PRISCILLAAAaaaa....

i dedicate this entry to my workout partner who hasn't been able to come to training for the fourth time now. ;_; WHY.

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so, before training, the trainer decided to inform the client that today's workout was going to be fast and intense. thank you, Sham, for raising my heart rate with anxiety alone before i even finished warming up. (lol.)

well, it was fast and intense. just not as terrible as my worst-case-scenario-conjuring mind thought it'd be. in the beginning, Sham had me do some core warm-ups. and then the hard part began.

he brought a new toy today that looked a lot like one of those rope ladders, and he laid it out on the ground.

and what i had to do was...

...well, maybe i should just skip on the description of this one.

because i know i totally fail at explaining these exercises, and i'm aware that my way of wording things has the tendency to perplex rather than enlighten.

but to put it simply, and to steal bits and pieces from what Sham told me, it involved constant movement, and was a workout for the heart, legs, and lungs.

actually, i didn't even know we were doing the actual workout. i just thought Sham was showing me what were going to do and was having me try it out for a while before i attempted the real thing. so, yeah, you could basically picture me doing the exercises and thinking, "i'm tired and we haven't even started yet; crap". silly~.

jogging on a treadmill for 23 minutes would've been less interesting and much more difficult, so this workout sat just fine with me.

but, yeah. i'm starting to think that one thing i like about Sham's training sessions is how there's something new each day. huh. i just noticed that.

when we first started, i thought we were gonna learn 2-3 workouts and cycle through them every session, but that hasn't been the case at all.

oh, you know what? the ladder-thing was yellow; that was nice <3.

-mc

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

alright, i know the past few entries, i've been pretty much babbling about things just barely related to training. BUT TODAY, I BRING REAL NEWS. I SWEAR.

:D

wait for it.

...

I LOST FIVE POUNDS.

sdgbfkaslflkds

and three percent body fat.

dsjkhadshflsdhfjksahflkadshf ksldhf kgf

after...like...a month, more or less, of starting this stuff. ...i'm gonna stop celebrating now, cuz i'm scared i might jinx myself and make it all turn out to be a mistake because the scale and the body-fat-measurer-thing both happened to malfunction or something.

if i'm beaming very garishly, it's not because of any particular reason. *dances really quickly and then stops*

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there were no treadmills for training today. and it was very nice, being able to breathe for the entire session.

i had do muscle-stuff for this one. like push-ups. and squats. and other muscle-stuff. the sit-ups were switched out for me, though, cuz of a totally legit neck injury (if you really wanna get out of sit-ups, slam your head against the sidewalk, lol).

and, yeah. i had to do that. just me. cuz Priscilla wasn't there. again. cuz of her back! her BACK. i'm gonna kill that thing! except i won't because she needs it! we're hoping she'll be able to come back for Thursday. training just ain't the same, lemme tell ya.

but just training overall.... i gotta say, it's pretty---dare i??---enjoyable. fun, even.

...omg, watch. now i'm gonna die miserably next training day. D:

but, hey, it's all for the good cause. i mean...hello. results. up there. five pounds. four weeks (more or less).

at this point, if Sham asks me to jump, i'll ask "how high?" (well, no, actually, knowing me, i'll probably say something more like "do you want me to do it in a special way? you do it first to show me how and then i'll try", but you know what i'm getting at.)

alright, i'll shut up, now.

OMGISOTOLDYOUSHAMISWORTHEVERYPENNYYAY.

-mc

because when you're hungry, healthy food tastes just as good as bad food.

uncle: "Where did you go?"
me: "I borrowed the pressure cooker from Gina!"
uncle: "...That's not a pressure cooker. That's a slow cooker."
me: "Aren't they the same thing?"
uncle: "No."
me: D:

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so, the benefits of this pt stuff are pretty much almost countless. they also include the fact that i'm learning how to cook :D!

once upon a time, my cooking skills were limited to top ramen and frozen dinners.

now, i can prepare mushrooms, egg whites, oatmeal, brown rice, corn, and i'm currently in the process of figuring out how to do beans. all by myself. (YAH, I HEAR THE CHEFS OUT THERE LAUGHING AT ME. BABY STEPS, OKAY? BABY STEPS.)

after that, i'll get onto doing seafoods and such. cuz the canned tuna just ain't doin' it for me anymore. sorry, canned tuna. i'm moving onto bigger and better things, since there are plenty of fish in the sea. AH HA HA...ha...

