Stress and Resilience Test (Retest)

I sat down with Julie today at Lifetime and got the results from my latest Stress and Resilience test.  My morning and afternoon cortisol levels were fine/normal.  (That's great news since my initial S&R last year had my morning levels way high.)  My dinner and evening cortisol levels were low.  My DHEA levels have actually decreased, which is not necessarily good news.

Julie suggested that rather than take more DHEA as I did after the last exam, I should take a Vitamin D supplement and also change the times I take my Metformin.  Rather than take it with my vitamins, I could take them separately.

She also wants me to continue with the yoga and Pilates since those exercises keep me in my lower heart rate zones.  When I take my Spinning classes, I should concentrate on staying on Zones 1, 2, and 3.  If I do go into Zones 4 and 5, I should only be there for 30 seconds.

The optimum time for me to work out is in the morning since that's when my cortisol levels are best.

I should really aim for at least 8 hours of sleep or more!  Yay!!!! She didn't have to tell me twice.  I LOVE to sleep.

In Other Workout News.....

This past week was a slow work week with it being mid-winter break time here.  Next week will also be slow, but luckily I have a ton of transcripts to work on to continue to make money.  So, with all of this working from home I have taken advantage of taking classes and working out like crazy.   

Last Sunday was a rest day because I was doing my Stress and Resilience test and couldn't do any strenuous exercise.  I did clear it with Julie that I could do the Slow Burn Yoga class that day and get some steps on the treadmill for my Fitbit challenge.

Monday, I trained with Sarah and then came back and did a Spinning class at noon.

Tuesday, I took a Spinning class in the morning and then came back for my evening Pilates class.  I have to say I totally rocked Pilates on Tuesday.  My short spinal series is vastly improving.  I am really getting my butt in the air.

Wednesday was leg day with Sarah and that was quite enough for the day.

Thursday was a much needed rest day.  (And I worked, so that is enough reason to rest.)

Friday, I took Tammy's Vinyasa Flow, went to the Cafe to get something to eat and then took the noon Spinning class.

Saturday, I took the 645 am Spinning class and then my favorite yoga class, Ashtanga Vinyasa. 

I've been sleeping a ton even though I have been sleeping on the couch since the Olympics started.  I love just watching all the winter sports.  Sarah told me last week that she read somewhere that people who train as hard as we do should actually get 9-10 hours of sleep.  I'm not complaining about that.  

90 Day Challenge Starts This Weekend!!

This weekend was one crazy weekend at Lifetime Fitness.   It was the starting weekend for the 90 Day Challenge!!!!  I did my initial weigh in with Sarah.  Starting weight: 228.4.  I'm still working my way back down to the 50 pound mark, but as I've said previously, my body fat percentage is down.

I purchased a Stress and Resilience Test, which I plan on doing next weekend.   I'm super excited to retake this test.  I can't wait for the results and this time Julie will do the results instead of a conference call with corporate.

The other things I purchased were supplements.  I mainly just purchased supplements that I was out of or running low on.  The only new supplement I purchased was the Whey Isolate (Chocolate) by Thorne.  Lifetime just started got this brand of Whey recently and there's been a lot of buzz and excitement.  Sarah suggested I use this over the regular Lifetime brand because I have really increased my activity and it will be more beneficial for me.   I also think it will be more cost-effective for me since I get a smoothie in the cafe every day and it costs me $7.

I got home and made my first two smoothies (one for work tomorrow) and I LOVED it!!!!  I added L-Glutamine, PB2, Dynamic Greens, Olive Oil, a banana, and coconut milk.  Totally yummy!

My Health Score - Then and Now

Today was my latest Health Score at Lifetime Fitness.  The above picture shows my health score printout from early June 2013 (Score: 68) and today, January 20, 2014 (Score: 84).  Wow, what a difference!  To say that me, Julie, and Sarah are happy with the results is an understatement.  It feels good to see on paper the changes outside and inside that have occurred since May 2013.

Here are some of the changes:

                                      June 2013     November 2013    January 2014

1. Weight:                     270.7              234                      226.0
2. Blood Pressure:       159/98           124/81                   123/79
3. Total Cholesterol:      190                173                        170
4. Triglycerides:             110                 92                          87
5. Glucose:                    104               107                          95
6. Resting Heart Rate:      68                60                           54
7. Body Fat %:               50.7              44.8                        43.4
8. Aerobic Capacity:       28.8              32.8                        33.7
9. Lean Body Mass:     151.82           150.56                    149.48
10. Body Fat Mass:       118.88              83.44                      76.52

My next Health Score is scheduled for April 13th.  I can't wait to see how much more has changed.

Week Preview

I took another rest day today because I have my latest health score tomorrow morning with Julie.  I had originally planned on going to the gym and running or possibly taking another yoga class.  Luckily, Sarah texted me early to remind me.

This is a long holiday weekend for me because Monday is MLK Jr's birthday.  Tuesday is my birthday.  I feel like I have been bad on my diet this weekend.  Not pre-May bad, but I've had some gluten and some wine.

I met my friend Brittany for dinner in Dearborn.  We ate at La Pita and had some awesome Middle Eastern food.  The food is not unhealthy, but their bread is so soft and yummy, it's like eating a cloud!  You can't resist and you can't just have one.  I had about three pita breads.  I had a cup of crushed lentil soup, a chicken kabob, some fries, and an insane amount of garlic.  Enough to keep vampires away for a few days at least.

We then went to the adjoining cigar lounge and had a few more drinks.  I had two glasses of Riesling and several glasses of water all night.  It was nice to go out and do something different, but it sure was freezing out!  YIKES!!!!

This morning I went to Trader Joe's and stocked up on some of their soups.  I bought some panccetta and mushrooms to add to my soups.  Also, on my shopping list was a block of mild cheddar to grate myself and some Udi bread to make gluten free grilled cheese sandwiches.  I made one soup from scratch.  It was a recipe that Sarah sent me on Facebook.  It only has two ingredients.  Here it is.

I'm super excited because tomorrow starts the new Fitbit challenge!!  I am determined to get the minimum of 10,000 steps.  I'm training with Sarah on Monday and Wednesday, I have Pilates on Tuesday.  I'm going to get a day or two of running and Spinning in to reach my step goal.

Have a great week everyone!