New Equipment: Water Rower

Well, it has been a whole 3 months since I last purchased new toys for my home gym, and that clearly is far too long.  Last month I finally snapped and got a piece of equipment that I have had my eye on for years - - a Water Rower.

Now regular readers of my blog will be saying to themselves "But Magniloquent, didn't you own a perfectly adequate magnetic rower years ago?  Didn't you in fact sell your rowing machine to make room for the elliptical machine of awesomeness?".  Yes, dear reader, I did in fact have a rowing machine. 

But cast your mind back to the summer of 2012 when I last used that piece of equipment.  I was about 120 pounds heavier than I am now, with all the attendant issues with mobility (bad back, bad knees, reduced mobility and flexibility) that come with being morbidly obese.  Add in the fact that I was not the cardio machine that I am now (!) and you can see how that machine did not get the love that it perhaps deserved.  I could barely get on and off the machine at all, and at my best I could only row for 2-3 minutes at a time before I simply had to stop.  My back hurt and my knees hurt after using the machine for added negative reinforcement, just in case the shortness of breath and dizziness were not enough.

Rowing is an excellent all-over workout, working legs, arms and core. A rower will help make you fit, but ironically it helps to be at least somewhat fit before you row; at least that has been my experience.  I had been mulling over the idea of picking up a Water Rower for some time, delayed for that magical time in the future when I was fit enough to see some benefits. 

Well the time for rowing is now, gentle readers.  So I took the plunge and picked up a Water Rower (or more accurately, had a Water Rower delivered).  And holy moly does it give me a workout!

Fifteen minutes on the rower gives me a burn of more than 120 calories even at the relatively slow pace that I can currently maintain (25 or 26 strokes per minute) - - that's 480 calories per hour, which is a pretty significant burn for me.  Not that I can sustain 60 minutes on the rowing machine - yet.

I am delighted at how much easier it is for me to row now that I have lost so much weight.  My knees, although by no means pain-free or strong, do not hurt when I row (as they used to).  I have no trouble getting down onto the rower, nor do I have any trouble getting up off the rower.  I think I have Mr. Fitness and the work we have done on balance and flexibility to thank for this.  And 15 minutes on the rower - about 5 times my previous personal best time - is only the beginning.  I can certainly go longer - only boredom (I can't read on the rower like I can on the elliptical) - keeps me from staying on the rowing machine for an hour. 

All in all, I am loving the new rowing machine.  My only complaint is that because it is a water rower it is not so good if you have a full bladder - - listening to the gentle swoosh swoosh of the water will increase your need to pee beyond belief, turning a normal workout in the longest workout of all time.

The machine fits perfectly into my (increasingly crowded) workout room because it stands up out of the way when not in use.  I have it next to the closet, between the elliptical and my barbell rack. 

The pretty product photos on the manufacturer's website show the rower standing up out of the way with the seat facing out (so that the bottom of the machine is against the wall).  This is not really practical because it requires that I completely rotate the machine before each use.  Because I know myself and know exactly how lazy I am I simply stand it up in its natural orientation so that when I lower the machine it is immediately ready to use.  This means that the bottom of the machine (the not-so-pretty side) is facing out when the machine is standing up, but I don't mind that given that I am the only person (other than the Nerd) who sees it.

I don't row every day, but when I do I get one hell of a workout.  Love it.  

Still here, still working

I went out west to visit family in April, and that basically meant a couple of things - - not enough working out (none, in fact), and too much food.  Wayyyy too much food.  So the past month or so has been basically spent fighting a holding action to get down to my earlier low weight. 

The biggest challenge, frankly, was getting my head back into proper eating.  I had a couple of weeks of eating simply ridiculous amounts of food, and it has taken me a couple of weeks just to train my body back to not craving snacks all the time.  I don't generally crave snacks as a rule, but I find that when I get back into the snacking mindset it takes me a couple of weeks of going "snack cold turkey" before I stop craving snacks. Once I get the snacking out of my system I find it much easier to stick to a sensible eating plan.  So yeah, there's that addictive personality thing I still need to watch out for, even after all these years of working out.

Once I got back home it was easier to get right back into the workout routine at least.  And Mr. Fitness has been coming over each week to kick my ass right and proper, which has been great.  We have had 22 training sessions together and the differences have been profound.  I still have a ways to go, but compared to where I was last December, I have seen real progress working with the personal trainer. 