...yeah.

i've been meaning to learn how to cook, anyway. it's an important life skill. and once i'm out on my own, i can't go back to food that comes out of boxes and cans.

-mc

(c'mon. "plenty of fish in the sea". cuz it's tuna. just admit it was clever!)

oh, no... D:

last night = unhealthiest night EVAR. yeah, not just "ever". evAR!!!

i ate a burger and fries last night. GAHHHhh.... and, okay, some people might say, "oh, that's not too bad", but i know my body and i know...that it will do very bad things with that burger and fries! WE'RE SUPPOSED TO MEASURE IN ON TUESDAY. NOOOOOO......!!!!

long-winded excuse reason: unexpected trip to the ER after work left me without food for eight hours, until my cousin came along and dropped the fast food meal by me, saying that it was better than nothing, and that was true enough, and at least i had water with it instead of soda.... but then that night, i had to wake up every two hours to check my aunt's blood sugar, and since it always takes me about an hour to fall asleep, i had---more or less---four total hours of sleep last night.

yerrrgh x___X;;;.... yeah, last night was crazy times.

definitely need to go on a jog. isn't it funny how paranoid i am now? you are free to lock me up in a mental institute if i ever start saying things like "I CAN FEEL MY FAT GROWING THICKER AROUND MEEEEheeee...".

my aunt's just fine, though~.

-mc

this post isn't just an excuse to push those ugly pictures down the page.

i swear.

*cough* but really, i figured i should at least update on what's been going on at training for the past week.

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Tuesday

on this day, we added the use of the...um...the [insert name of work-out machine that's kinda like a cross between a stationary bike and a treadmill]! oh, but Priscilla wasn't there that day; back problems, doncha know. i trained alone (except not absolutely, cuz my trainer was there, too, being the trainer and all)....

but, yeah. i hopped on that, and did okay the first round, but got worse as the session went on. Sham says it's probably because of my lungs.

after that, i would take one end of the stretchy band thing i've mentioned in previous training sessions (the other end was tied down), and do lunges. and after alternating between legs, Sham would have me hold a lunge while punching forward with the arm opposite of the leg that i was doing the lunge with.

this part actually wasn't that bad, but i'd kinda still be wiped from using the machine from earlier, so i wouldn't call it 'easy'.

finally, i had to do some core stuff. it started out with sit-ups, but as i failed miserably with those the first round, i ended up doing planks the following ones. oh, the humility, lol.

and then we repeated the cycle, of course.

the session was finished with a cool down of stretches, and Sham had me balance on one foot in different ways. i felt like a performer; i could hear the tense drum roll and everything, haha!

i feel like i'm leaving something out, but i'm pretty sure those three things were all we did. i think i just feel like i'm missing something, since we had four different exercises today (Thursday).


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Thursday

today, we used the treadmill! w00t! and my lungs were giving me grief once more. those silly things.... i kept dreading that i was gonna fall off XD. you know, cuz i'm stubborn and unintelligent, and possiblyprobably wouldn't have hit that giant red "emergency stop!" button at the crucial moment of need.

following the treadmill, i had to...uh...pull weights. except differently than the the other times i've done it. we used a different thing. this one, the motion was more horizontal. the other one from the past was vertical. (and thus, the statement of my lack of intelligence is proved.)

this one shouldn't have taken me as long as it did, but since i'd still be REALLY winded from the treadmill, i felt a lot weaker.

the little green weight came back for the third exercise. squatting and then driving the weight straight up. i was pretty worried about this one; the last time i did this exercise, i was slow and struggled quite a bit with it. and now, the seat was lower. but this might've been the easiest of the four. no, scratch that. the green weight felt heavier with each round.

it was the fourth exercise that was the easiest. (...as "easy" as things can get in training, at least.) again, i worried, since i don't feel too confident with squats. basically, i had to squat, and then lift the stretchy (tied-down) band up, but lift it to the side. and alternate between sides. twenty of those.

then, back on the treadmill. though, actually, for one round, i used the other machine (the cross between a bike and a treadmill). yeah, the treadmill was definitely what made this session, lemme tell ya. these funny lungs of mine.... that's what i get for smoking.

Sham said that the damage to my lungs is irreversible and that it just means i'll be working twice as hard as a non-smoker. oh, joy!!! XD

but, you know, i feel like my lungs are better now than they used to be. i feel like i can breathe deeper now. (plus, doing so doesn't hurt anymore!)

