putting my hand on my stomach and feeling the muscles under the skin. I love wearing pants and not getting harsh, red lines where the too-tight clothes have dug in. I love showering and knowing that I'm washing away 30 minutes of hard fucking work.

I need this feeling back. I want to be me again. 

I'm back.

[subtractionproject]

My quads are BURNING.

This is what happens when you skip your rest day during Phase 3 of Body Revolution. Whups!

[subtractionproject]

Simple mathematics

4.2 miles, 3.3 mph pace, 1 audiobook = 230 calories burned and I got some hardcore 'reading' done.

Not to mention Workout 10 of Body Revolution this morning, ugh. I will do a complete Week 9 & 10 review post when I complete Cardio 3 tomorrow, but I think someone flicked a switch in my brain that means I now sweat like its going out of style. Is that intentional, Jillian? From the look of David in the video, I think it might just be. We both look like that dude from X-Men who turned into a big water balloon and then went pop.

I hope I don't go pop.

[aimingforapex]

[subtractionproject]

Saw this and couldn't help but reblog and laugh a little bit. These make my left side hip click like crazy during BR.

[rockthat--body]

i was feeling lazy so i went so far as to start the 30 day shred. sore knees, so that didn’t help me, but it wasn’t so bad. just curious, it’s 10 days per level, right?

[subtractionproject]

Ten days per level, but that doesn't mean you need to take it literally. Feel free to have a rest day 5 days in. In fact, it's highly encouraged.

[subtractionproject]

3 Body Revolution Workouts: 1 Day.

So, this is not one of my best ideas. Ouch.

I stayed at a friend's house for two nights after work this week, and therefore missed my very last Workout 7 & 8 routines. (I get up at 5:30 in the morning, and have no access to a shower that early, for those who wonder why I didn't just do them before work). So, when I woke up on Saturday morning, I figured, hell: why not do all the routines together in one day?

Why not, indeed.

I knocked out Workout 7 and felt pretty good about continuing onto 8. By the end of 8, and the first hour, I had burned 850 calories. And adding Cardio 2 after that? I burned 1100 calories in 95 minutes of workout. And my god, I felt it everywhere. My upper back, shoulders and abs are absolutely killing me today. Good job I earned my rest day before I move onto Phase 3 tomorrow. It just goes to show, yes I am a little bit insane, but I keep myself accountable. I could have easily just skipped the workouts altogether, or accepted the two days as a rest day and carried on as normal. But I knew I was capable of more, and of playing catch-up. I know what I am capable of, and I hate cheating myself.

So, if you know you have more, give it more. I guarantee, you won't regret the time you gave.

[subtractionproject]

Woe!

That sad moment when you realise you've listened to all the Jillian Michaels Podcasts and you have to go cold turkey.

I think I'm a little bit addicted to the woman.

[subtractionproject]

Body Revolution: Bye Bye Week 7!

So I just got done with Cardio 2 for the 6th time. Dear lord, I am so sick of that workout. Thankfully, I only have to do it two more times over and I have only one more week left of Phase 2!

I'm kind of intimidated by the thought of Phase 3. Cardio 2 already makes me feel like I'm going to die (burpees can kiss my ass). But, I suppose I trust Jillian not to kill me. I think.

(Also, total NSV - my boyfriend commented that I was getting a six pack. I'm not entirely sure that a six pack is what I'm aiming for but, hell, I'm okay with it...)