So, net net things are still going well.  Lots of things going on to keep me busy and some new workout equipment that I will post about shortly. 

15 months and 1.5 pounds ... or 51.3 pounds down

Achievement unlocked!  I hit a significant milestone this morning, weighing in at 184.9 pounds, which: i) brings me within 20 pounds of my goal; ii) makes me a middleweight for the first time in 15 years (and potentially a "Rumbleweight" welter, depending on how much Johnson lets himself go).  Even more significant, my weigh in this morning marks the successful end of a 15 month fight to lose the weight gained from not one but two major backslides, one when I was job hunting and hating my work and one at Christmas last year when I gave myself permission to eat All The Food (although I must tell you, the Nerd's sugar cookies are delicious). 

All in all I put on - and lost - and regained - and relost 51.3 pounds over these 15 months.  But now for the first time in 15 months I am seeing a weight on the scale that is lower than before.  This morning, I am finally back to losing weight rather than relosing weight I had only recently lost .  I am breaking new weight loss records, in other words. 

To date I have lost 149 pounds (counting linearly from what I weighed in January 2012), which brings me to within 20 pounds of my ultimate goal of 165.  The last time I weighed this much/little was in late 2000 or early 2001, right after I had starved my way to a normal weight and then immediately resumed my poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyle.  Needless to say, with my eating habits and compete lack of exercise I did not retain my losses, and by spring of 2002 I had put on more than 75 pounds from my low.

This is less likely to happen now for a few reasons.  First, my eating habits have seriously evolved over the past 3 years since I have begun working on this lifestyle change.  I understand portion control, I focus on drinking enough water in a day, and I do not binge eat as long or as frequently as I used to.  I also eat more fruit and vegetables and much less cheese and carbs than I used to.  That's not to say that I don't love cheese and carbs, but I just don't make them the focus of every course of every meal like I used to.

Second, my exercise habits have dramatically changed.  I enjoy the time on the elliptical in the morning, and regular exercise is now just a normal part of my day, rather than a tedious chore to be endured.  I like staying active, and I enjoy being able to walk around the city with the Nerd. 

Third, and most importantly, I have a supportive helpmate in the Nerd who keeps cooking us delicious, healthy meals and doesn't try and undermine me by bringing irresistible treats into the house.  I do not exaggerate when I say that I could not have achieved this without his support and encouragement. 

Finally, I am gradually adopting a more zen-like approach to weight loss.  I understand that some months my body simply chooses to retain all the water and I will put on weight for no apparent reason.  And some months I will crave snacks more than others.  No matter, though - - I understand at a very basic level now that putting on a pound or two - or five or ten - is not the end of the world just as long as I get my head back into my program and focus on eating well and exercising regularly. 

Case in point was my recent trip to the Mothership in Atlanta.  I enjoyed many meals out and sampled a variety of wonderful southern cooking including ribs, pimento cheese, fried chicken and collard greens and banana pudding.  I ate wayyyyy over my normal calories during that trip and came back to Toronto about 8 pounds higher than when I had left.  Rather than getting despondent however, I knew that much of this would be sodium-induced water weight that would come off quickly once I got back into my routine.  And the weight that did not come off quickly would come off slowly, but it would still come off.

The first time I lost a significant amount of weight (back in 2000) I did not have this certainty.  Each pound was a struggle, and when my weight started creeping up again once I resumed my poor eating habits and stopped exercising (i.e. almost immediately), it felt like I could never take the weight off again.  The task felt overwhelming, and therefore it quickly became overwhelming.  I can tell you from brutal - and repeated - experience that it is much easier to lose 5 or even 10 pounds than it is to lose 50 or 100 pounds. 

So this morning I weighed 184.9 pounds.  19.9 pounds to go until I reach my goal weight.  I expect than my target weight zone will end up being 165 pounds +/- 5 pounds, and as long as I keep within this range, all will be well.  We'll see how it goes. 

Onward and downward!

March Measurements

After this week's weigh-in at which I came in 20 pounds down since I started withing with my personal trainer, I suspected that my measurements this month would be interesting to see.  And as you can see from the chart above, so they are.

I lost 4 inches this month and I have lost 10.5 inches overall since I began working with the trainer.  Since I first started working out back in January of 2012 I have lost more than 64 inches, or more than 5 linear feet.  This explains why I fit into airplane seats more comfortably now.  It doesn't explain how I ever fit in an airplane seat in the first place, but that's a mystery for another time.