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whoa. sorry it was so lengthy, but this entry is officially done now.

YOU HEAR?? THAT'S ALL YOUS IS GETTIN' OUTTA ME. I AIN'T SAYIN' NO MORE.

-mc

DON'T LOOK AT MEeee...

DX so, so, so camera-shy. gosh. when Sham asked if he could take pictures, i should've said "NO. NEVER IN FOREVER. KEEP THAT CAMERA FACED AWAY FROM MEEE!!!" or at least something along the lines of that. instead, i smiled and shrugged and figured that i'd never have to see the photos anyway. OH, HOW WRONG I WAS.

but, anyway-! the following pics correspond to this training day.

-

here's me kneeing an invisible enemy in the face. and missing, probably. he's invisible, you know.



(oh, hey! this pic's not so ugly~) it's called the plank! we were supposed to hold it for a minute, which i couldn't. now, i can hold it for almost 50 seconds. that day, i think i only held for about 40 ^^;;;.



stretchy band time! flexing abs 'n' gluts, and bringing the ends up as fast as we could go.... gah; looking at this pic reminds me of how weak i am. next!


NO, WAIT, I CHANGED MY MIND, GO BACK, GO BACK--

...OMG, THANKS FOR TAKING THE UGLIEST PICTURE EVER, SHAM. we had to do squats with this green weight thing, and then stand and drive it up high. and repeat, of course. i failed at this, too.

well, that's all for now.

-mc

laughter of the annoying kind

i finally went out to buy mushrooms (yay!), cheese, brown rice, and bananas in order to eat something besides apples, tuna, and potatoes for the next few days.

came home and got laughed at by my fam. D:

whatever, though. i'm becoming healthy. and once i lose weight and get all these job opportunities thanks to our shallow society, i'll be the one laughing.

they still don't even know that i have a trainer. which they'd be very angry about. (i'm really in no position to be spending money.) but i've no doubt that Sham is worth every penny; i've heard what he can do from Priscilla. plus, not only is my money in it, but i have the two aforementioned persons eyeing my progress; and that especially makes me wanna keep in line.

i'm already slimming down. i now fit into the pants that i haven't been able to fit into since my sophomore year in high school. the only place where they cling are the hips. they used to be tight on the entire upper-leg area! how's that for progress? buh-ZAMM.

-mc

GOAL STATEMENT

thought it'd be a good time to post this. i present to you...my goal statement!!!

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My goal is to lose weight and achieve (and maintain) a fit figure!

I want this because I know there are many more opportunities offered to people who are in shape. I've seen the craigslist ads, and whether for financial reasons or otherwise, losing weight would up my level of competition and what I bring to the table. I'm capable and proficient at many things, but I see that first impressions are often based on looks. People want their people to look healthy; and if I want to be the representation of someone else, chances are they want me to look fit and active.

I'm willing to sacrifice time and my spending money to make this work. I'm also willing to let go of my favorite snacks; my teeth aren't in the best condition anyway, so motivation to stay away from sweets is twice as strong. At the same time, I'm willing to swallow my pride and admit I need some guidance to help me reach my goal.

And when I reach it...I believe I'll feel liberated. And unbelievably happy. My weight has long been that one obstacle that I could never quite get past in my life. When I finally do, I'll feel unstoppable.
-

gah...i hate reading stuff i wrote in the past.

and, actually, this is way condensed.... i mean, it's my original goal statement, yeah, but i clipped out a lot to keep it from becoming an essay. (Sham requires a goal statement from all his clients.) but it retains my central purpose, and serves as a reminder. i have one for home, one for work, and one to carry with me at all times (though, i often forget it somewhere or another D: ).

i should make more copies. one for driving, one each for every textbook i cart around to school, one for my ceiling so i can read it before i go to bed, a few to paste on the backs of people i sit behind in class...haha! (in all seriousness, maybe i should.)

-mc

smoker? what smoker???

we had training yesterday. again, we weren't even able to make it to the fourth round, much less finish under 20 minutes. D:

beaten out by old people again. (Sham has another pair of clients after us, who are doing much better with this training program. they're diligent with their at-home exercises, and they always finish their sessions in good time. this would be the third time, i think, that Priscilla 'n' me have been showed up; and the fault is our own. *sigh*)

there was much squatting and moving around with this one. there was one exercise where we'd have to grab this stretchy band and squat down, and then stand up and raise it over our heads. the next one were ski-jumps. and, i think i may be going out of order now, but the third one i remember was holding this little weight and doing squats. and the fourth one was squatting slightly and pulling this bar (with weights attached to it) down to our chests.

while one person was doing an exercise, the other one would busy themself by either jogging with high-knees or doing jumping jacks (ski-jumps were added as an option later on).

i felt really lame, cuz just into the first round, i was breathing really hard. we had to stay in motion the entire time, and those high-knees just almost did me in. i used to smoke, so yeah, i can see how it's affected my lungs.

but, yeah. Priscilla 'n' me didn't even finish. and so, we were shamed and stoned, and outcasted from the fitness facility, except without the stoning and the outcasting. then we wrote nonsensical messages on Sham's car.

seriously, though, i'm getting pretty freaking embarrassed of myself.

i mean, i started this pt stuff for a reason. i need to start finishing, dammit!!! these overtimes and incomplete rounds gotta stop! more core! MORE CORE!

watch me go!

-mc

omg. difficult not to eat the bad things.

especially when they're placed in front of you, colored bright and blaring---a seductive offering. but if you were to indulge, it would unleash its true, rogue nature from within. exactly like the Trojan Horse.

this is me being poetic about junk food, hi.

but, yeah. someone brought cookies for my five-hour film class last night, and i almost gave myself a hernia in my efforts to resist. but i made it through the night, sipping on water and feeding on a turkey sandwich.

now i feel even worse for Priscilla; she goes through work with bad foods paraded around her all day!

at the same time, i'm really glad it's not me.

-mc

exercises

to anyone reading this: feel special. someone stanky as hell just sat down next to me, but i'm remaining to write in this blog.

so, we (Priscilla 'n' moi) were taught some exercises to do on our own a while back. four basic core exercises, and four CET exercises, all to be done in perfect posture. i forgot what CET stands for, but i'll be sure to ask sometime soon....

but, yeah. Sham says the goal is for us to do these exercises everyday. i'm not good with managing my time, so i've been really bad with keeping this up, but once my five-week class ends, i'll be a lot better with it.

i think the hardest thing really about these exercises is counting. i've mentioned before that i'm pretty spacey. and counting how many you can do is one thing, but counting how many you can do at the same time as counting how many seconds you hold the position for is where it gets difficult. at least for someone with a one-tracked mind (such as moi).

my favorite ones to do are the plank, and holding the wall squat. they're the easiest for me to do; i can do those without having to stop in the middle because i forgot what number i was on. these are the ones where i just start the stop watch and hold for as long as i can, and i can tune out without having to count anything. ...see? i told you i'm one-tracked.


-mc

(OMG. IT'S NOT EVEN POURING, IT'S CASCADING OUTSIDE.)

baaaaahhh...bahbah....

for lack of better title 'n' all.

-
but anyway, Priscilla 'n' me see Sham twice a week, on Tuesdays 'n' Thursdays at 5pm.

so, today was one such training day. we had to do these punching-things and kneeing-things, and planks, and squats with this green little weight thing that weighed like 10 pounds or something, and use this stretchy band thing....

and i ended up disappointing myself with how much my upper body strength blows. i mean gaaaah. my arms stopped listening to me wayyy too early!

guess that means i know what to focus on. ...well, actually, each time i come to a session, i find something new i need to focus on. (three sessions ago, it was legs. two sessions ago, it was core. this past one, it's that i have weak arms.) so, i guess that means i'm well-roundedly out of shape? lawl. i guess i'll just focus on being better with doing those exercises Sham taught us.

-
(which makes me wonder about said trainer. i mean, what's he thinking while he watches us struggle to do things he'd be able to do easily? y'know, one time, Priscilla asked him how long he could hold a wall squat, and he was like "forever". AND, DUDE, I BELIEVE HIM.

actually, today during training, he was taking pictures of us while we were doing the exercises. and, yeah, sure, he said they were for his blog and Priscilla's blog and so he can study our posture better....

but you know, i bet he took pictures of us to laugh at us. to upload them onto his computer and look through them while eating veggies, and to point at the screen and guffaw hysterically with broccoli flying from his mouth like "HAW HAW, WEAKLINGS", all the while maintaining perfect posture. i bet.