The photos also show the progress with the trainer:

My objectives when I began working with the trainer were to continue to lose weight to help me reach my goal of no longer being overweight, and to tone things up.  So far Mr. Fitness is delivering on both objectives, in spades.

I am stronger, more confident, and more comfortable in my body than before I began working with the trainer, and that's all to the good.  We will see what April has in store.  Hopefully I can continue to see positive results.  I don't expect to see the dramatic changes that I saw in March, but I want to keep improving over the next month.

New Clothes [with photos]

In preparation for my trip down to the Mothership in Atlanta next week I thought a couple of new outfits were in order. 

Calvin Klein dress

I picked up a couple of new dresses, both perfectly fitting off the rack in a size 12, a nice red t-shirt in medium and a shrug, as well as a pair of nude shoes for the new dresses.  When I was looking for the shrug to go with the colourful dress, the sales clerk at the store looked me up and down and said "you're a medium, yes?" (!).  In fact I am, now, a medium, down from a 3XL.  Yay!

Betsey Johnson dress

As if all that weren't nice enough, I picked up some pantyhose to go with my new outfits (because legs this pale are not allowed out in public uncovered at any time).  For the first time in memory I am do not require queen size pantyhose!  I am a "medium-tall" at my height and weight (i.e. a normal size rather hose than plus size), and the pantyhose fit perfectly, with no penguin legs at all (ladies, you know what I'm talking about when your pantyhose is too short and the crotch hits somewhere mid-thigh).  I was nervous about trying on the pantyhose because it has been about 15 years since I have worn anything other than queen size, but the fit is perfect (with room to spare, even).  It's a little thing, but it's a personal victory for me. 

All in all it was a triumphant day. 

20 Pounds Down with the Personal Trainer

My work with Mr. Fitness continues to pay dividends.  In all honesty, getting a personal trainer has been the second-best fitness decision I have ever made, second only to my initial decision to start exercising in the first place. 

Last month I felt a bit like I was treading water in that although I was confident that my hard work would eventually pay off and I was losing weight, it was coming off in dribs and drabs.  I suspected that I was in for a major loss after I passed that little plateau and I was right - - this month has seen some dramatic losses.

All in all I have lost 20 pounds under Mr. Fitness' tutelage since the beginning of the year, which is just amazing.  My body fat has come down as well, directionally.

Consider how far I have come - - when I started working out my BMI was a whopping 49.3.  Think about that for a moment.  It took me months of working out to lose 63 pounds which lowered my weight just enough that my BMI would even register on most charts, which typically only go up to 40 BMI.  Now my BMI is under 28, and on the way to a normal 25, eventually.

As you can see from this chart, above, this is the third time that I have reached this weight zone since I began to get fit back in 2012.  The first time was in the summer and fall of 2013, and then again in November 2014 and now again, just recently.  That zone from 193-203 has proven to be my achilles heel, time and time and time again.

This is a very dangerous place for me because I am getting close enough to my goal that it is within reach, but I am still far enough away that it will take a lot of work to get there.  In the past I have found ways to sabotage myself, mostly by giving myself permission to rest on my laurels and break discipline for a day or two...which turns into a week or two...which turns into 20 or 30 pounds.  After all, it's just so damn easy to say "I've done so well this week and lost so much, I deserve a treat day"...  Trust me when I say that as a professional binge eater* [*retired], I can undo in one day of massive eating what has taken literally weeks of work to accomplish.  Talk about demoralizing.

This week had the potential to set me off on that bad path again.  A project at work was facing some challenges that required me to devote most of my week to putting out fires, with a lot of meetings with senior management and stressful conversations.  Lots of work that completely derailed my usual load of work, in other words, so it has been a week that almost made me flashback to the days at the old law firm, when I would not leave until 9-10 pm at night on a regular basis. 

At one point on Tuesday after yet another issue popped up on this project I caught myself eyeing the candy machine in my office with malice aforethought.  I was seconds away from letting loose when I decided to look at my weight loss progress graph (the one you see above).  It was like having a bucket of cold water dumped on my head - - I immediately stopped craving chocolate because I didn't want to undo all of that progress I had worked so hard for.  This in itself was a major win.

Mr. Fitness came over to kick my ass on Tuesday as well, so it was the perfect end to a stressful day - - we lifted things and put them down and I balanced more than I previously had and I bench pressed 90 pounds (a new record for me) and I sweated out all those negative feelings.  I don't know if I got any endorphins out of my training session, but I sure as hell felt better afterwards.  And the best thing was that I was seriously looking forward to working out with Mr. Fitness, because a hard workout was exactly what I needed to help me deal with the stress of that week.  And I was right - - it was just what the doctor ordered.

Which was important, because Wednesday I found out that I was getting a new boss, someone who up to that day had been my nominal peer.  This lawyer is senior to me in the company, having joined about 4 years ago, and he is slightly senior to me in legal experience as well - - he was the year ahead of me in law school.  He is a bright and extremely competent lawyer with excellent judgment and a solid skill set, and he has earned the respect of the bottling organization with whom he does the bulk of his work.  I have no doubt that he has the ability to succeed as the new VP and General Counsel of the pop factory here in Canada.

But... I am mourning the fact that I am losing (in a way) the best boss that I have ever had.  I had such an immediate and easy rapport with my boss that it made not only my job easier, but was a large measure of why I enjoyed coming to work every day.  Suffice it to say that I do not have the same easy rapport with my new boss, who is as unlike me in every way as my old boss was similar.

To be clear, my old boss is not being fired or retiring - - he is moving back to the mother ship in Atlanta and he will still be available to counsel and mentor me from there, just as he has done here in Toronto.  That fact alone is helping to keep me positive through this transition, which will be difficult enough.

The biggest challenge is that I will need to discover, together with my new boss, how we communicate and work together as boss-direct report where previously we had been peer-peer.  There will be some changes, for sure, but lots of opportunity for me, so I am looking forward to it, in a way.

But still, it rocked my world for a couple of days, and definitely set me back on my heels.  It would have been so completely easy - and understandable - for me to go out, get drunk, and eat all the food.  But I didn't.  I indulged in a little retail therapy, which in a way helped keep me on track because I bought a dress and a suit in a slightly smaller size - - I can't eat all the nachos and still fit into that nice size 12 dress, nosir!

So it's been a busy week just chock full of stress.  Next week is shaping up just as challenging, as I will be travelling to Atlanta for the first time to meet with the senior legal team down there - - people who are important to impress, in other words.  No stress there, nope!  I am totally bringing my workout clothes with me so that I can work out in the hotel gym, that's for damn sure.

1.5 pounds down ... 25.5 pounds to goal

It's been a good week, all things considering.  I have gotten back into my healthy routine after my little break last week and I have been really enjoying how easy it is to stay within my calorie goals with our new portioning of meals. 

And the work is paying dividends.  I lost another pound and a half this week to being me down to 190.5 pounds, which is only 25.5 pounds away from my goal.

I was laughing with The Nerd on one of my walks to work this week that I was able to lose the first 120 pounds in about a year, and the next 20 pounds have taken 2 years.  Mostly because I have had to keep losing them over and over and over again. 

But now that I am comfortable that I really know how to lose those particular pounds (195 lbs-210 lbs, I'm looking at you!) it has been somewhat easier to keep going.  I joke, because otherwise I would be depressed at how my intermittent self-sabotage has repeatedly set me back.  I really am chagrined at myself how often I have had to dust myself off and recommit to my lifestyle change.  Smart people do not take so long to learn what works.  Ah well, I never said I was smart, just doggedly determined and stubborn as hell.  That works almost as well sometimes.

The good thing is that since working with Mr. Fitness my progress has been much more linear.  Even when I go slightly off the rails with food my workouts push me so much that I never regress for long.  And even when I do mess up I know that I will soon be on track - - that's amazingly important, because it keeps me from getting too despondent over periodic slips. 

Speaking of Mr. Fitness, he well and truly kicked my ass last night with a high intensity interval session.  Just brutal, but it felt great.  And it felt even better to stop, let me tell you!

I have received a ton of compliments on how I look this week, so I think that I have reached another milestone of toning.  It's the kind of progress that I don't notice because I look at myself every day, but is apparently dramatic to other people, judging by the comments.  The Nerd and I had dinner with my old landlords on Monday night and she whispered to me that when she saw me she told her husband that I "look tight".  I think that means "toned", because as a lawyer, I am by nature a tight ass - - there would be nothing new to comment on.  Ha! 

Another weekend is on the way, and before you know it the end of the month - and measurements - will be upon us.  I'm just going to keep plugging away and see where it takes me.