... *snort* sorry. really, Sham's awesome.)


urgh. school tomorrow....

-mc

posture

another 'lifestyle change' i'm in the process of making a habit is good posture. who knew good posture helped you lose weight? i didn't. my trainer had to tell me.

this is yet another transition thathasn't been totally smooth.

i can keep my toes pointed forward and my shoulders back and relaxed (most of the time), but it's keeping my neck straight that i have trouble with. i've always been the type of person to look down all the time, so keeping my head up makes everything seem more confrontational.... it's gonna take me a while to get used to this part.

it's also kind of difficult keeping my abs and gluts tight (which i'm supposed to be doing...) all the time; i'm pretty spacey, so i lose focus a lot.

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here's a cool thing, tho~

i was also taught to sit a certain good-posture-like way that'll help me burn calories while i'm sitting down. pretty nifty, amirite?

it was kind of awkward the first few times i tried this, since i would start shaking from holding the position for so long, and people in class would look at me like 'wtf is wrong with that person???' haha, but it's worth it to achieve my goal, and i don't shake so obviously anymore. maybe that means i'm getting stronger?

i hope so.
-mc

eating

the first thing Sham ever taught me was how to eat right.

him, Priscilla, 'n' me sat outside the Barnes&Noble cafe, and all the information came in lecture-form. and no matter how interested you could be in a topic, it's difficult to retain all info you get via lecture, so luckily he gave me some papers that had the eating guidelines on them, as well as "Sham's Healthy Food List". (no, seriously, it's actually titled that.)

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so far, i've remained pretty loyal to eating only the foods on the List. really, the main reason i ate what i used to eat was cuz it was easy to make, or it was just there. you know, stuff like top ramen, or pastaroni.... yeah, i'm craving them now. every time i think about them, actually.

but actually, i'm pretty good at staying away from them so long as they're out of my sight.

otherwise, i relapse and shit happens. like that time when i spotted a cookie package on the counter and.... well, if you could imagine the way a lion catches an antelope...yeah. pretty much. my name is Michelle-Casey and i am addicted to food, haha. i told Priscilla how Sham was gonna crucify me to a treadmill or something, but he basically just reminded me to "earn, not take".

...now that i think about it, i ate three pancakes today. dammit.

okay, so i obviously don't have a perfect score with eating, but i'm really just proud that i've strayed so few times and haven't lied on my food log. oh, yeah, we keep a food log. it helps keep us in check.

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another thing, another thing~

WATER. i have to drink 96 ounces of water per day.

...well, i'm getting there at least.

i've gotten up to 64 ounces, and i think that's something. at least, for someone who was living off Arizona Tea three weeks ago (i never even drank that much Arizona Tea in a day!). sure, maybe i'm taking too long, but i also used to think water was disgusting. and, yeah, i still have trouble drinking it, but it helps to drink it while stressed rather than reach for the nearest cookie or cigarette.

the only problem is the fact that i have to pee all the time. kinda interrupts my work, since i'll have to go up to two to three hours with no toilets nearby (when you drink this much water, you have to go ALL the time).

but on the bright side, my urine's never been clearer. ...tmi?


-mc

okay, then...

hello! my full first name is Michelle-Casey, i have a tendency to ignore the 'shift' key, and i'm gonna lose weight (with the help of Sham, of course. he's my trainer.)!

i'm starting this blog kinda late, though. i'm about two weeks into this training-thing. i call it the 'pt'. because i needed a code name for it so i could speak of it in public without giving away what it is since many of the people i'm surrounded by would not approve. and 'pt' could stand for 'physical training' or my 'part-time' job, cuz it's believable that i could lose weight thanks to my work. ...JUST ADMIT IT'S CLEVER.

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anyway, i was talking with Priscilla (my partner in crime a.k.a. weight loss...which actually isn't a crime at all), and she was saying how she felt like the laziest client ever since she didn't have a blog.

and that got me to thinking, "well, at least YOU put up a craigslist ad and got me to take the bite and start this fitness stuff." which led to me pondering on what i've done as a walking billboard for Sham. which led to me realizing that i've done nothing. except asked a few friends who responded negatively.

and suddenly, i felt lazy, too! MORE lazy!! GASP. so here i am, not being lazy, and writing a blog about my experience with this pt.

that said, tune in from time to time to catch if i updated, and watch me struggle. because struggle is interesting. my old art teacher says so.


<3
-mc